Building Smarter Websites for Builders and Trades with Wes Towers

WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000
You are good, Wes. We're live. Welcome back to

00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.019
Adrian Barker speaks. I'm so excited. Wes is

00:00:07.019 --> 00:00:10.759
coming all the way from Australia, Melbourne.

00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:13.000
Uh, we're just outside of Melbourne, a place

00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.699
called Geelong. So, uh, yeah. I'm jelly. I was

00:00:16.699 --> 00:00:19.379
saying, Oh, do you know the animal kingdom, the

00:00:19.379 --> 00:00:23.399
TNT show about the Australian family at a certain

00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:26.699
circulates around the codees who are crime? A

00:00:26.699 --> 00:00:29.120
lot of. a lot of leadership lessons in crime

00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:33.240
organizations. But it was just no one messlets.

00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:35.799
And I just loved it. But I also loved just like

00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:38.600
everything. I actually love Australian shows.

00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:42.479
OK, so we know three things about you, Wes. Otherwise,

00:00:42.640 --> 00:00:45.679
I have no clue who you are. Wes is brave, bold,

00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:49.079
and brilliant. And I think he, hello, husband.

00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:55.399
I think that Wes is going to teach us some information

00:00:56.109 --> 00:00:59.210
And I had to say Wes, just like I tell chat GPT,

00:00:59.490 --> 00:01:02.229
I'm going to say to Wes, Wes, I need you to teach

00:01:02.229 --> 00:01:06.170
me like, um, well, like a nine year old. So not

00:01:06.170 --> 00:01:08.310
as young as a six, but not as smart as a teenager.

00:01:08.810 --> 00:01:11.170
Okay. I think maybe I was a fifth grader nine.

00:01:11.430 --> 00:01:13.849
So teach me like I'm a fifth grader. So anyways,

00:01:14.129 --> 00:01:16.489
welcome, welcome, welcome, Wes, introduce yourself.

00:01:16.629 --> 00:01:19.049
I'm excited to have you. Fantastic. It's really

00:01:19.049 --> 00:01:21.349
good to be here. And what a great opportunity

00:01:21.349 --> 00:01:24.709
to speak to the global. We're just down here

00:01:24.709 --> 00:01:27.569
in Melbourne, Australia, and I'm in a small town.

00:01:27.609 --> 00:01:30.569
So it's good to have a global reach through platforms

00:01:30.569 --> 00:01:33.650
like this. But yeah, so I'm Wes from Uplift 360.

00:01:33.989 --> 00:01:37.310
We do websites and search engine optimization.

00:01:37.849 --> 00:01:39.969
We're calling it search everywhere optimization

00:01:39.969 --> 00:01:43.209
because the world's grown to be a crazy place

00:01:43.209 --> 00:01:45.609
with AI and social media and there's so many

00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:48.560
places online. these days that businesses need

00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.780
to show up. So that's what we're doing it for.

00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.939
And we really niche into the trades and construction

00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:57.500
industries. That's who we serve the most. However,

00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:01.599
the principles that I tend to talk about on podcasts

00:02:01.599 --> 00:02:07.040
and so on apply to any industry really. So it's

00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:09.800
been a fun time to be alive in business with

00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:13.000
AI transforming the way we work, the way we do

00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:14.860
things so we can streamline things a whole lot

00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:18.699
faster. but also the challenges that it presents

00:02:18.699 --> 00:02:21.620
with the way in which people interact with the

00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:24.400
internet and so certainly in the space we play

00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:27.479
in making websites and getting found online.

00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:31.300
It's a changing dynamic. It's a scary and exciting

00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:36.120
space to work in right now. I love that. So actually

00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:40.439
my book that just came out is an example of AI

00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:43.819
because Sheila Slick, the founder of Pod to Book,

00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:47.520
literally took She created an app so that your

00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.580
podcast interviews can be turned into a book.

00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:53.060
But it's not a transcript. It's a narrative.

00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:57.699
It's a story. So it won't pick up like my talking

00:02:57.699 --> 00:02:59.319
or anything about me. It picks up everything

00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.340
that you're saying and what you're offering.

00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:04.400
So very, very cool. So I love that. But this

00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:06.699
couldn't have been done with just ChatGPT because

00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:10.099
AI still isn't perfected or maybe you have to

00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:12.639
pay the $200 or whatever the price is there.

00:03:13.359 --> 00:03:16.520
So I'm finding there is such limitations. So

00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:18.979
first of all, I have this burning question to

00:03:18.979 --> 00:03:22.979
ask you. What is it? What is it called? And is

00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:27.479
it legal in Australia when someone goes onto

00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:30.979
a website, looks for something and then leaves

00:03:30.979 --> 00:03:34.319
and then afterwards sends an email to that person

00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:40.199
that was on their website? Yes, I just so I understand

00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:43.150
correctly. for example, if you were to visit

00:03:43.150 --> 00:03:44.990
a website and then all of a sudden you receive

00:03:44.990 --> 00:03:49.430
emails, is that what you mean? Yes, yes. Yes,

00:03:49.650 --> 00:03:53.310
so you meant the spam act and it is different

00:03:53.310 --> 00:03:57.770
from nation to nation but generally speaking,

00:03:57.789 --> 00:04:02.289
if you've made some form of contacts, I'm no

00:04:02.289 --> 00:04:05.550
legal expert so I can't advise around the world

00:04:05.550 --> 00:04:09.110
as well particularly, but if there's been a disclosure,

00:04:09.550 --> 00:04:12.169
that you have parted ways with your email address

00:04:12.169 --> 00:04:19.629
and you'll receive email. So that's perfectly

00:04:19.629 --> 00:04:24.009
fine. They do need to have a opt out opportunity.

00:04:24.610 --> 00:04:27.850
So once you oftentimes you'll be baited with

00:04:27.850 --> 00:04:30.930
some sort of free offer in exchange for your

00:04:30.930 --> 00:04:34.829
email address. And I suppose that these days,

00:04:34.949 --> 00:04:37.089
realistically, people understand that it's not

00:04:37.089 --> 00:04:40.129
a free offer. It's giving giving away part of

00:04:40.129 --> 00:04:42.110
your information and that means you'll likely

00:04:42.110 --> 00:04:44.829
end up on an email database and likely start

00:04:44.829 --> 00:04:48.470
to receive emails. But it's my understanding

00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:52.329
nearly everywhere in the world requires a really

00:04:52.329 --> 00:04:56.689
simple opt -out opportunity so people can say

00:04:56.689 --> 00:04:58.569
they no longer want to receive those emails.

00:04:58.889 --> 00:05:02.189
And it is an interesting point you raised because

00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:07.319
More and more are we having less trust in organizations,

00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:10.720
particularly those in which we engage with purely

00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.220
online, that we don't really know who they are,

00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.379
what their intents are. And AI is partly fueling

00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:20.420
that because it is so easy these days to produce

00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:22.899
a website and content and information, but we

00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:25.759
don't know the authenticity of that information.

00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.100
So there's that immediate lack of trust and concern.

