Highlights

Please welcome Sam Sarsten to Entry 042 of The Creatives's Journal 🎨

⁠Sam Sarsten⁠ is a SEO agency owner and YouTuber from Bend, Oregon.

Please enjoy a great conversation over important topics in SEO and AI and career with a great friend!

⭐️ ⁠Sam's Local SEO Academy Waitlist⁠

⭐️ ⁠SEO Notion Checklist⁠

⭐️ ⁠Shownotes

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction and backstory on Sam's business name origin
2:15 - How Sam got into web design and his journey to starting Thencan Designs
11:00 - Sam's experience at his first networking event
14:45 - Importance of finding your "why" and core values
19:30 - Adding SEO services to complement web design offerings
25:25 - How SEO transformed Sam's recurring revenue model
29:50 - Not getting too attached to specific services, staying nimble
35:55 - Sam's typical day and schedule
43:40 - Appreciating the freedom to grind while young
47:25 - Finding fulfillment in the work itself
51:15 - Outro and where to find Sam

Show Notes:

- Sam started Thencan Designs in January 2023 after leaving his full-time job in May 2022 with no clients lined up initially.

- He got into web design after a friend asked him to build a site, which led him down the path of teaching himself WordPress and SEO.

- Networking and showing up consistently led to his first few clients, including getting leads from visiting BNI groups.

- His "why" is to help people grow their small businesses online so they can better enjoy life. Having this core purpose keeps him grounded.

- Adding SEO services complemented his web design offerings very well and allowed him to build recurring revenue much faster.

- Within 6 months of offering SEO, his recurring revenue grew from $300 to around $6,000 per month.

- He aims to stay nimble and not get too attached to any specific service, positioning himself as the interface between small businesses and the internet.

- A typical day involves client work, taking meetings, networking events, planning his week, and recording YouTube videos.

- He appreciates being young with fewer responsibilities to be able to grind hard on building his business currently.

- Sam finds fulfillment in the work itself and those "wins" like improving a client's rankings.

- You can find Sam on his website Thencandesigns.com and his YouTube channel by the same name.

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