How I Got Hacked

Did you know I play music? Jazz Piano and Singing specifically and I’m actually pretty good at it (if I do say so). It’s not just me saying that, I’ve won awards and everything. This is actually how I became a Website and Digital Automation guy.

I’ve had a thousand gigs and travelled the world with music. Some gigs have been big – some very small. In fact I remember one night years ago, I played a massive main stage festival gig to 10,000 people – a screaming sea of heads loving every moment of it… then I drove from that gig straight to an 80th birthday where they asked me to play in a different room (away from guests) on an out of tune piano. I learnt humility quickly – that’s for sure!

Anyway… I had an idea to start a music lesson website almost 20 years ago. The website alone cost me my life savings – $20,000. If I wanted to update it I had to pay an extra $100 for every change. But that didn’t matter… because the website got hacked anyway – only 6 months in.  I was devastated. Turns out the developer had saved a file in the root directory called ‘passwords.txt’ and it was visible to the world. I lost absolutely everything and needed to start again. My second website cost a lot less. Only $5,000. It lasted only 1 year before it got hacked.

I was out of money so I did something that many people only learn out of necessity, something daring, something radical… I learnt to code. I quickly learnt that to have a successful website I would also need to learn photoshop, illustrator and some design skills. Then I needed to figure out some marketing, and lead generation, systems, software, don’t forget sales, oh yeah – accounting, etc, etc.  Any small business owner will understand they need to wear a lot of hats.  I have had a lot of opportunities to learn lessons over the past 20 years, some huge wins, and some crushing defeats. All making me stronger and helping me understand how all the pieces fit together.

My approach to business and life is a real no BS approach. I talk openly and truthfully about everything and am able to find solutions that are a win/win for everybody. I don’t like ‘breaking the bank’ and usually find ways with new clients to stage the work so that we can get quick wins… start getting some return on the investment, then it makes sense to proceed to the next piece of work.

I find creating websites that are both visually appealing and technically powerful is much like a music concert. For over 15 years I have been designing digital and web solutions and have been a professional jazz and concert musician for even longer. Having a deep understanding of every instrument and element and how they inter-relate is the key for both a high functioning website and a performance that engages and inspires.

If you are in contact with somebody who needs to get more leads from their website – then there’s a stack of ways to get in contact with me:

[email protected]
+61 408 705 939

Book a time to talk with this tool I use.

I love automation!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I really do appreciate it. Please feel free to reach out if you have a questions, in need of advice, or simply want to chat. You can also leave a comment below!

Talk soon.
Dave