Today we’d like to introduce you to Avery And Chayse Gilmer.
Avery and Chayse, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Putting our talents together, in retrospect, was a no brainer. But at the time, as a newly married couple, we hadn’t decided before marriage that we’d start a Full Service Creative Studio (or any business at all!) Freshly planted in Oregon and definitely in the honeymoon phase (still are, we think!) we didn’t know if starting a business would be the kind of stress we wanted to take on. But, at the tail end of Covid and after Avery went through rounds and rounds of interviews with local companies for copywriting (and getting ghosted!), Chayse pitched the idea.
“What if we started a website design company?”
She had about 5 years of branding and website design experience, at the time.
I (Avery) stood there, exhausted from a manual labor job I’d taken on just to keep some income flowing in.
I asked her to walk me through her idea.
With my 10 years of copywriting experience, we could offer something most small businesses in the Branding and Website design sphere didn’t: full website copywriting.
By the end of the week, Quick Site Design was registered with the state and had our own website up and running.
Immediately we got to work with direct marketing, handing our flyers in Hillsboro and reaching out to small businesses via instagram that looked like they could use what we were offering.
As the years passed, we refined our process, upgraded our services and quality and chose our niche: The Total Package.
A full service, all in one package for small businesses. Branding, Copywriting, Logo Design and Website Design. Fixing the problem of patchwork brands and unfinished websites.
Oh, and we do it Quick.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s a rare story that a business is all smooth sailing and ours is no exception.
To build a business from scratch you either need a lot of capital or a lot of time.
We had neither, so we needed to make time. We went all in on it. We stayed lean, living in a travel trailer Chayse had bought before Covid and cutting out all unnecessary expenses. This allowed us to survive on less than minimum wage until we could get consistent business. We had a good support network – people that helped us step away from stress when we needed it.
It was a special time, one others might relate to. A lot of roadblocks. A lot of road with no map. We went on a lot of walks around our neighborhood, talking through the problems and possible solutions. Discussing what we wanted the brand and the business to represent. This was a huge learning experience for us as we were knee-deep in the very crisis that our current clients are all facing. They know where they want to be – how they should look or sound or what success looks like to them – but they have no idea how to get there.
We are the ones that make them the map.
We had lean months, sometimes going a full quarter with hardly a sale. But most businesses die because business owners give up. We kept on going, trusting the process that had worked so well. We have an incredible product that business owners need. An investment that literally changes their lives. Our job was helping people see that.
We had to diversify our marketing, leveraging our name and credibility to get put in front of a larger audience.
And to this day, we have the challenges that come from a creative business. The potential for burn-out. Imposter syndrome. The “is this any good and are my clients going to hate me?” They don’t. They always love it.
We will say we have an advantage some don’t have. Before this business, Avery gained a lot of experience in running a business when he ran a custom leather goods business before he moved to Oregon. This helped us be able to weather the storms of small business life with more calm and perspective as well as how to avoid certain pitfalls.
But we are still learning every day. We still face the challenges all businesses face of cashflow management, client relations, making smart investments and work-life balance.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a full-service creative studio specializing in high-converting portfolio based websites.
(We make websites.)
Run entirely by Avery (husband, copywriting, SEO expert and tech handler) and Chayse (wife, brand, logo, website design, social media), all our projects are handled completely in-house with no outsourcing.
We build from the ground up, starting with understanding the brand and the voice. We take our time with our clients (roughly half of our timeline), ensuring we understand the vision, the mission and the voice. Only after we understand what the brand represents and what the voice is trying to say can we actually make a powerful website.
(We do branding and copywriting.)
While many small businesses offer one or two of these services, we are able to professionally offer everything a small business needs to look professional and stand out online and to continue using what we’ve built them for the long term.
(We offer everything a small business needs for the whole “website” thing in an easy and thorough package.)
We are known for “The Total Package”, putting Branding, Copywriting, Logo Design and Website Design.
We are most proud of the results our services have brought. We have had clients cry tears of joy as they see their new website and brand for the first time. Every single client of ours has raised their prices after working with us, helping them achieve a better work life balance. Some have quit their jobs to go full-time for themselves, finally having the confidence and the income to do it. Our services have helped people gain independence, freedom and happiness.
To small business owners struggling with websites that don’t work, brands that look bad, copywriting that’s more like crappy writing and a lousy logo, here’s what we say:
We make you the last-tab-standing. We take away your web-ache.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Long ago, we decided that what was important in life was people. While we love the work we do, what makes us happy – brings us joy – is helping people. We spend our free time volunteering, having friends over and cooking them meals and, occasionally, traveling. All of this helps us avoid burnout and to remember that life is not all about work or money. We know that if we simply chased the dollar, we’d never be happy or satisfied.
We’re both religious people, but it’s not something we make a part of our business. We keep the two separate.
But we can’t honesty answer this question without saying it’s our faith that makes us happy.
Also, we love food and a nice drink, for sure. Definitely won’t say no to a nice meal.
Pricing:
- View our website for pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://quicksitedesign.co
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/quicksitedesign