00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.300
when engaging and particularly sharing some of

00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:36.160
your private information. So yeah, so it's a

00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:38.519
really important point you raise. So building

00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:42.120
that trust and authenticity, so when you do engage

00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:44.180
and part ways with some of your information,

00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:49.319
it's really important. So tell me West. Thank

00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:51.339
you that it's good information. I feel like you're

00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:54.560
gonna have a lot of questions So give me your

00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.420
elevator pitch like I was nine and you're teaching

00:05:57.420 --> 00:06:01.600
fifth graders Yeah, and so for my it's just to

00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:04.300
cover that so I really do try and keep it down

00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:06.779
to earth and practical So whilst we're providing

00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:10.360
technical outcomes for people We're working with

00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:13.540
trades and construction people who are not necessarily

00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:17.139
all that tech savvy now. They're brilliant Brilliant

00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:19.579
minds who work in the field in which they work

00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:23.000
and so oftentimes they started as an apprentice

00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.100
in the skill set that they're working towards

00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:28.000
and then they're fully qualified and then they

00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.459
work their way into some form of leadership role

00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:32.560
in a company doing the thing that they've always

00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:35.360
done but in leadership and then eventually they

00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:38.379
often will start a company and so they're great

00:06:38.379 --> 00:06:43.170
at what they do but then They bring alongside

00:06:43.170 --> 00:06:46.430
people like us who are tech savvy to do the website.

00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:49.290
So the elevator pitch, I suppose, would be we

00:06:49.290 --> 00:06:52.790
make websites and help them get found everywhere

00:06:52.790 --> 00:06:56.389
online so the business can flourish and we do

00:06:56.389 --> 00:06:58.870
it for trades and construction businesses. I

00:06:58.870 --> 00:07:03.649
love the industry. I love that, Mitch. A lot

00:07:03.649 --> 00:07:07.350
of growth where you are. I know you're a national

00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:10.610
company global, but is it right where you are?

00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:12.990
Is there also a lot of growth, a lot of new businesses?

00:07:13.129 --> 00:07:16.949
Are you doing local work for your local contractors?

00:07:18.209 --> 00:07:21.089
Yeah, so there's obviously a few local style

00:07:21.089 --> 00:07:23.490
contractors. There's also national companies

00:07:23.490 --> 00:07:26.370
at a bigger scale. And then it's even international

00:07:26.370 --> 00:07:28.470
companies when we're looking at building materials.

00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.300
part of the construction industry. So you're

00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:35.680
really across the board the size and scale of

00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:38.800
the companies, but they all have similar needs.

00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.040
And you touch on an interesting thing. So the

00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:45.800
economy here is probably similar in a whole lot

00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:47.939
of places in the world in that there's a real

00:07:47.939 --> 00:07:51.660
cost of living crisis. And what that means is

00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:53.699
there's less money to be spent, and therefore

00:07:53.699 --> 00:07:57.379
businesses of all sizes eventually are affected

00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:00.589
in some way. Working with construction particularly,

00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:04.410
we've had a really big boom time for a number

00:08:04.410 --> 00:08:07.750
of years where everyone had heaps of work. And

00:08:07.750 --> 00:08:11.689
so they're even able to turn away work and just

00:08:11.689 --> 00:08:13.930
be really selecting them and not return phone

00:08:13.930 --> 00:08:16.209
calls and get really sloppy in some instances

00:08:16.209 --> 00:08:17.870
with that sort of thing, just because there was

00:08:17.870 --> 00:08:20.889
so many opportunities. But that's changed tremendously.

00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:23.829
I mean, building prices have gone through the

00:08:23.829 --> 00:08:28.100
roof construction. building materials, the cost

00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:32.139
of building and all the other trades. So there's

00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:34.620
a whole lot less work out there. So for many

00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:37.659
years, people left their websites kind of fade

00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:39.460
into the background because they didn't really

00:08:39.460 --> 00:08:41.679
need to push their marketing. Business was self

00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:43.200
-sustaining and there was more than, there's

00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.019
just an abundance of work. Then we came into

00:08:46.019 --> 00:08:47.960
this time where it's a little bit more challenging

00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:50.120
and construction companies going out of business

00:08:50.120 --> 00:08:53.710
to other businesses struggling as well. And so

00:08:53.710 --> 00:08:55.929
all of a sudden everyone needed to push their

00:08:55.929 --> 00:08:57.590
marketing efforts a little bit more. So they're

00:08:57.590 --> 00:09:00.149
revamping their websites. They're looking at

00:09:00.149 --> 00:09:02.730
being found in the new platforms, not just Google,

00:09:03.330 --> 00:09:06.549
but looking to be found in the AI platforms as

00:09:06.549 --> 00:09:08.529
well. And people have a conversation with their

00:09:08.529 --> 00:09:13.190
AI preferred platform. And they want to be found

00:09:13.190 --> 00:09:14.870
in all these places so that they can grow their

00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:17.250
businesses because they need to fight a little

00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:19.370
bit harder to get the business flowing through.

00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.000
challenging times for a lot of businesses, but

00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.480
opportunities for us to come alongside and support

00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:28.200
them to grow and to be sustainable for the long

00:09:28.200 --> 00:09:31.080
term. You know, I was telling you before we started,

00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:33.179
I'm sorry, my dog, sometimes I have to mic and

00:09:33.179 --> 00:09:36.159
yell at him. But so I was saying to you that

00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:39.279
I have a two day event coming up and it's a swat

00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:41.659
strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:43.360
And it's not when you're saying that because

00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:46.500
I never understood that in business. One of the

00:09:46.500 --> 00:09:48.639
biggest things and the threat that could happen

00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:53.440
is that you could start losing the there's no

00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:58.019
excuse like tha busy. I get sloppy. We're n the

00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:01.120
phone calls. I've s right? You make a phone call

00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.799
and then like two years l about that two years

00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:12.679
ago It doesn't make sense not to keep something

00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:15.519
up because that threat will always be there.

00:10:15.639 --> 00:10:17.139
Something could always happen in a business.

00:10:17.659 --> 00:10:20.460
Your marketing is one of the most important things

00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:23.919
to do and getting your name out there. I literally

00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:26.039
don't, I'm trying to understand how a company

00:10:26.039 --> 00:10:28.779
would be like, oh, let me let that go. But so

00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:31.480
now they're realizing, because now's the time

00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:35.019
to say, okay, now we've got the competition back

00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:39.429
again, right? We have to be competitive. What

00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:43.909
makes you different than all the other? Is it

00:10:43.909 --> 00:10:46.009
web developers? What is its correct terminal?

00:10:46.830 --> 00:10:49.970
Yeah, so we're a digital agency, but we specialize

00:10:49.970 --> 00:10:53.190
in website design, development, and search engine

00:10:53.190 --> 00:10:55.970
or search everywhere optimization. So we make

00:10:55.970 --> 00:10:59.330
websites, we get them found online. So effectively

00:10:59.330 --> 00:11:03.590
is what we're doing. So it's become challenging

00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:07.679
times. challenges and opportunities with AI and

00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:11.399
the rise of AI, because it can help you produce

00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:14.960
content at mass. But what that means is lots

00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:17.440
of people can do the same. So there's just a

00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:21.019
flood of information out there on all platforms.

00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:24.320
You'll see it on socials and websites and everywhere

00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:28.179
else. There's just an abundance of information,

00:11:28.419 --> 00:11:31.639
but it's oftentimes just generic and bland and

00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:33.440
it's kind of all the same because they're going

00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:36.059
about it in the same manner to produce the information

00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:39.500
and you know, for example, do you use ChatGPT

00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:42.240
or anything like that? Do I use? First of all,

00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:44.539
if you could be nice about it, his name is Barry.

