Meet Jason Cyr | Web Developer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Cyr and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I moved to Marietta in 2011 from Park City, Utah where I had some pretty awesome jobs, but none of them really translated well on my resume. I was struggling to convince people to bring me in for interviews with an 8 year gap in my resume where I was, for all intents and purposes, a ski bum! I found myself 3 interviews deep with an IT company in downtown Atlanta and was feeling really confident that I’d get an offer, but I had some concerns about the commute and quality of life that would come with the position.

My wife and I got married during this interview process which spanned several weeks. I had built a few websites for her (a professional artist by trade) and while on a hike in the middle of the Idaho backcountry (where we honeymooned) she said I should start my own business as a web developer. I had never considered starting my own business but that started the conversation and with her full support I turned down what eventually became and offer from the IT company and went all in with my business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m a website developer and designer that works exclusively with a platform called WordPress. I’ve had clients all over the world and all across the US in the 10+ years I’ve been running my business. What really sets me apart from my competitors is that I’m *not* an agency, I’m one guy and I intentionally take on very little work at any one time so each client is getting 100% of my attention. Often times I will get clients who have worked with large agencies who haven’t had a great experience, all while spending a lot of money and energy for something that wasn’t built the way they wanted it to be. or not getting the results they were told they’d get. I’ve built a great network of other local freelancers that I’ll bring in as needed such as copywriters, logo designers, photographers, etc. but the client is always working with me directly.

My years of professional (and non-professional) work before I started this business have been either through project management, event management or customer support. I’ve learned to talk less and listen more…my clients have a problem and are looking for me to help guide them to a solution. I’ve adopted a phrase from Donald Miller (author of the Storybrand Framework): “If you confuse, you lose.” This is true in how I run my business AND how I develop and build websites for my clients as well.

I’ve been so blessed to grow my business nearly every year with little to no advertising…I absolutely do not practice what I preach to my clients when it comes to marketing lol. Nearly every one of my clients has come to me as a referral from an existing client, which I think speaks volumes as to the type of relationships I’ve built over the years. And I think this is the most important thing for people starting their own business, build relationships. Every success I’ve had in my business is because of the relationships I’ve built.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First off, I live about a mile away from Marietta Square and right next to Kennesaw mountain, so while not in the city it’s a fantastic place to take family and friends. My wife is born and raised here and I love the people, the food and the businesses on the Square. I love dk gallery (where my wife is a featured artist), the Strand Theatre and Sugarcakes Patisserie. Marietta always has something fun going on at the Square too, this city does a fantastic job of hosting festivals, concerts and more.

If I’m not taking them to the north Georgia mountains (where my family spends a lot of time) I’m taking them to some of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta such as Cape Dutch (one of the few places I’ve found that serves Elk meat which is my favorite meat ever), Local Three and MF Sushi. We love the Botanical Gardens and visiting the shops at Ponce City Market.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I 100% have to give a shoutout to my wife. She was so supportive in our decision to start this business, especially since it was in an industry where I really didn’t have any experience. My brother gave me some great advice that he received when getting his MBA: You’re either in or out when starting a business, you can’t have one foot in and one foot out while expecting to be successful. I was blessed that my wife understood this and that the business wasn’t going to be a success overnight.

I also need to give a shoutout to the web designers and developers in the Atlanta area that I met early on in this journey. I’ll never forget going to my first Meetup.com group here in our area and meeting another developer named Mickey Mellen. Mickey is a partner at a small agency here in Marietta and kind of took me under his wing when I was starting out, showing me how he works and just being very inviting towards someone who would ultimately become a competitor in the local industry. There’s plenty of work to be had and he’s always been a great friend and colleague so that resonated with me and I try to pay it forward with any aspiring developers I’ve met along the way.

Email Address: jason@jasoncyrdesign.com

Image Credits
Headshot is by Ben Rollins