Josh Woll has a unique entrepreneurship story, utilizing small business resources in Wisconsin on his way to co-owning SiteDreamers with Scott Quesnell.
THE BEGINNING
Josh first worked as an intern at the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center in River Falls. This center houses the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UW-River Falls (UWRF). Josh became a project manager for the SBDC. “Working at the SBDC opened my mind to the real need small businesses have for website design,” Josh said.
In February 2022, he started a business called Visionary Media Solutions while he was still a student at UWRF, working as a social media and website design contractor. He and Scott Quesnell soon joined forces to combine Visionary Media Solutions into a business they owned together, and SiteDreamers was born.
Katherine Fossler, center director at the SBDC at UWRF, said, “It has been such a pleasure seeing Josh evolve, grow and master his craft! One huge advantage of working with SiteDreamers is their clear communication style. They are great listeners who also ask good questions, which makes for a better working relationship and a better end product.”
Accomplishments with UW-River Falls SBDC
- Entrepreneurial Training Program
- Networking
- Business Planning
THE SOLUTION
Josh wanted to solve a problem that is common for many entrepreneurs: the big ticket, upfront costs of website creation and design. SiteDreamers is a website hosting and management company. “We design and host others’ websites on our server for a monthly fee. This helps entrepreneurs avoid the high cost of creating their websites, and included in their monthly subscription fee is more customization of their site depending on the business’s specific needs,” Josh said.
The business operates out of one of the incubation spaces at the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center. “I like having regular conversations with my customers, and this space allows me to meet with them in person when needed,” Josh said. He prides himself on his quick responses to client email messages, texts and phone calls. “I even added my calendar onto our website, so clients can schedule time with me themselves, without waiting for me to reply.”
His promptness also includes integrating clients’ requested updates to their hosted websites within 36 hours. “Building trust with my clients is so important, and responsiveness is one way I accomplish that.” Josh said.
THE RESOURCES
“The St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center and SBDC created a path forward that I didn’t see before. I had not previously even considered the idea of being an entrepreneur, but now I never want to go back to having someone else as a boss,” Josh said.
He also took advantage of the Entrepreneurial Training Program offered by the SBDC. “The program was extremely beneficial!” he said. “I gained valuable knowledge on how business planning works, and I made connections with other business owners in the class.” Josh has since become mentor to some of those connections and many of his fellow classmates became customers.
“Small business development has become one of my biggest passions because it is so satisfying to help someone, to see them open a successful start-up business, “ Josh said. But, of course, there were obstacles along the way to his own success.
THE OBSTACLES
“I went through lots of trial and error to see what processes worked best. I needed to conduct lots of research and market testing. It was difficult to find and set the correct price points for our unique services,” he said. “However, I love building things and website design work allows me to build something out of nothing and the challenges are worth it.”
His future goals include continuing to build SiteDreamers. “We would love to increase the number of businesses we work with and grow our team. We are passionate about the St. Croix Valley and we are excited to see the economic development ecosystem grow here. We love what we do, and we do it well!”