00:11:44.860 --> 00:11:48.360
So do I use Barry Bar from ChatGPT? Yeah, he's

00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:52.120
Barry all the time. He's a team of AI people

00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:56.750
that I don't even know. Yeah, that's it. Yeah,

00:11:56.769 --> 00:11:58.929
that's right. And so we use the bots and so on

00:11:58.929 --> 00:12:01.490
but they're effectively all the same so in what

00:12:01.490 --> 00:12:04.970
what might be what people might do is write content

00:12:04.970 --> 00:12:07.730
through these tools But if you leave it just

00:12:07.730 --> 00:12:10.970
to the tool to come up with the content So you

00:12:10.970 --> 00:12:13.990
just say I want an article about XYZ part of

00:12:13.990 --> 00:12:16.970
you part of your service offering then it comes

00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:20.519
out fairly generic because what else is it to

00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:22.759
do? It's just going to plain information from

00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:25.559
everywhere and distill it down into a piece of

00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:27.440
content and it will read reasonably well and

00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:32.259
it'll have information that feels kind of good

00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:34.500
quality writing and so on. Like you read it before

00:12:34.500 --> 00:12:37.639
maybe though? Yeah but it's all the same in generic

00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.919
and bland so really businesses need to really

00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:42.820
start to consider what makes them unique and

00:12:42.820 --> 00:12:46.899
distinct and to be compelling so it sometimes

00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:51.960
almost to be a heretic, almost, if you would

00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:55.019
say. So if you can do something that's slightly

00:12:55.019 --> 00:12:57.440
different in your industry that no one else is

00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.460
doing, or you have a belief or a skill set or

00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:02.919
a set of values that is uniquely yours, they're

00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:04.799
the messages you need to start sharing. Now,

00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:09.279
sometimes, if you do become unique and share

00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:12.620
a different perspective, sometimes people will

00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:15.330
dislike it. and you'll attract a whole bunch

00:13:15.330 --> 00:13:18.230
of haters. That's fine. You'll also attract a

00:13:18.230 --> 00:13:20.110
whole bunch of people who really resonate and

00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:23.350
like what you're communicating and your angle

00:13:23.350 --> 00:13:25.669
and how you do business and those sorts of things.

00:13:25.809 --> 00:13:28.549
So you'll attract the right people getting your

00:13:28.549 --> 00:13:30.409
unique message out there. If you just go with

00:13:30.409 --> 00:13:34.389
a generic message. It adds nothing new to the

00:13:34.389 --> 00:13:36.629
conversation. Therefore, it's unlikely to ever

00:13:36.629 --> 00:13:38.629
show up in Google. It's unlikely to ever show

00:13:38.629 --> 00:13:41.250
up in an AI platform, a large language model,

00:13:41.330 --> 00:13:42.870
just because it's the same as everybody else.

00:13:43.029 --> 00:13:46.289
But once you start to consider being unique and

00:13:46.289 --> 00:13:50.149
distinct and having something valuable to share,

00:13:50.730 --> 00:13:52.549
then all of a sudden you'll be found. And so

00:13:52.549 --> 00:13:55.149
that's what we're helping our clients to uncover

00:13:55.149 --> 00:13:58.309
in themselves as founder -led businesses oftentimes.

00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:02.480
For a business it's often the thoughts and values

00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:05.580
are a reflection of the founder themselves because

00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:08.600
that's how we tend to build business. So to understand

00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:12.100
the founder, their heart and motives and what

00:14:12.100 --> 00:14:15.860
they want wanting to do can really fuel and accelerate

00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:18.200
their growth. So that's what we're helping them

00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:20.820
to do. We publish that information through their

00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:23.559
blog so we'll understand what they do precisely

00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:27.899
but also the the toning which they communicate.

00:14:28.179 --> 00:14:32.730
So building out really quality style guides for

00:14:32.730 --> 00:14:35.590
writing content for example so everything is

00:14:35.590 --> 00:14:38.909
the same and and style in their unique way so

00:14:38.909 --> 00:14:40.830
it's not that generic stuff because we're just

00:14:40.830 --> 00:14:43.529
all getting overwhelmed aren't we? I think everyone

00:14:43.529 --> 00:14:45.809
could agree that there's just so much information

00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:48.070
it's hard to discriminate what's quality you

00:14:48.070 --> 00:14:50.490
know who's a quality provider who's not because

00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:53.230
it's all the same so you've got to create points

00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:58.049
of difference. I agree with you. It's fu I use

00:14:58.049 --> 00:15:02.490
chat to BT, but I I have an idea. Um, I have

00:15:02.490 --> 00:15:06.509
an idea and I was l lessons can we get from t

00:15:06.509 --> 00:15:12.710
then I created a workshop clubhouse, which is

00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:16.610
a n actually, we have a lot of on clubhouse and

00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:21.389
chat or so I do an hour work of them and I'm

00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:26.549
like, But I refuse to let AI give me topics,

00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:28.970
though I will tell you for my clients, once I

00:15:28.970 --> 00:15:32.289
have that project built up, I'll say, hey, for

00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:34.289
myself, I want to be different. And actually,

00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:36.769
the vet next week is very different. It's two

00:15:36.769 --> 00:15:40.909
days, 18 speakers, multi -stream, and we'll end

00:15:40.909 --> 00:15:43.929
up being a podcast and also a book. But I wanted

00:15:43.929 --> 00:15:46.659
to share something else with you. I actually

00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:49.159
created, and I think, oh, wow, such a big deal.

00:15:49.220 --> 00:15:51.039
But it really doesn't matter unless you're right.

00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:53.159
I want haters. Can you hate this, please? I hate

00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:55.379
this idea. Here's my idea. I want you to hate

00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:58.360
it. It's already got 12 episodes. It's the first,

00:15:58.500 --> 00:16:01.960
I can say that, the first AI -powered debate

00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:08.019
podcast using Notebook LM and in the etiquette

00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:10.059
industry. So I know that there's other ones,

00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:13.100
but in the professional global etiquette industry.

00:16:13.710 --> 00:16:16.230
That's the only one. So I'm taking like, you

00:16:16.230 --> 00:16:18.230
know, do you interrupt and all these like different

00:16:18.230 --> 00:16:19.830
things? And then I'm putting it through that.

00:16:19.990 --> 00:16:22.110
Oh my God, I love it. And then you get that little

00:16:22.110 --> 00:16:26.710
video with the Google like notebook LM. And then

00:16:26.710 --> 00:16:30.309
I use that to for YouTube. So I am loving that.

00:16:30.570 --> 00:16:34.350
I need some haters though. I love and I love

00:16:34.350 --> 00:16:38.669
that concept of creating a set of ideas and concepts.

00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:42.049
But then like that book idea, the podcast to

00:16:42.049 --> 00:16:44.779
a book. That's brilliant because once you've

00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:49.019
figured out a core message and something uniquely

00:16:49.019 --> 00:16:52.799
yours, AI can be brilliant at taking those sets

00:16:52.799 --> 00:16:55.740
of ideas and repurposing it into different platforms.

00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:58.679
Say for example, even a podcast like we're doing

00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:01.500
right now, I mean, from a podcast, you can make

00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:05.200
reels really quickly and simply. So it's still

00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.690
the videos and so on, but it's... adjusted to

00:17:08.690 --> 00:17:11.150
suit the platforms where attention span is a

00:17:11.150 --> 00:17:12.650
whole lot less, you know, and tick tock it might

00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:19.109
be a few seconds. I disagree with you because

00:17:19.109 --> 00:17:22.089
I still have a trouble making reels and videos

00:17:22.089 --> 00:17:24.549
off of it. It's not easy. It's easy for you to

00:17:24.549 --> 00:17:27.769
say it's easy, but it's not really easy. for

00:17:27.769 --> 00:17:31.049
other people. I find that's the interesting part.

00:17:31.269 --> 00:17:33.089
But the same thing with LinkedIn. Some people

00:17:33.089 --> 00:17:34.829
don't know LinkedIn. I'm like, OK, good. I'm

00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:36.750
good at LinkedIn, but not good at Reels. But

00:17:36.750 --> 00:17:38.789
I want to take this conversation in another direction

00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:41.230
if you don't mind. I would like for you to share

00:17:41.230 --> 00:17:43.710
a couple of things. I would like you to share

00:17:43.710 --> 00:17:48.210
the importance of how the viewers why you do

00:17:48.210 --> 00:17:51.390
not say yes when someone offers you a free website.

