Launching Free Beer Studio: From 0 to 1
After spending over a decade as a Solutions Engineer at Omnissa (formerly VMware), helping enterprise and education customers deploy technology at scale, I'm embarking on a new adventure: Free Beer Studio.
Why Free Beer Studio?
The name comes from a simple philosophy: good work should feel rewarding, not transactional. In enterprise sales, relationships matter. The best deals happen over conversation, not cold pitches. Free Beer Studio brings that same approach to small business web design.
Small businesses—coffee shops, restaurants, local services—don't need enterprise-grade complexity. They need:
- A professional online presence that builds trust
- Simple, maintainable websites they can actually use
- Fair pricing that respects their budget
- A partner who understands their business, not just their tech
What I'm Building
Free Beer Studio offers:
- Website Design & Development - Modern, responsive sites built with Next.js and Tailwind CSS
- Hosting & Maintenance - Deployed on Vercel with automatic updates
- SEO & Performance - Fast, discoverable sites that actually get found
- Ongoing Support - Real human support, not a ticket system
No WordPress complexity. No monthly plugin fees. No surprises.
From Enterprise to Small Business
Making this transition has been eye-opening. Here's what I've learned:
1. Small Business Owners Are Busy
Enterprise customers have IT teams. Small businesses have owners running everything. They don't have time to learn WordPress, manage plugins, or troubleshoot hosting.
My approach: Build it right, handle the technical stuff, let them focus on their business.
2. Price Transparency Matters
Enterprise deals involve procurement, legal, multi-year contracts. Small businesses need clear, fair pricing upfront.
My approach: Simple monthly pricing. One invoice. No hidden fees.
3. Relationships Are Everything
In enterprise, you sell to organizations. In small business, you work with people—and their success is your success.
My approach: Local focus, long-term partnerships, referrals over advertising.
The Tech Stack
I'm building Free Beer Studio sites with modern tools:
- Next.js 15 - React framework with great performance
- Tailwind CSS - Utility-first styling, fast development
- Vercel - Deploy in seconds, auto-scaling, built-in CDN
- MDX - Content management without the complexity
- TypeScript - Type safety, fewer bugs
Why these choices?
- Fast to build - I can deliver sites quickly
- Easy to maintain - Updates are simple, downtime is rare
- Future-proof - Modern stack, active community
- Cost-effective - Low hosting costs = better prices for clients
What's Next
Right now, I'm in the 0 to 1 phase:
- ✅ Built this site (waynebridges.com) as proof of concept
- 🔄 Creating templates for common business types
- 🔄 Reaching out to local businesses
- 🎯 Goal: 3 paying customers by end of Q4 2025
Lessons So Far
1. Start Before You're Ready
I could spend months perfecting templates. Instead, I built this site, launched it, and I'm learning as I go.
2. Show Your Work
This blog post? It's marketing. Transparency builds trust. People want to know who they're working with.
3. Leverage Your Strengths
I know enterprise tech. I know solutions engineering. I know how to talk to customers. Those skills transfer.
4. Solve Real Problems
Every small business needs a website. Most hate managing theirs. That's a real problem with a clear solution.
Want to Work Together?
If you're a small business owner looking for a simple, professional website (or you know someone who is), let's talk.
I'm also happy to share what I'm learning along the way. Follow along as I build Free Beer Studio from the ground up.
Update: This is post #1 in my journey from 0 to 1. I'll be documenting the process—wins, failures, lessons learned—as I go. Stay tuned.