Today we’d like to introduce you to Cameron Anchondo.
Hi Cameron, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I first got started in this line of work as a teenager.
I was probably 14 years old and my uncle ran a pool business, and needed a new website. He had mentioned it was going to cost him more than he could afford and I sarcastically said I’d do it for $300.
To my surprise he said ok go for it. And so having never built a website before I had to pull up YouTube videos, grab some books, and figure out how to put together a website for him.
He loved it and eventually some friends of his had seen it and asked if I could build them websites.
From there I had to learn as I went. One wanted a WordPress website so I learned WordPress. One wanted to convert a php based website they had over to something they could completely edit themselves so I learned that. Someone wanted a logo so I made one.
Eventually someone asked if I did SEO and I said no but I could figure it out and ended up working on their marketing.
Eventually after working for myself for a number of years I ended up working at a couple different marketing agencies primarily working with big automotive dealers, some of which were doing millions in sales, doing SEO and Web design until I eventually went back into business for myself.
I found more joy in working with the smaller businesses so that’s been fun.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not.
There were plenty of times I got down on myself and felt like I wasn’t going to be able to figure something out or got overwhelmed.
Learning sales was especially difficult and getting my first clients.
And just learning to manage multiple projects at once.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
These days I specialize more in web design work but still do plenty of marketing work as well.
Specifically, I love working with small businesses. A lot of times these businesses don’t have massive marketing budgets and may have even been hurt by other designers or marketing agencies scamming them or delivering subpar products.
Sometimes it’s just that other designers are charging a ton and it’s not something these businesses can afford.
So I dedicate myself to providing quality services that more fit a small business budget, and providing 1 on 1 support.
Another issue I learned while working in agencies is that a lot of times these places claim they have “custom plans” or “custom web designs” but every website is just the same template reused and every marketing plan is just cookie cutter despite the claims they aren’t. Very rarely are they actually legitimately customized to the business.
I take pride in getting to know business owners and their business as best I can and providing truly custom solutions that help them achieve their goals.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t be afraid to try new things. Don’t turn away from a challenge. Stay hungry and never assume you know everything. No matter how long your in business or how much you learn, there’s always more.
Some of the best projects I’ve ever done have started with me not even knowing where to begin, and just diving in.
Another small bit of advice. If a project ever seems overwhelming, I like to break it down into small steps. And just focus on the current step, and keep moving forward.
Sometimes if you spend too much time staring at the entire project it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
Pricing:
- I charge about $900 for a custom website
- Websites can also be broken into $150/mo for 6 months
- Web hosting is $25/mo
- Marketing work varies depending on needs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alamowebdesigns.com