00:17:52.619 --> 00:17:56.279
Like I'll do your website for you for free. What

00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:58.859
should you do and where do you run away from?

00:17:59.140 --> 00:18:01.599
Like how far do you go? Yeah, well, that's a

00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:03.920
that's an interesting point So free can be very

00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:08.400
expensive when you when you think about it For

00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:10.460
a number of reasons and one of them being that

00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:14.099
if a website isn't Doing what it's intended to

00:18:14.099 --> 00:18:17.079
do and most of the time it's to generate business

00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:20.640
somehow So it might be either bringing in inquiries

00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:23.480
requesting quotes or it could be selling directly

00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:25.099
on the website, depends on the nature of the

00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:27.420
business. If it's not producing the outcome that

00:18:27.420 --> 00:18:30.700
it intended, whilst you had a free website, you're

00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:32.500
missing out on the opportunity of having a great

00:18:32.500 --> 00:18:35.319
website that does the very thing. So those opportunity

00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:38.700
costs, that's right off the bat. There's a cost

00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:41.960
there, opportunity cost, opportunities lost.

00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:45.579
So that's one thing, but also... People are in

00:18:45.579 --> 00:18:47.180
business to make money themselves and they need

00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:50.019
to be rewarded for that. So if someone's offering

00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:52.539
a free website, you've got to think through,

00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:55.559
okay, what's in it for them? Because realistically

00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:59.099
it needs to be a win -win for everybody. So the

00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:01.720
person receiving the service, but also the company

00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:04.079
needs to be rewarded somehow. So you've got to

00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:06.799
think through, okay, what's their real... reward

00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:08.940
in this because there's probably something hidden

00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:11.579
that you're not quite sure about. I've seen it

00:19:11.579 --> 00:19:14.259
a fair few times where people get a low, not

00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:17.220
a free website, but a low cost website, perceived

00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:21.819
to be low cost in the first instance. But there

00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:26.359
was a lady, for example, who built a fairly cheap

00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.279
website, but the cost per month was per page

00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.839
in a website. And so that was great when it was

00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:34.940
just five pages. It might have been $5 or $10.

00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.759
Per page per month sort of thing so much she

00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:40.420
might have even only had three or four pages

00:19:40.420 --> 00:19:43.460
to start with just the basic basic website But

00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:46.619
then she started to add news blog posts and so

00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:48.880
what she didn't realize is every time she added

00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.940
a new post They were charging an extra five dollars

00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:55.160
and so she was publishing weekly and so she did

00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:57.720
that for for a few years You can imagine what

00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:01.279
the cost per month escalated to be and the problem

00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.859
with that is it was building a proprietary software

00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:07.200
system so her website was she was locked into

00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:10.259
that so she couldn't just take her website elsewhere

00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:13.039
and have it um someone else look after it from

00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.380
there on it was built in proprietary software

00:20:15.380 --> 00:20:17.900
so she was locked in so these are part of the

00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:20.559
challenges that when you don't really kind of

00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:23.720
consider the true cost for the long term or the

00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:25.720
other factor is when you're building the proprietary

00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:28.299
software that seems low cost or free initially

00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:30.700
once you want to start adding new features and

00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:34.240
functions down the track And it always happens

00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:36.420
people build a website today and it does what

00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:38.440
they need it to do for the short term, but eventually

00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.440
things change. Online change is so fast. New

00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:42.799
opportunities. You want to introduce something

00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:45.000
new. If you're locked into the same provider

00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:47.500
to do the same thing, well, that's when you'll

00:20:47.500 --> 00:20:50.839
start to see that the costs really amplify because,

00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:53.180
you know, they know you're locked in and they've

00:20:53.180 --> 00:20:56.569
got you. they've got you cheap or free but now

00:20:56.569 --> 00:20:58.529
you're locked into a system and then that's when

00:20:58.529 --> 00:20:59.930
they start to make the money. Everyone needs

00:20:59.930 --> 00:21:02.089
to make money in business so just think that

00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:03.990
through and think about what the long -term costs

00:21:03.990 --> 00:21:06.509
are and the risks of missing out on opportunities

00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:09.589
as well. So you're locked in so wait let's go

00:21:09.589 --> 00:21:11.529
through that because now you're locked in so

00:21:11.529 --> 00:21:14.250
Wes I just want to like teach people why you

00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:15.950
don't do this because they're getting as many

00:21:15.950 --> 00:21:17.730
emails and thinking oh okay I'll have you do

00:21:17.730 --> 00:21:21.950
that. Okay I would not Yes, maybe I would give

00:21:21.950 --> 00:21:24.509
my keys to someone who would help me with my

00:21:24.509 --> 00:21:26.930
house and keeping it up to date. I would give

00:21:26.930 --> 00:21:30.289
my keys. But in essence, you're locked in and

00:21:30.289 --> 00:21:33.509
that person, what happens? How do you know the

00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:34.750
person that created it? What if they got hit

00:21:34.750 --> 00:21:38.029
by a bus? What if they ghosted you, which is

00:21:38.029 --> 00:21:41.349
so easy and you have a free website and they

00:21:41.349 --> 00:21:43.130
just took it on you and then they could sell

00:21:43.130 --> 00:21:45.170
it to someone else, your competition. Like, I

00:21:45.170 --> 00:21:47.529
don't understand why it's like, to me, that is

00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:52.019
such a huge threat to ever So I love your so

00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:53.400
you could tell you're such a nice guy because

00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:56.160
you're like thinking, you know, people and I

00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:58.420
do agree with you deserve through paid for what

00:21:58.420 --> 00:22:00.059
you're doing. But you're not like, I'm like the

00:22:00.059 --> 00:22:02.619
one that's going wait a second. People will steal.

00:22:02.819 --> 00:22:05.799
They'll take it from you. They can set up a credit

00:22:05.799 --> 00:22:07.500
card and people are thinking they're working

00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:11.819
with you. I mean, you if you find like, who knows,

00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:14.180
right? So I just think it's it's so much, it's

00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:18.240
just so much better to just say no, want to pay

00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:21.000
for my website. Yeah, well, that's true too.

00:22:21.099 --> 00:22:22.740
So that's another touch point that you mentioned.

00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:25.960
So the ownership of the site itself. So who owns

00:22:25.960 --> 00:22:29.420
it? And so I've seen it's it's rare, but I've

00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:32.319
seen instances where people have been paying

00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:35.299
a subscription fee for the website. But when

00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:38.839
they dig deep, the company who provided it says

00:22:38.839 --> 00:22:42.740
they own the website still. And so when when

00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:45.559
they do want to, you know, take it the content

00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:48.180
elsewhere, for example, they say, well, that

00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:51.859
was just on subscription model and so you don't

00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:54.759
own it and so all of that effort and ranked all

00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.920
the work you've done to try and rank really highly

00:22:56.920 --> 00:23:01.359
for the content so to show up in Google etc it's

00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.079
all potentially lost if someone else owns all

00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:06.880
the content so there's so many risks I mean you

00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.119
really want to own the site now that you don't

00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:13.240
own the software necessarily outright but there's

00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:18.029
open source software so that's open source software

00:23:18.029 --> 00:23:20.769
like WordPress. We build all our websites in

00:23:20.769 --> 00:23:23.829
WordPress. So the core of that is open for anyone

00:23:23.829 --> 00:23:28.089
to use and apply to their businesses. So we customise

00:23:28.089 --> 00:23:30.269
the design and create custom created designs.

