Establish Marketing

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a site that lists women-owned vendors. We also provide learning tools, resources, and books to help women start their own businesses.

What challenge were you trying to address with Establish Marketing?

We hired Establish Marketing to design and develop our website.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I had an outline of what we needed on our site, but I wasn’t sure how we were going to bring it to life. I simply provided a color scheme and my logo. Once we talked about it, they presented a few different ways to tackle the project. I picked a color that I liked, but they came up with the design for the site.

They created a design that would be cost-effective and easy to maintain.

It’s basically a membership site, but users don’t need to be a member to view vendor lists. The site looks like a store, but rather than going to a cart when they click on a product, users can view vendor information. For example, if a user finds a dress that they like, they can click on the product to view manufacturer information. We also sell merchandise and e-books through the site.

What is the team composition?

I've worked with one person.

How did you come to work with Establish Marketing?

We found them on Upwork. I liked their aesthetic for their site and I thought they very personable. They were very knowledgeable but didn’t have a ton of previous work so I wanted to give him a shot.

How much have you invested with them?

I've spent $1,500.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2020 and they continue to monitor the platform. 

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We haven’t launched yet, but we’ve run through the site several times and I’m really happy with it. The functionality is amazing and the aesthetic is great. They were able to do everything I asked them to do.

I really appreciated that they offered cost-effective options. They easily could have run up the bill, but they were clearly cognizant of my budget.

They did additional research as well to make sure I got the results I wanted. For example, I paid a year in advance for a hosting plan, but they found a cheaper and more effective option for me. I was able to return the plan within 30 days and I saved a lot of money. That showed that they really cared about our success.

We finished our project, but there was an issue with the plugin the other day and our site went down. They reached out and notified us and asked how they could help. They’re the only team I will work with on my site.

How did Establish Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

Their communication was excellent. We could reach them over the phone or by email. We’re in different time zones — they’re in Los Angeles, California and I’m on the east coast — but they responded to me immediately regardless of what time it was. They explained everything in layman’s terms so I could understand it.

They were also very efficient. I expected development to take a full month, but they had the majority of it done in just two weeks. They didn’t just meet the deadline, they beat it.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re amazing in so many different aspects.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not at all. They were excellent. If they continue the way they are, they’re going to be very successful.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be afraid to ask for anything even if you think it’s impossible. I hesitated to ask for things a few times, but they made it happen.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of a women-owned vendors listing site. We provide learning tools, resources, and books to help women start their own businesses.

What challenge were you trying to address with Establish Marketing?

We were looking for web development help. I had the vision and the outline for the project, but I wasn’t sure how we were going to bring it to life. I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what we wanted to offer, but I didn’t know what plugins and tools to use.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Establish Marketing developed our whole website. I had the vision and the outline for the project, but I wasn’t sure how we were going to bring it to life. I knew what I wanted to do and I knew what we wanted to offer, but I didn’t know what plugins and tools to use.

When it comes to Instagram businesses, everybody wants a vendor list and some are selling these lists for $150. What I wanted to do is offer a vendor list on my site for free as opposed to selling a vendor list PDF.

I wasn’t sure about the best way to do that so Jordan (Owner) and I talked about it and he explained what he thought would be the best way. He had a whole bunch of ideas. It all boiled down to what would be easy for me to maintain as a business owner as well as cost.

It’s a membership website, but you don’t have to be a member to access the vendor list. You can pull up products and see all the vendor information in terms of who manufactures or supplies that product. It’s set up as an e-commerce site. When you click on a product you’ll see the product information instead of seeing “add to cart”.

We also added e-books and other merchandise that we’re selling through the site. The basis of the site was the membership functionality and the vendor list and making sure that certain pages are only accessible to members.

What is the team composition?

I mainly work with Jordan.

How did you come to work with Establish Marketing?

I found Establish Marketing through Upwork. I really liked the aesthetic of Jordan’s site that he established. As he doesn’t have much work documented on Upwork, I wanted to give him a shot to help him build his portfolio.

How much have you invested with them?

I’ve invested $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

I started working with Establish Marketing in July 2020. The shell and functionality of the website were completed in August 2020 and we are finalizing the content now.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We haven’t launched the website yet, but we did countless run-throughs of the site. I’m so happy that it’s easy to use, the functionality is amazing, and the aesthetic is great. Establish Marketing came up with a lot in terms of the visuals. I already have a logo, but they made everything look better.

How did Establish Marketing perform from a project management standpoint?

We’re on different timezones, but it didn’t matter what time it was, whenever I reached out to Jordan, I was hearing back from him immediately. We communicate through phone calls and emails.  As I’m not a tech person, he explained everything to me in a way that I will understand.

In terms of meeting deadlines, I expect the project to take a full month, but Jordan delivered it ahead of schedule. If anything, I was the one lagging. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Jordan was personable, very knowledgeable, and super polite. My site went down as there was an issue with a plugin, he reached out to me immediately and offered help. He’s the only person that I will work with on my site. He’s amazing in so many ways. He was efficient and quick.

He brought different ideas to the table that were cost-effective and he really tried to help me in terms of cost. I already purchased a hosting plan beforehand, but Jordan came back to me with a much cheaper and effective option than what I had, and the fact that he caught that was amazing.

There’s not one thing that I asked for that he wasn’t able to do. There were times when he’s not sure about something and he’d let me know about it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think there’s nothing he could improve on. If Jordan continues the way that he is, it establishes him to be successful. I’d definitely recommend him to anyone that I speak to.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is don’t hesitate to ask for anything even if you’re not sure about it. Even if you think it’s impossible, Jordan will find a way to make it possible. So whatever it is that you can think of, I’m pretty sure that Jordan can make it happen.