Stop offering EVERYTHING! 🔗 **Source:** [Stop offering EVERYTHING!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&si=3prd1uGYgffBpsXK) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: > - #service-design > - #positioning > - #webdesign > Author: Imran Siddiq (Web Squadron) > Source: YouTube — Imran Siddiq – Web Squadron > Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8 > date created: 2025-09-07 20:49 > > # 🏷️ Title: Stop offering EVERYTHING! (Focus, Trust, and Value in Web Services) > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [🧮 Logical validity, Fallacies, & 🛡️ DARVO](#-logical-validity-fallacies--️-darvo) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: Include a list of sources consulted and cited in the article. --- ## 📝 Summary **Thesis:** Narrow your service menu to what you’re genuinely skilled at and enjoy. Trust comes from competence, flexibility, and responsive communication. **Why now:** AI and low-cost tools make generic add-ons (e.g., quick logos) a race to the bottom. Overpromising erodes credibility. **How:** Sell only services you can deliver well and edit on demand; use tools as accelerators, not crutches; communicate limits up front. **Where in the video:** framing ([00:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=5)), AI/Canva pitfalls ([00:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=40)), trust risk ([02:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=152)), “offer what you can change” rule ([03:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=186)), revisit your menu ([04:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=260)). --- ## 📖 Main Content **Position:** Specialize. Do fewer things, better. **Evidence/examples:** - Many web designers tack on branding/logo work via Canva or AI generators. Those assets break under change requests (resizing, vector edits), revealing limits and damaging trust ([00:40–01:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=40)). - Tool-only outputs invite direct price competition with Fiverr/Upwork/Midjourney. Clients compare you to tools when your offer is tool-equivalent ([01:51–02:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=111)). - The differentiator is editability, responsiveness, and value—not the presence of a tool ([03:06–03:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=186)). **Takeaway:** Productize what you can truly customize. If you can’t modify it on request, don’t sell it. --- ### 🗒️ Notes - 🔹 **Start with honesty about scope** ([00:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=5)) - ✅ Ask: *Do I enjoy and excel at each service I list?* - ✅ Ask: *Can I fulfill any promised change request without excuses?* - 🔹 **Logo/branding pitfall** ([00:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=40)–[01:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=102)) - ⚠️ Canva/AI generators can yield non-unique marks; clients risk duplicate motifs. - ⚠️ Outputs may lack vector originals or high-res variants (van wraps, signage). - ⚠️ Editing constraints (e.g., “remove index finger from icon”) reveal tool limits. - 🔹 **Trust is the currency** ([02:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=152)) - 📉 Overpromise → fail to edit/scale → credibility loss. - 🧩 Clients will try an AI tool if you can’t deliver; you lose positioning. - 🔹 **Competition reality** ([01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=111)) - 🌍 You compete with marketplaces and models for tool-level tasks. - 💡 Win on service depth: discovery, iterations, strategy, training. - 🔹 **Tools ≠ skills** ([03:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=200)) - 🛠️ Elementor/Bricks etc. are fine as accelerators if you can still hand-finish. - 🧪 Rule of thumb: *If you can’t recreate it from scratch, don’t sell it.* - 🔹 **Service menu checkup** ([04:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=260)) - ✂️ Remove “winging it” offers. - 🔁 Keep offers you can support with edits, variants, and ongoing care. - 🧭 Position around outcomes: conversion, performance, accessibility, maintainability. --- ## 📖 References - Video: **Stop offering EVERYTHING!** — Imran Siddiq (Web Squadron), YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8 - Channel home (author verification): https://www.youtube.com/%40websquadron - Playlist context (series positioning): https://www.youtube.com/%40websquadron/videos --- ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - ✍️ **Original idea:** “Offer only what you’re damn good at; AI tools make generic add-ons a trust risk.” **Paraphrase:** Restrict your services to your proven strengths, because tool-level work is easily replaced and breaks client confidence. - ✍️ **Original idea:** “Use tools to achieve outcomes you can still change on request.” **Paraphrase:** Let tools speed you up, but keep the craftsmanship to revise, resize, and refine any deliverable on demand. --- ## 📰 Newsletter **Headline:** Niche your menu. Grow your trust. **Blurb:** This week’s quick hit: only sell what you can edit, scale, and stand behind. Imran Siddiq’s **“Stop offering EVERYTHING!”** makes the case that tool-level add-ons (e.g., quick logos) invite price wars and broken promises. Instead, specialize in offers you can modify on demand and package your value around outcomes—performance, accessibility, and conversions. **Links:** Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8 • WP Dev Docs: https://developer.wordpress.org/ • Training Team: https://make.wordpress.org/training/ • Plugin handbook: https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/ • Plugin picks: Query Monitor (debug) https://wordpress.org/plugins/query-monitor/ , Performance Lab (perf tools) https://wordpress.org/plugins/performance-lab/ --- ## ✅ Action Items - 🧭 **Advocacy review prompt (paste into each article brief):** *“Explain how this content advances open-source advocacy, contributor engagement, and education within WordPress. Map lessons to Training Team pathways, onboarding checklists, and Five for the Future. Propose one contributor-friendly workshop or lab, one measurable KPI for community health, and one OSPO-grade governance improvement that increases transparency and inclusion.”