00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:34.210
You do custom templates like I don't even know

00:23:34.210 --> 00:23:39.099
the right wording. Set up the themes and thanks.

00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:41.599
Yeah, so they set up the design and the theme

00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:44.319
According to their their brand and their style

00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.140
of what they want to do But there's software

00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.660
behind it that you can so you have word presses

00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:50.539
that like the core That's where it's built in

00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:53.180
but then there's plugins which add Features and

00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:54.960
functions that might be specific for a business

00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:57.799
and so some of that might be commercial But it

00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:00.480
might be from the software providers. It's usually

00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:03.539
generally pretty low cost as well, but the the

00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:05.859
beauty of building in a platform like WordPress,

00:24:06.140 --> 00:24:08.759
which is open sources. Say for example, if I

00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:11.079
did get hit by a bus and the business closed

00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:13.299
because it's found, the business is found a lead,

00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:16.980
it's me and a team, but you know, if I were to

00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:19.259
disappear, maybe the business would disappear

00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:22.779
as well. So you really want the ability to take

00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:26.079
your website to another provider or if you didn't

00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:27.960
like me for some reason, something went wrong.

00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:30.660
you know, hopefully wouldn't, but you've got

00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:32.960
that flexibility to take your website and take

00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.380
it to some other web developer who can further

00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:40.059
improve enhance change as well evolve. Yeah.

00:24:40.220 --> 00:24:41.859
And you don't ever want to look at yourself locked

00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:45.519
and trapped. I had to go daddy site, but I turned

00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:48.039
my two into websites. All right. There's a problem

00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:50.119
with this website right now. I just want to share

00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:53.680
with you. What's that? It's way too fascinating.

00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:58.160
It is ridiculous. I feel like I'm like, first

00:24:58.160 --> 00:24:59.720
of all, I'm like, wait, some of these guys, are

00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:02.019
they wearing something him right there? Wait,

00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:04.660
what if you fall? And then I'm like, it's, oh,

00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:07.400
it's not that far. This is fascinating. This

00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:10.220
is something you just want to keep. And I think

00:25:10.220 --> 00:25:14.579
it's on a loop, but wow. Yeah. So yeah, we're

00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:16.640
mostly for the construction industry. And that's

00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:18.779
why we've got that construction footage. But

00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:21.630
someone did point out to me. It doesn't meet

00:25:21.630 --> 00:25:24.269
the guys working on that side. Don't meet the

00:25:24.269 --> 00:25:27.210
Australian safety standards. I was wondering,

00:25:27.609 --> 00:25:30.910
I'm like, wait, think about it. I also, wow,

00:25:31.549 --> 00:25:34.430
the steel has gone up in price family. Okay.

00:25:34.769 --> 00:25:37.670
I, sorry guys, I want to show this. So now, you

00:25:37.670 --> 00:25:42.869
know, it's funny too. Can you share, Wes, how

00:25:42.869 --> 00:25:48.150
often should you, double check and do what is

00:25:48.150 --> 00:25:51.450
it called when you review your own website do

00:25:51.450 --> 00:25:53.329
your own like I can't think of the right word

00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:55.269
right now but that is so important because I

00:25:55.269 --> 00:25:57.470
will do this on stream here with people and I'm

00:25:57.470 --> 00:25:59.990
like oh this this link's not working this is

00:25:59.990 --> 00:26:02.109
an error this is this this is that they're like

00:26:02.109 --> 00:26:05.950
whoa but if that's happening and here you have

00:26:05.950 --> 00:26:08.450
me just being innocent and trying to like show

00:26:08.450 --> 00:26:10.690
it off and then all of a sudden like this morning

00:26:10.690 --> 00:26:12.430
I was trying to book a strategy call I'm like

00:26:12.430 --> 00:26:15.569
I can't I found it but it was, it was a little

00:26:15.569 --> 00:26:20.670
harder. So. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So the website

00:26:20.670 --> 00:26:22.849
maintenance, because things do change and it's

00:26:22.849 --> 00:26:25.349
sort of outside. There's my calendar book. I

00:26:25.349 --> 00:26:27.410
love your calendar. I want to show that for a

00:26:27.410 --> 00:26:29.710
second because I, I think that's, that's okay.

00:26:29.829 --> 00:26:31.190
So answer that question because I have, I have

00:26:31.190 --> 00:26:34.809
some questions. Yeah. Well things break. So that's

00:26:34.809 --> 00:26:37.730
the, the website maintenance, maintenance does

00:26:37.730 --> 00:26:40.329
become important for a couple of reasons, security.

00:26:40.569 --> 00:26:43.420
So there'll be security updates. but also performance

00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:46.380
updates and things that are outside your control

00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:48.759
so they you know people build a website and think

00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:51.539
they'll just leave it untouched for years you

00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:54.420
know to come but software changes and you know

00:26:54.420 --> 00:26:57.119
things become hackable so that's always an ongoing

00:26:57.119 --> 00:26:59.460
risk so you need to keep that the software updated

00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:02.420
for sure and and even browsers change as well

00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:05.099
so browsers like you might be in chrome i think

00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:08.390
it was or some of the others have their own little

00:27:08.390 --> 00:27:11.250
bugs that you have to work around. It's not the

00:27:11.250 --> 00:27:14.049
website's fault as such. It's the bug in the

00:27:14.049 --> 00:27:16.289
latest Chrome or... But it can break, right?

00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:18.109
It breaks, it breaks and then all of a sudden

00:27:18.109 --> 00:27:20.609
you're like... Yeah, it was working. So you should

00:27:20.609 --> 00:27:24.109
also audit as a word. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's

00:27:24.109 --> 00:27:25.690
it. From time to time you need to go through

00:27:25.690 --> 00:27:29.069
and audit the website and you do... The other

00:27:29.069 --> 00:27:31.630
thing too, some... oftentimes if you're blogging

00:27:31.630 --> 00:27:33.430
for example or you're creating news you might

00:27:33.430 --> 00:27:36.950
reference a link to other websites and they change

00:27:36.950 --> 00:27:39.210
their websites all of a sudden that link is broken

00:27:39.210 --> 00:27:42.769
because they have stuff around with their website.

00:27:43.569 --> 00:27:47.150
Oh man it's crazy the Australian government websites

00:27:47.150 --> 00:27:50.589
are notorious for it so some businesses need

00:27:50.589 --> 00:27:55.529
to reference the government sites for credibility

00:27:55.529 --> 00:27:59.059
credentials and all that sort of stuff. and they

00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:01.299
link through, but the government sites, they're

00:28:01.299 --> 00:28:03.200
a nightmare. They just keep changing things and

00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:05.619
things move and they're big and bloated and people

00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:07.259
can't find anything. So it's just a nightmare.

00:28:07.460 --> 00:28:09.680
You link through to the right spot and then it's

00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:12.000
broken all the time. So it's frustrating. So

00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:13.900
these things you need to keep on top of to make

00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:15.480
sure everything's linking through to the right

00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.180
places at the right time. So yeah, it's an ongoing

00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:22.440
challenge for, it keeps me in business in some

00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:26.200
ways and things need to keep evolving. So yeah.

00:28:26.809 --> 00:28:28.670
So if you're listening, we're on the website,

00:28:28.890 --> 00:28:32.450
I'm looking at, it's really fascinating. So Uplift360

00:28:32.450 --> 00:28:36.369
.com .au. And then I love it. And then you have

00:28:36.369 --> 00:28:39.430
your lead magnet, your construction marketing

00:28:39.430 --> 00:28:44.630
KPIs tracker, right? So get the checklist. Oh,

00:28:44.650 --> 00:28:48.029
let's just check it and see if it, yep. Oh, I

00:28:48.029 --> 00:28:50.529
love it. Oh, okay. I'm not gonna fill that out,

00:28:50.670 --> 00:28:54.150
but I love that. Okay, you have the bot here.

