Why I Deleted my Website

Deleting my website was a scary thing to do. I hesitated before pressing the destruct button.

Colleagues advised me against it. They said I should keep my options open.

But I was hiding my main offer amongst many others.

That was more than 10 years ago.

Way back then, I was coaching businesses in several different industries. In the creative sector, plus others too. I wanted to attract more clients, from a range of sectors.

That was the theory. In practice it was different. Google searches would find my site and I’d get enquiries, but conversion was low.

Then one day I looked at things differently.

I looked at my website from a potential client’s point of view. Not “clients” as a whole, but one in particular.

I’d arranged a meeting with a ‘perfect’ potential client. Someone who needed world-class expertise in creative entrepreneurship.

I realised that he would check out my website before our meeting. So I went to look at it. Not through my own eyes, but through HIS.

What I saw horrified me.

He was looking for a creative business expert. But what did he see? A ‘jack of all trades’, working in all kinds of sectors. Yes, creative was in there. But it didn’t stand out.

So I rearranged my website to put creative business at the top. A quick fix.

But I knew I needed to do something more radical.

Of all the cards I could play, which was my strongest? In which sector did I get the most conversions? For which clients did I stand out above other coaches? In other words, I asked myself: where was my competitive advantage?

The answer was obvious when I looked at it like this. I already had vast experience in the creative industries. From my own businesses and from hundreds more I’d helped. For goodness sake: I’d even written a book about creative business!

So I decided to play my best card. And I wouldn’t dilute the message. In effect, I’d now say: “If you want a creative business expert, you’ve found him!”.

Simple. No hedging my bets. No more keeping other options open. I decided to say YES to creative entrepreneurs. And NO to everyone else.

I built a new website all about business in the creative industries. It wouldn’t attract clients from elsewhere, but I wasn’t converting many anyway. They would usually end up with the go-to guy in their own industry.

For whom could I be the go-to guy?

Answer: business owners in the creative industries.

The fit was perfect between their needs and my expertise. And with them I could be my authentic self. Now I was competing where I could win.

So when my new website was ready, I deleted the old one.

Yes, there was a moment of hesitation. Like when you leave an old house for a better one.

I moved on and never looked back.

Of course I’ll never know what might have happened if I hadn’t deleted that old website.

Do you think I made the right decision?