* - 🧰 **Service menu refactor:** - Audit current offers; tag: *core*, *adjacent*, *retire*. - Remove offers you can’t edit/recreate from scratch within SLA. - Publish a plain-language *What’s included/What’s not* policy. - 📊 **Trust metrics:** - Track post-delivery change-request success rate, response time, and rework minutes. - Add “editable deliverables” checklist to SOWs. - 🧑‍🏫 **Education assets:** - Create a 60-minute workshop: “From menu bloat to productized services.” - Ship checklists: editable logo spec, image export matrix, block theme change log. - 🧩 **OSPO trajectory:** - Define contributor-role service tiers (docs, triage, testing, mentoring). - Publish transparent recognition policy; collect metrics for quarterly public report. - 🤝 **Community:** - Pair new contributors with maintainers for “first change request” drills. - Promote sustainable funding experiments tied to measurable maintainer time. --- ## 🧪 Hypotheses - **H1:** Narrower, skill-true service menus increase NPS and repeat business. - **H2:** “Editable deliverables” SLAs reduce refund/chargeback rates. - **H3:** Publishing clear limits (what’s in/out) shortens project lead time. - **H4:** Specialist positioning yields higher effective hourly rate than generalist menus. --- ### 📊 Methodology - **Design:** Multi-team A/B over 12 weeks. - **Groups:** Control (broad menus) vs. Treatment (specialized + editability SLA). - **Data:** Win rate, average project margin, change-request success, cycle time, NPS/CSAT. - **Analysis:** Difference-in-differences on margins and NPS; logistic regression for refund risk; survival analysis on client retention. --- ### ❓ Questions - Where is the tipping point between useful breadth and menu bloat? ([00:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=5)) - What editability guarantees matter most to clients—format, vector, or turnaround? ([01:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=72)) - How should we price “change-friendly” deliverables without racing to the bottom? ([02:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=152)) --- ### 🔮 Future Research - Build a taxonomy of *service editability* and its effect on trust and LTV. - Compare outcomes for “tool-only” vs. “tool + craftsmanship” workflows. - Test productized service SKUs with explicit change budgets and outcomes. --- ### 💡 Implications - **Practice:** Clear, focused menus improve scoping and delivery. - **Policy:** Standardize export requirements (SVG/PNG/print) and change SLAs. - **Ecosystem:** Better positioning reduces client churn and strengthens referrals. --- ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment - **Reading level:** ~Grade 8–9. Short, direct sentences. 1) **Visual** - **Present:** Demonstrative examples verbally; minimal on-screen visuals. - **Improve:** Add slides or overlays showing good/bad logo specs and export matrices. 2) **Aural** - **Present:** Spoken narrative throughout. - **Improve:** Provide a downloadable audio summary with chapter markers. 3) **Verbal** - **Present:** Concrete examples; plain language. - **Improve:** Add concise analogies (menu engineering, technical debt). 4) **Kinesthetic** - **Present:** None explicitly. - **Improve:** Include a worksheet: list your offers → strike non-editable ones. 5) **Logical** - **Present:** Cause/effect of overpromising → trust loss. - **Improve:** Provide a decision tree for “sell vs. refer.” 6) **Social** - **Present:** Community-oriented framing. - **Improve:** Add prompts for peer review of service menus. 7) **Solitary** - **Present:** Reflective questions on competence/enjoyment. - **Improve:** Add journaling prompts and a private scorecard. 8) **Naturalistic** - **Present:** Not applicable. - **Improve:** Use “garden pruning” metaphor for menu clean-up. --- ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment - **Screen Reader:** Use semantic headings in description; meaningful link text. - **Captions:** Ensure accurate auto-captions; upload edited subtitles. - **Keyboard Navigation:** Provide chapter timestamps in description for quick jumps. - **Contrast/Readability:** High-contrast thumbnail text; avoid tiny fonts. - **Text Resizing:** Ensure description uses short paragraphs and lists; no ASCII art. - **Alt Text:** Describe thumbnail elements in the description for context. --- ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment - **Cultural relevance:** Advice is general; avoid assuming Western pricing norms. - **Inclusive language:** Maintain neutral phrasing; avoid shaming newcomers. - **Neurodiversity:** Break steps into lists; minimize idioms. - **Representation:** Use diverse examples when showcasing “good” deliverables. - **Psychological safety:** Emphasize learning and referral over blame. --- ## 🧮 Logical validity, Fallacies, & 🛡️ DARVO **Tone of voice:** Direct, informal, slightly provocative; humor and vivid metaphors. **Positive reasoning:** - ✅ **Causal reasoning:** Overpromising + uneditable assets ⇒ trust loss ([02:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=152)). Clear mechanism. - ✅ **Analogical support:** Tools as helpers vs. crutches ([03:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=200)) clarifies boundary conditions. - ✅ **Ethical reasoning:** Put client trust first; only sell honest strengths. **Potential fallacies (minor) & fixes:** - ⚠️ **Hasty generalization:** “Many designers use Canva/AI for logos” may overgeneralize. - *Fix:* Cite data or frame as anecdotal: “I’ve seen cases…” - ⚠️ **Appeal to fear:** Graphic “mess hits your