Loudoun Digital has achieved the status level of "Icon" partner. This status is based on the number of websites we've built, our client retention statistics and overall client satisfaction. In addition to the fancy new badge and bragging rights, this elevation also opens doors to additional resources that will help our business grow.
I founded Loudoun Digital back in 2014 with the goal of providing high quality digital marketing services to smaller local businesses who couldn't afford a big advertising agency. It's been a decade of hard work with many ups and downs along the way. But we're getting there, slowly but surely.
In 2021 I was approached by Wix and invited to join their partner program. At the time I had built only one website on the platform. But I knew from day one that Wix was a platform with incredible potential. Despite the nearly prohibitive cost, I gambled and joined the program.
That first year as a Wix partner was tough. I was competing with bigger, more established companies. I knew only a fraction of the functionality offered by the Wix platform. The learning curve was steep. We got kicked out of the Wix Marketplace and I didn't win a single contract from their lead generation program.
But I stayed committed to Wix. I found a few clients on my own. And before long, we started getting referrals from existing clients. Every time I built a new website, it was better than any other site I had ever built before. By the end of the second year, I could feel the mastery coming.
Our big break came in the summer of 2023. Wix finally added support for real estate sites (i.e. an IDX provider -- listing data from the MLS). I was able to combine my growing expertise in website design with my deeper knowledge of the real estate vertical to create the very best websites for real estate agents in the industry, bar none. Realtors have been signing up in droves and the websites are generating tremendous results. That's put us at the base of a steep growth curve that has me really excited.
The next big challenge for Loudoun Digital will be to scale the business and continue to add talented designers who can implement the same level of handmade craftsmanship I've put into every site we've built. I admit, it's the biggest challenge the business has faced so far. We won't graduate from Icon to Legend until I solve this dilemma.
But for now, it's time to celebrate a major milestone, reflect on many years of hard work and thank the folks who have helped get us here.
Thank you to Janeen Marconi and Sheri Gershen at Hunt Country Sotheby's International Realty. You will always be my single most important client. Your trust and support helped me turn a "side-hustle" into a real business. And of course I might never have even met you without a generous recommendation from Colleen Gustavson Brownell and Eryn Appell.
Thank you to the people of Wix, across every department and scattered all over the globe. Your technology is AWESOME! And the only thing better than your technology is your support organization. I am grateful to the razor sharp product managers in Tel-Aviv, the software engineers in the Ukraine, the support team in Guatemala and the partner / channel folks I've worked with in the US. Keep doing what you're doing! There's no end in site to the growth we can accomplish together!
Thank you to each and every one of my clients, large and small. Thank you for trusting me with responsibility of managing your website and marketing your business. My favorite thing in the world is to see your business grow because of the technology we put in place for you.
I love the work I get to do every day. It hasn't quite made me rich yet. But it does make me happy. Sincere thanks to all of my supporters.