I do websites for small local businesses — the kind that have a Facebook page and nothing
else. For a while every site I shipped looked like the same template with a new colour,
and my cold messages got ignored. I rebuilt the whole process into something repeatable.
Sharing the bones of it because the "just DM 100 businesses" advice skips all the parts
that actually matter.
**1. Scouting.** Don't let a non-browsing model invent businesses — it will, with fake
addresses. Use an AI that can search, or do this part by hand on Google Maps: category +
town, check the "website" field. Classify each as NO SITE / DEAD SITE / SITE OK. Only the
first two are prospects. Spot-check 3 before building anything.
**2. Build spec.** Single self-contained HTML/CSS file, no framework, no CDN, no external
request. It loads instantly on a cheap phone, has no build step, and a static host serves
it free forever.
**3. The part that stops every site looking the same.** Before any code, write down how
this site is structurally different from your last few — the page skeleton, the
navigation model, the class names, what the JS does.
**4. An 8-phase check before contact:** differentiation thesis → aesthetic direction →
build → technical audit → SEO → functional QA → outreach text → final go/no-go.
**5. Outreach.** One short message per owner, assume they're not interested and say so,
lead with the live link not with yourself. One reminder after ~7 days, then drop it.
Realistic: 1-2 replies per 10 demos.
**6. The deal.** Domain and hosting stay in the client's name, paid by them.
Happy to answer anything or share the full write-up in the comments if useful.
Source: r/u/Still-Bookkeeper-772 · by /u/Still-Bookkeeper-772