00:28:54.470 --> 00:29:00.839
Is this a real person? Yeah, I can't see it.

00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:03.940
It's just off my screen now. Yeah, it's a little

00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:07.619
like pop -up, but there's a high there. Yeah,

00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:10.519
the bot in that corner here. So that's AI driven

00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:14.319
as well. It'll answer basic questions, but its

00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:16.720
intent is to try and get a meeting booked. And

00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:20.920
so that's great. I've even got AI receptionist

00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:24.940
now answering phone calls. It's interesting.

00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:30.500
Yeah, I did it as an experiment really just because

00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:33.640
I felt as though I should be knowing about this

00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:35.420
sort of stuff being in the tech world and so

00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:37.640
on. And I thought I'd just leave it on for the

00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:39.579
short term just to see as an experience, see

00:29:39.579 --> 00:29:41.640
what would happen. But it worked really well.

00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:46.339
So it has a basic conversation finds out a person's

00:29:46.339 --> 00:29:50.039
needs. It'll put them straight through if it's

00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:53.519
obvious that it needs to be dealt with by humans

00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:58.140
straight away. I think that makes sense. Yeah,

00:29:58.420 --> 00:30:01.839
but it'll guide someone to book a meeting if

00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:05.480
they want a more substantial conversation as

00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:07.480
well. So it's been working really, really well.

00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:09.119
I thought there would be a lot of resistance

00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:12.319
to it. But the way I look at it is it's kind

00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:16.720
of a step forward from when you call up and he

00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:19.259
says, press one for blah, blah, blah, press two

00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:22.450
for blah, blah, blah. a step up from that because

00:30:22.450 --> 00:30:24.690
it's, you can just say, I want to speak to someone

00:30:24.690 --> 00:30:28.349
for a website audit, for example. And I'll say,

00:30:28.410 --> 00:30:30.049
oh, that's great. Would you like to book a meeting?

00:30:30.549 --> 00:30:33.390
And they might say, oh, no, I want to talk, can

00:30:33.390 --> 00:30:35.049
I talk to someone right away? And they'll say,

00:30:35.130 --> 00:30:37.390
yeah, sure. And then I'll put it through to me,

00:30:37.670 --> 00:30:40.369
usually. And you help put all that in. You make

00:30:40.369 --> 00:30:43.150
sure that as part of your package, you're putting

00:30:43.150 --> 00:30:45.529
all the questions that could be possibly asked

00:30:45.529 --> 00:30:51.599
into that. Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah, these systems

00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:54.640
are getting easier and easier to build out as

00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:59.599
well. So, I mean, AI receptionist isn't going

00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:01.960
to be suited to every industry and business,

00:31:02.259 --> 00:31:04.980
but I mean, I was looking at it from our client's

00:31:04.980 --> 00:31:08.579
perspective, more the smaller trades, contractors

00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:10.900
type businesses, they can't answer the phone

00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:13.980
lots of times if it's a small. So, you know,

00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:16.039
they might be busy on the tools. They can't answer.

00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:18.000
So the system like that, at least they're not

00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.299
missing the calls and they can deal with them

00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:22.660
appropriately when once they get off the tools

00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:26.220
and have time to do so. Got it. Okay. I'm nine

00:31:26.220 --> 00:31:28.940
remember just nine. My birthday is not for another

00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:33.140
year. Explain why you should have a privacy policy

00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:35.519
and how is it important? Is it not important?

00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:41.339
There's different legal requirements around the

00:31:41.339 --> 00:31:47.339
world. are required. So I just get the lawyer

00:31:47.339 --> 00:31:49.859
that I use to put mine together. But yeah, certainly

00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:52.720
it's a requirement for them, for nearly everyone

00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:56.440
in the world. Curiously enough, Australian law

00:31:56.440 --> 00:32:00.000
is a little bit easier with that kind of thing

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.980
than some other places. So we don't have to have

00:32:04.980 --> 00:32:09.539
a cookie's notification, which most of the world

00:32:09.539 --> 00:32:13.900
seems to need. Yeah, yeah. wait because privacy

00:32:13.900 --> 00:32:16.380
policy like years ago used to be like I remember

00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:18.619
saying well I don't I'm not collecting any emails

00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:21.039
from anyone why do I need a privacy policy I'm

00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:23.539
literally on purpose I'm trying to collect but

00:32:23.539 --> 00:32:25.779
then the cookies and they're not chocolate chip

00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:28.880
either those cookies so I saw that on your privacy

00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:32.960
policy so not needed in Australia but I think

00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:35.619
is that needed in the United States yeah just

00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:37.579
the different levels I think it's these things

00:32:37.579 --> 00:32:40.930
are needed so I mean Yeah, there's great ways

00:32:40.930 --> 00:32:43.269
that you can find a lot of these things, free

00:32:43.269 --> 00:32:46.609
templates as well that people can use. But yeah,

00:32:46.849 --> 00:32:50.869
the local country will guide exactly what you

00:32:50.869 --> 00:32:54.549
need. So it's something you just do and you want

00:32:54.549 --> 00:32:57.289
to be compliant in every area of business where

00:32:57.289 --> 00:33:01.609
you can. Sometimes there's challenges if people

00:33:01.609 --> 00:33:05.230
are using third -party platforms to house some

00:33:05.230 --> 00:33:09.750
of their information. And most of us use CRMs

00:33:09.750 --> 00:33:13.529
and so on and software that's online software.

00:33:13.890 --> 00:33:16.829
And so some of that privacy information needs

00:33:16.829 --> 00:33:19.650
to be considered as well. Who's got that information?

00:33:19.890 --> 00:33:22.750
Where's that database actually held and so on.

00:33:24.309 --> 00:33:27.130
So before we close, I want to ask you regarding.

00:33:28.760 --> 00:33:32.220
accessibility. Part of next week on the first

00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:35.400
day on the 14th at 5 p .m. Eastern time, we're

00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:40.859
having a panel of experts that are, I think,

00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:47.059
regarding accessibility on websites, making sure

00:33:47.059 --> 00:33:50.720
that it can be read by everyone, that there's

00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:54.400
a description. So how do you make sure, is that

00:33:54.569 --> 00:33:56.809
And I think that's a requirement here in the

00:33:56.809 --> 00:33:59.950
United States, like being ADA compliant. If I

00:33:59.950 --> 00:34:01.589
got the right wording, I can't wait to learn

00:34:01.589 --> 00:34:04.950
next week on the panel. But what about in Australia?

00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.650
What does that look like? Does it matter? Yeah,

00:34:08.750 --> 00:34:10.809
the accessibility. You should do it as just a

00:34:10.809 --> 00:34:13.590
general, as a good principle to follow anyway.

00:34:14.889 --> 00:34:20.070
It can be challenging. Even the words, I mean,

00:34:20.110 --> 00:34:22.690
you said a couple of times to explain it like

00:34:22.690 --> 00:34:26.869
you're nine years old, their accessibility oftentimes

00:34:26.869 --> 00:34:29.789
will even get down to the language in which you're

00:34:29.789 --> 00:34:34.489
using. So that's a really challenging point because

00:34:34.489 --> 00:34:37.329
they're wanting oftentimes, it depends on the

00:34:37.329 --> 00:34:40.610
nation you're in, to write in a way that anyone,

00:34:40.789 --> 00:34:44.309
even someone who's maybe impaired in some way,

00:34:44.750 --> 00:34:46.550
write it in a way that they would understand.