face” metaphor pushes anxiety. - *Fix:* Replace with measured risk language and outcomes. - ⚠️ **False dilemma (hinted):** Implies a binary between “tool-logos” vs “craft logos.” - *Fix:* Acknowledge hybrid workflows that remain editable (e.g., AI-assisted vectors). **🛡️ DARVO Analysis:** - **Deny:** No denial of wrongdoing. The speaker acknowledges tool use can be fine when you can still edit ([03:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=200)). - **Attack:** No personal attacks on specific individuals; criticism targets practices (generic logos) ([00:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8&t=40)). - **Reverse Victim/Offender:** Not present; clients are not framed as offenders. The message centers on designer accountability. **Conclusion:** No DARVO pattern. The rhetoric urges professional boundaries and transparency. --- ## 🎯 Conclusion Specialization signals confidence and protects trust. Sell work you can adjust on demand; let tools speed you up without defining your value. Trim your menu, state limits, and position around outcomes clients feel—performance, accessibility, conversion, and care. <!-- deep-read:sections end --> ## 📺 Video  --- # 📄 Full Transcript *Auto-generated from YouTube captions · timestamps roughly every 30 seconds · [watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amSKQsLADo8)* **[00:00]** How many of you actually enjoy everything that you advertise? So, how much of what you put out there do you actually enjoy working and doing? And how confident would you say that when you say you can do something, you actually can do it? And an example I'm going to make is I've seen a lot of web designers and developers, they also offer like branding, they also offer like logo design. But then when it comes to logos, when they're asked when someone sees, oh, you're a logo **[00:30]** designer, can you do my logo? Or they're working with a client who wants a website and they haven't got a logo and they go, "Yeah, I'll do it for you. You know, an extra 30 quid or I'll do it for free or whatever." A lot of them use Canva or an AI logo generator or you know one of these logo generation websites. H you put the name in and it gives you a circle with an arrow and they go and use that and the client does not realize sometimes that they're using a generic logo that someone else could be using. It might be a different **[01:01]** company name company name but the logo or the imagery is kind of the same. And even with Canva, you'll design it and then when the client then says, "I need a bigger resolution because I want to stick it on my van. I've gone and bought Stark Tower Avengers building and I need that big A now at the top of the tower." You're then like, "Oh, can't get a big resolution for that. Oh, we're a bit restricted." Or the client says, "Okay, you gave me this logo, but you see **[01:32]** inside of the logo, you've got like um a hand. Can you get rid of the index finger of the hand? And you're like, uh, no. Because that's what it was like in Canva. My advice to people, only say you're going to provide a service if you know you are damn good at that service. And some of you will disagree with me on this. with AI and all of the solutions and free things that people can find everywhere around the world, you are now in competition against uh Fiverr, **[02:05]** Upwork, Midjourney, AI, loads of tools out there. So, when you say, "Yeah, I can design a logo," but you're actually just using like clip art stuff, you're in competition against other products. And when a client sees that you can't meet their request because now they want you to change that logo but you can't proper change it and they find an AI product that can you've lost their trust. So what I'm getting at this **[02:35]** entire conversation right now is actually about your trust. So that's why I've said what are your services? What do you enjoy? What are you offering? And how much of what you offer do you are you actually confident you can deliver? If you can't deliver on something you say you offer, you're going to lose their trust. What you really want to do to build longlasting partnerships and relationships that last for the future, especially in the world we're in right now with AI creeping into all of our industries, right? Is you need to offer **[03:06]** services you can do today. If they ask you to change it, you can change it and you can provide better value, communication, response, and reactiveness to what the client wants. So, if there's anything you're doing at the moment, right? Anything you're doing where you're actually just using another tool to do it, but you can't actually do it. I know you're going to say, "Yeah, but when it comes to web design, you're just using Elementor. You're just using **[03:36]** Briggs. You're just using a plugin. you can't do it yourself. You're using a tool, that's very different. You're using the tool to help achieve something. But when you just use like an AI logo generator or you just get an icon off Canva and then you add a background and then you go and add some text and you go, "Here you go, here's the logo." The moment that client wants a change or tweak and you're like, "Oh, I can't do that because that's the icon from **[04:07]** Canva." That client is going to on you faster than you can say There will be so much hitting your face, right? It'll take a long time to wash it off and it will smell and stink as well. I'm just putting out there. If you were going to create a logo in Canva for a client, you could get away with it. Now, not so much. A client could either pay you £100 for a logo or could they could pay 20 quid and go and get a midjourney license or chat GPT plus or whatever and **[04:38]** create their logo to their spec. So if you any of you are offering any services where you kind of been winging it a little bit, I would say revisit