Kristie Parker has been an entrepreneur since her early 20s — first as the co-owner of one of the world’s first 50 CrossFit gyms, and now as the founder of Bungalow Web Design. Just like she once helped beginners feel comfortable stepping into the gym, Kristie now helps small businesses feel confident stepping into the online world.
She’s fascinated by the psychology behind what makes people take action on a website and loves digging into reviews, research, and even Reddit threads to uncover what customers really want. In our chat, Kristie shares how she applies that curiosity to her projects, the hard-earned lessons she’s picked up along the way, and why the simple act of “doing what you say you’ll do” has set her apart in business.
What kind of work did you do before your current business and what did you bring with you into this career?
My husband and I owned one of the first 50 CrossFit gyms in the world. We built it from the ground up and it was an absolute blast. Once we reached our goal, we were ready for a new challenge. We sold the business, bought a house in Tampa, Florida, did some gym consulting and realized a lot of gym owners’ business issues were related to bad websites…and now we’re website designers!
What made us good at selling CrossFit memberships was focusing completely on the beginners program. When new people come in, they don’t care if you offer advanced Olympic weightlifting classes and competitions. New people want to know – where do I start? Will I feel comfortable here?
We apply the same strategy to website discovery calls. We work with small service-based businesses. Most of our clients don’t even know the login for their domain (or what a domain is), so throwing a bunch of keyword optimization and funnel jargon at them doesn’t make them feel comfortable. We have to meet them where they’re at if we want them to trust and work with us. We use a lot of analogies and break the process up into bite-size pieces.
What part of the website creation process is your favorite to work on and why?
I love the psychology around why we choose the products and services we do. Figuring out what website visitors need to see, read and feel in order to be motivated enough to take action is interesting, I think.
When we get a new client, I read tons of reviews (for them and their competitors) and I lurk on Reddit. I want to see what really matters to customers and pay attention to the words they use to describe things. Sometimes we discover there’s a gap between what the customers want and what the business owner thinks they want.
Of course, not everyone cares about that stuff and sometimes I just shut up and make the website the business owner asks for. It belongs to them after all!
What motivated you to start your own business, and what keeps you going when things get tough?
I’ve been a burn-the-boats-style business owner since my early 20s. I was naive and enthusiastic then. Now I’m more cautious and thoughtful in my approach, but I’m not sure that’s better! Sometimes I miss diving in headfirst and expecting things to work out in my favor.
What keeps me going when things get tough is that I’m still brimming with big ideas. If something doesn’t work, I have 5 more somethings up my sleeve to try tomorrow.
What’s a hard lesson you learned running your business that’s changed the way you operate?
Don’t rely on email and text only. It’s easy to jump to conclusions or misinterpret tone.
I had one client who sent every email in all caps. She wrote “HAPPY FRI-YAY!!!!! ANY UPDATES????? I about had a heart attack.
I’m huge on phone and video calls for connecting with clients. It’s easier to create a real relationship with someone when you’re actually talking to them.
What do you do to keep a healthy work/life balance as a business owner?
Most weekends I check email only once or twice a day just to make sure websites aren’t going up in flames.
Saturdays and Sundays are for working out, laughing, family, reading, pool lounging, martinis, catching up on 90 Day Fiance and cat petting. Unless we’re on a deadline. Then this all goes out the window.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten and how has it affected your business?
“Do what you say you’re going to do, show up when you say you’re going to show up (not 10 minutes late), deliver when you say you’re going to deliver, do good error-free work and you’ll set yourself apart from 90% of the competition.”
I touch back on this anytime I find myself dwelling on someone else’s skills being better than mine. It grounds me.
What’s a book every agency owner should read?
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan
What’s a WordPress plugin more people should know about?
SEOPress Pro. The built-in AI features save a lot of time for image alt text, meta descriptions, etc.
What’s your favorite tool, accessory, or gadget on your desk?
This laptop stand. It literally saves my neck.
What’s your favorite non-WordPress tool or software?
Oh man. Can I have three? I love Loom for sending homepage reveals. Pastel for client feedback (insanely better than the Google doc we used to use for the revision process) and mymind for my swipe file. It’s the easiest place to save anything/everything: tips, book quotes, ads, and cool websites I want to use for inspiration.