00:34:46.730 --> 00:34:48.469
And sometimes your business is quite complex.

00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:53.179
It's sometimes really difficult to meet all the

00:34:53.179 --> 00:34:55.699
required, like all the perceived requirements

00:34:55.699 --> 00:34:58.139
and even government departments don't meet the

00:34:58.139 --> 00:35:02.099
requirements. It's a real challenging part. But

00:35:02.099 --> 00:35:05.119
what I would say is you should build your website

00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:08.039
in an accessible manner so that visually impaired

00:35:08.039 --> 00:35:10.780
people can navigate it easily. For example, they

00:35:10.780 --> 00:35:13.500
should be able to tab through and have it audibly

00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:16.639
listened to. So images should have the alt text.

00:35:17.230 --> 00:35:19.369
There's short for alternative text. So what's

00:35:19.369 --> 00:35:24.329
the description of the image? Yeah, as we're

00:35:24.329 --> 00:35:27.730
as we're seeing AI roll out I think these things

00:35:27.730 --> 00:35:31.449
will become easier and easier to do Because the

00:35:31.449 --> 00:35:33.449
software and the tech will be so smart. It'll

00:35:33.449 --> 00:35:36.250
just it already have you have you received a

00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:39.010
photograph on have you got an iPhone or like

00:35:39.010 --> 00:35:45.090
a phone? So some of the time it doesn't seem

00:35:45.090 --> 00:35:47.550
to do it all the time but I noticed sometimes

00:35:47.550 --> 00:35:50.530
someone will send me a photograph and if I'm

00:35:50.530 --> 00:35:52.610
just listening it'll tell me what the photograph

00:35:52.610 --> 00:35:54.969
is while I'm driving in the car. It'll say it's

00:35:54.969 --> 00:35:57.809
a photo of a singer in a band and blah blah blah.

00:35:58.389 --> 00:36:00.809
That's phenomenal. So all that sort of tech is

00:36:00.809 --> 00:36:04.750
going to enhance the accessibility as it starts

00:36:04.750 --> 00:36:07.429
to evolve and roll out. It's going to all become

00:36:07.429 --> 00:36:11.590
simplified and easier for everyone to do. Okay,

00:36:11.670 --> 00:36:14.210
I have my last, last question, not my last, my

00:36:14.210 --> 00:36:18.489
last, last. I hear this all the time and it always

00:36:18.489 --> 00:36:21.030
confused me. I've been working on my website,

00:36:21.269 --> 00:36:24.150
it's six months ago. Six months later, we're

00:36:24.150 --> 00:36:26.369
still working on the website. And I'm like, wait,

00:36:27.070 --> 00:36:30.949
why do some people take so long to create a website?

00:36:31.369 --> 00:36:34.489
Like, what point is it because they're working

00:36:34.489 --> 00:36:37.889
a little bit on each website, but what's the

00:36:37.889 --> 00:36:40.849
average time? to put together a website or is

00:36:40.849 --> 00:36:42.570
there just no answer to that and you want to

00:36:42.570 --> 00:36:46.150
smack me in the face for even asking? Yeah it

00:36:46.150 --> 00:36:48.849
does it does vary a fair bit according to how

00:36:48.849 --> 00:36:51.750
busy we are at the time but generally speaking

00:36:51.750 --> 00:36:56.289
it's about four weeks normally the and it depends

00:36:56.289 --> 00:36:58.090
on who we're working with but oftentimes they'll

00:36:58.090 --> 00:37:00.789
produce their own content so they'll write it

00:37:00.789 --> 00:37:03.969
and usually that's the thing that's holding us

00:37:03.969 --> 00:37:06.829
back either the text or the photographs. Waiting

00:37:06.829 --> 00:37:10.019
for the customer. Yeah. So you just put Latin

00:37:10.019 --> 00:37:12.539
text in as the placeholder and build it out as

00:37:12.539 --> 00:37:15.059
best you can and placeholder images, for example.

00:37:15.659 --> 00:37:17.480
But so oftentimes you're just waiting because

00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:20.119
we're working with us. Generally, it's a slightly

00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:22.679
bigger company who's got a marketing person.

00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:24.960
So they're managing a whole bunch of stuff from

00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:27.699
their side. So it's a collaboration. So you're

00:37:27.699 --> 00:37:29.139
kind of waiting for them and they're waiting

00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:31.500
for us. And, you know, sometimes it takes more

00:37:31.500 --> 00:37:34.059
than the four weeks. But, you know, we had a

00:37:34.059 --> 00:37:40.030
website launched Tuesday. And it took just over

00:37:40.030 --> 00:37:42.489
a week simply because we did all the content

00:37:42.489 --> 00:37:44.730
writing for them. And we already had the photographs

00:37:44.730 --> 00:37:46.909
because they had them from their brochures. They

00:37:46.909 --> 00:37:49.090
just sent us a Dropbox and we just had everything.

00:37:49.429 --> 00:37:53.590
Interesting. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. So. Okay.

00:37:53.869 --> 00:37:59.050
One last, last. Why do they use Latin text? I

00:37:59.050 --> 00:38:01.510
don't know. Just for, it was always the, Lauren

00:38:01.510 --> 00:38:06.110
Ipsen. I don't know why. It just became the standard

00:38:06.110 --> 00:38:12.230
for placeholder text. Yeah, it was always what

00:38:12.230 --> 00:38:15.489
we used in uni as well. So it's just a just became

00:38:15.489 --> 00:38:18.190
the way of doing it. I don't know. I don't know.

00:38:18.250 --> 00:38:19.730
I think you should look it up and do a blog about

00:38:19.730 --> 00:38:23.469
it. Wait, that's an article right there somewhere.

00:38:23.650 --> 00:38:25.409
It's so funny because when you're a blog writer,

00:38:25.690 --> 00:38:27.469
when people are talking, I like to be like, wait,

00:38:27.690 --> 00:38:29.809
you just have to blog. You just wrote your own

00:38:29.809 --> 00:38:33.150
blog right there. It's really lovely, lovely,

00:38:33.289 --> 00:38:35.469
lovely. I'm going to just close this up so I

00:38:35.469 --> 00:38:40.030
can. say a proper goodbye. Wes, I really enjoyed

00:38:40.030 --> 00:38:41.969
speaking to you and you answered some questions

00:38:41.969 --> 00:38:45.409
that I had. And so do not, you guys pay for your

00:38:45.409 --> 00:38:48.750
website, go to a great company. See how, I literally

00:38:48.750 --> 00:38:51.429
just, I wanted Wes to like, I just wanted to

00:38:51.429 --> 00:38:54.650
stare at that and play that loop video, which

00:38:54.650 --> 00:38:58.769
is so cool. I absolutely love that. Wes, is there

00:38:58.769 --> 00:39:02.349
anything that I did not ask you that you would

00:39:02.349 --> 00:39:06.380
like to share before we say goodbye to you? It's

00:39:06.380 --> 00:39:08.599
been a fantastic conversation. I love the concept

00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:11.760
of no prep needed. So we took the conversation.

00:39:11.980 --> 00:39:13.199
I didn't know where we were going to go, but

00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:16.420
it's been a great interviewer and just about

00:39:16.420 --> 00:39:19.420
such a natural conversation. So it's super happy

00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:21.900
that you accepted me to be on the podcast and

00:39:21.900 --> 00:39:24.719
really thankful to share with the audience. Hopefully

00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:28.260
they got some value out of it. If you receive

00:39:28.260 --> 00:39:32.119
value, please send me feedback saying, just very

00:39:32.119 --> 00:39:36.050
simply, I liked it. because I'm nine. I'm just

00:39:36.050 --> 00:39:38.230
kidding around. Oh, well, sorry, I can't take

00:39:38.230 --> 00:39:41.690
the cabin out of me. So I will come to see you

00:39:41.690 --> 00:39:43.489
in Australia because that's always been a dream.

