I went a very long time without a website. Not out of principle, mostly out of not getting round to it — but the accidental result was years of watching what actually brings people to your door, and it was never the marketing.
It was the woman who mentioned me to her friend over lunch. The founder who rang up because someone he trusted had said my name once, in passing, years earlier. Reputation moves slowly and then all at once, which is a maddening thing to build a business plan around, and also the only version of “brand loyalty” I’ve ever actually believed in.
I’m not precious about having a website now — clearly, since you’re reading this on it. But I’d rather it be the second thing people find, after they’ve already heard your name from someone they trust, than the first.
