Jason Robie is a web designer based in Fort Collins, Colorado. At Mad Cow Web, he supports clients with custom website design, plugins, and web apps to help make your website life run smooothly 
Although there are often similarities, every business origin story is unique—from starting a nights-and-weekends side hustle that grows slowly but surely, to the diving-in-full-time-with-both-feet startup approach. What is the Mad Cow origin story?
JASON ROBIE: I had been helping a friend work on a WordPress website. Super basic stuff like content changes, etc. Since college, I've always loved working on computers so it was a great fit. Fast forward a few months later and the same friend calls me out of the blue. He says "I'm leaving my business, moving to Virginia and opening a health food store. Do you want to buy my company?"
Since I had just built a house, I was super broke. He agreed to take a commission on the income for the first six months and then the company was mine. I would never, in a million years, have been able to quit my job and take that leap without an existing customer-base.
Based on how you've seen the web design industry evolve, what advice would you give to someone starting a career in web design today?
JASON ROBIE: Pick a lane. When we started, we were doing SEO, Social Media Management, and web design. After a few months, I realized, not only do I have zero interest in those other two verticals, it is literally impossible to "keep up" with all three. I also found that I really enjoyed the PHP/code side of things. I decided to really lean into that area.
Pick a lane. After a few months, I realized it is literally impossible to "keep up" with [every discipline]. I also found that I really enjoyed the PHP/code side of things. I decided to really lean into that area.
What would you say is the most important lesson that running your own business has taught you?
JR: It is worth it. It is worth the financial stress, the wildly inconsistent income, the worry about the "next project", etc. For me (and apparently my personality type) having the freedom to push on the proverbial gas or sit back a little is worth everything. I only wish I would have "really" learned that sooner. I'm only now, 12 years in, taking Fridays off to go skiing or hiking or cycling. I'm finally realizing that we are not doing brain surgery. 
I do not need to be chained to my desk 24-7.
How do you go about goal setting at Mad Cow - is it a specific and organized process, or something more loose and intuitive? What do you do if you don’t achieve a goal?
JR: I've never set any goals other than to maintain the business. I know that is not how you're supposed to do it.
Your company recently launched the JustRightCRM—a super simple CRM for solopreneurs—after your search for the perfect lightweight CRM mainly turned up systems that were too complicated for your own needs.
When, during that process, did you shift from searching for a product, to “Hey, maybe I should just build this.”? What do you consider the most important steps in your market research & product dev process?
JASON ROBIE: I fear I'm going to have a bad answer for this one as well. It is true that all of the CRMs I found were just wildly complicated. I realized that all I really needed was a pretty basic rolodex. ( For those of you reading this who are under 40, you'll have to Google that one!)
The most important factor in this decision was that I had previously built three or four very basic Laravel apps. None of them actually worked or went to production, but the creation process was incredibly valuable. I also worked with a partner who was the "lead" on a Laravel project and learned a ton from that experience as well. As I noted before, I love working on computers and "creating" things, so creating a CRM was an obvious next step.
How did you find (or more accurately, make) the time to build a CRM amongst the demands of day-to-day work + life? Was there anything you had to stop doing, or hit pause on, to have the bandwidth?
JR: For better or worse, Mad Cow Web's workload over the holidays that year was incredibly quiet. I basically spent 4-6 weeks in the office working on not much more than the CRM. I was very fortunate to have that time and I think it was a good (quiet) time for many of my clients as well, hence the lack of business.
What are the other work tool essentials that keep you productive, creative, or sane (digital products/services you wished you discovered, or existed, earlier in your career—or even things you built for yourself)?
JASON ROBIE: I think getting a more solid grasp on hosting and DNS would have been a great skill to have tackled early on. Beyond that (as far as tools) I don't really use anything that helps me maintain sanity. Honestly, the absolute best "essential" is getting the hell away from the computer.
Folks have tried to incorporate Slack, Trello, Asana, etc. and I have found they all certainly have their place, but none are "silver bullets". If you are going to grow beyond 2-3 people, you will absolutely need something that keeps everyone on the same page. With just myself and maybe one or two occasional contractors, they seem to muddy the waters.
I can work with a Google Doc or Sheet and be just as organized as implementing all those boards, etc. with all of those paid services.
What is a skill you have that you don't consider a typical "resume skill," but which has contributed to your success in a meaningful way?
JR: I tend to be pretty easy going and have always treated my clients as though they are very important. We all know that notion gets lost as soon as a company grows too large. My clients know they can call or email and they will hear back from me, a real human with a real solution.
LIGHTNING ROUND
How often do you get new ideas?
NEVER
coming up with new ideas is a challenge
ALWAYS
my brain is always overflowing with new ideas
How hard is it for you to follow through on your ideas and make them happen?
SUPER HARD
I have to force myself to follow through on things
SUPER EASY
I love carrying out tasks and completing things
What does your work-life balance look like right now?
...WHAT LIFE?
I live at work!
I NEVER WORK
I struggle to sit down and get work done.
What’s the #1 thing you recommend outsourcing so that you can focus on the parts of your business that really light you up?
JR: I never have done this, but I would love, love, love to dump all of the accounting crap. It's not THAT much (by percentage of my actual work) but I really don't like it one bit.
What’s your favorite non-work thing right now?
JR: Cycling and skiing. It's been a great winter for both here in Colorado.
CLOSING: Any other thoughts or tips you’d like to share with fellow business owners & entrepreneurs?
JR: Congrats on doing it! You are in the minority and you should be proud of yourself for taking the risk. YAY US! 🙂
Thank you, Jason, for being generous with your time and sharing your perspective and advice!
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