00:39:43.650 --> 00:39:46.570
That is my number one place I want to visit.

00:39:46.730 --> 00:39:48.889
Have you ever been to the United States? No,

00:39:49.030 --> 00:39:51.409
I'd love to. Definitely. And it's a big country,

00:39:51.510 --> 00:39:53.650
though, to visit, isn't it? They don't have to

00:39:53.650 --> 00:39:55.590
spend quite some time there, I think, to see

00:39:55.590 --> 00:40:01.010
everything east to west, north to south. So many.

00:40:01.389 --> 00:40:04.630
I live in florida. So I live in the peninsula.

00:40:05.869 --> 00:40:11.190
I think, boy, that's scary. I could drive like

00:40:11.190 --> 00:40:14.329
from where I am to the peninsula in about three

00:40:14.329 --> 00:40:18.130
hours. So the sunset and the sun rise over the

00:40:18.130 --> 00:40:20.329
ocean in one day, which is pretty amazing. So

00:40:20.329 --> 00:40:23.710
there's like these sunset tours. Just zip right

00:40:23.710 --> 00:40:26.429
over and say a load of Disney on the way. Do

00:40:26.429 --> 00:40:29.289
you have a park? Is there a park in Australia?

00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:33.400
Does Disney have a park? Does Walt Disney World

00:40:33.400 --> 00:40:37.059
have a park now? We have movie, no we have similar

00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:41.420
things movie world and other theme parks but

00:40:41.420 --> 00:40:44.559
nothing quite the same as at the scale of what

00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:48.099
you have there. But yeah I just want to say the

00:40:48.099 --> 00:40:51.179
US obviously is a massive influence on us as

00:40:51.179 --> 00:40:55.360
a small nation Australia and so yeah we learn

00:40:55.360 --> 00:40:58.969
a lot, we watch you guys all the time on on the

00:40:58.969 --> 00:41:02.349
television and YouTube and such an influence

00:41:02.349 --> 00:41:05.369
on the world. So, and great allies and partners

00:41:05.369 --> 00:41:07.949
for Australians. We really respect and appreciate

00:41:07.949 --> 00:41:13.050
you guys. Yeah, I appreciate that. And we, I

00:41:13.050 --> 00:41:15.550
think that we all love Australia. I just get

00:41:15.550 --> 00:41:17.110
like, oh my God, what are you thinking about

00:41:17.110 --> 00:41:19.889
us there? But that's for another topic, another

00:41:19.889 --> 00:41:25.039
conversation. Come live and remember. Come on

00:41:25.039 --> 00:41:28.039
chatter social and and share because there are

00:41:28.039 --> 00:41:31.400
a lot of developers up on there and And the construction

00:41:31.400 --> 00:41:34.360
industry a lot, but I really enjoyed you by the

00:41:34.360 --> 00:41:36.559
way I'm just gonna do a shout out to West Towers

00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:40.320
number one on POD badge up on the ranking that

00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:42.599
one is actually really really huge so you don't

00:41:42.599 --> 00:41:45.460
sleep and Is that your are you is that you're

00:41:45.460 --> 00:41:48.420
guessing or if you're is that how many of your

00:41:48.420 --> 00:41:50.980
interviews you've done? Yeah, I'm just a guest.

00:41:51.139 --> 00:41:53.119
I'm not a host at this stage, but I would like

00:41:53.119 --> 00:41:56.559
to So I learned the craft a little bit more of

00:41:56.559 --> 00:41:59.280
just that accepting it any anyone who will have

00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:02.000
me on the podcast. He didn't mean that. He didn't

00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:03.719
mean that. He didn't mean anyone. He meant all

00:42:03.719 --> 00:42:06.679
of those that are like Adrian that run a really

00:42:06.679 --> 00:42:09.179
cool podcast. Then he accepts that. Not all of

00:42:09.179 --> 00:42:13.300
you. I'm just kidding. Not anyone. Just a special

00:42:13.300 --> 00:42:15.670
one. Anyways, thank you so much. Yeah, I love

00:42:15.670 --> 00:42:18.170
this format. I have to do things differently.

00:42:18.429 --> 00:42:21.369
I cannot do the same thing. I don't know if it's

00:42:21.369 --> 00:42:23.670
because I grew up in the branding industry, promotional

00:42:23.670 --> 00:42:27.000
products. But for me, everything has to be uniquely

00:42:27.000 --> 00:42:30.880
different no matter what it is. And I shine when

00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:33.179
I was with Muscular Dystrophy Association. I

00:42:33.179 --> 00:42:34.940
used to do all kinds of events that like nobody

00:42:34.940 --> 00:42:37.340
ever heard of because I get underwater monopoly

00:42:37.340 --> 00:42:39.760
marathon. I just like doing things differently.

00:42:40.179 --> 00:42:42.840
But I think that you do too, when it comes to

00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:44.519
websites, you're doing something that's really

00:42:44.519 --> 00:42:46.460
beautiful and hitting like, I look, you have

00:42:46.460 --> 00:42:49.679
the magnet, you have like all the key and everything

00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:52.820
is where it should be. I, the only thing I thought

00:42:52.820 --> 00:42:56.590
was interesting is that you have your clients

00:42:56.590 --> 00:43:01.030
above the magnet. And I would be like, oh, maybe

00:43:01.030 --> 00:43:03.510
you should have the magnet more visible and then

00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:05.730
the clients underneath there. But on the other

00:43:05.730 --> 00:43:08.349
hand, you don't really want to take any advice

00:43:08.349 --> 00:43:11.409
from me because my website looks like a five

00:43:11.409 --> 00:43:14.949
year old did it. So, but that's it. But I love

00:43:14.949 --> 00:43:17.110
it. You guys go in and get that KPI checklist

00:43:17.110 --> 00:43:20.389
because that's awesome. And thank you, Wes, have

00:43:20.389 --> 00:43:25.019
a great rest of the evening, right? No, it's

00:43:25.019 --> 00:43:27.800
morning. Yeah. Morning. Yeah. Seven, seven, 38

00:43:27.800 --> 00:43:32.840
a .m. right now. Is it? What day are we? Are

00:43:32.840 --> 00:43:35.860
you Thursday? The night. Yeah. Thursday. Yeah.

00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:40.360
That's so weird. That's so weird. Yeah. It's

00:43:40.360 --> 00:43:42.460
a, it's a call to the future. We're coming to

00:43:42.460 --> 00:43:47.219
you from the future. Unbelievable. Okay. Thank

00:43:47.219 --> 00:43:48.880
you, Wes. I could talk to you forever. Thank

00:43:48.880 --> 00:43:50.880
you. Have a great rest of the day. Let me just

00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:52.239
tell you the steps. This is going to be turned

00:43:52.239 --> 00:43:56.829
into a podcast. And then it may be a book, my

00:43:56.829 --> 00:43:59.849
next publishing book. See how thick it is? Beautiful

00:43:59.849 --> 00:44:04.289
manuscript. So I turn the episodes into a manuscript.

00:44:04.750 --> 00:44:06.090
All right, have a great rest of the day. Thank

00:44:06.090 --> 00:44:08.150
you for letting me blast so much. I love talking

00:44:08.150 --> 00:44:11.909
to you. Five stars. Thank you. Bye -bye.