Starting a Web Design Business
I saw that godaddy.com had an article about some steps to a successful web design business. Being a freelance website designer, I had to look.
They say there are nine steps:
- Lay the groundwork.
- Create your community.
- Handle HR and legal concerns.
- Establish facilities.
- Get your IT in order.
- Set up finance and accounting systems and processes.
- Dive into marketing and advertising.
- Plan for sales.
- Set up systems for productivity and quality control.
Click that link for more details, but just a few comments on a few items on the list.
With all the free and easy to use websites that allow you to set up a basic website, a lot of people who would have needed a designer probably can go at it alone. Still, I find a good number of people who are still technophobes or just know that they won't do it or maintain a site and want a service. I understand that. You can probably cut your own lawn, so why do so many people have a service to do it?
Groundwork covers a lot of ground. Sart with you really being able to build sites. Just knowing how to use some free sites or a bit of HTML is not enough for what most people want and certainly not enough for what even a small business needs. You may need to take some classes, workshops or online seminars. They suggest Lynda.com as one place to try.
There are lots of books about freelancing, and about web design if you can learn that way. There is also a lot of free info online.
Identifying pricing options was harder than I thought it would be. My first freelance gigs were for friends and I tended to underprice my work. You can have a pricing model of hourly vs. project-based billing. I find that people like project-based because they know the cost rather than seeing the hours pile up. But for my own work, I find the hours are often less than I estimated. You get better at this as you do a few jobs. I use a estimate spreadsheet to formulate a dollar or hours amount.
Don't forget to build in meetings, travel, and revisions. I also calculate some third party costs that don't go to me, such as buying a domain and web hosting which I will do for the client. Add in your time to do this administrative work.
My ideal clients are people I know and projects I am interested in doing. Web design is not a full-time gig for me so I can be selective. You may not be so lucky.
You may also be able to offer some other related services. If not, have some people you will recommend that may then recommend you for web work. I do some social media, photography, graphics and video work too. For many others, I refer them to people I know who have that expertise or companies that handle it. That can include branding and PR specialists, hosting, domain registration and email and more professional photo and video work (such as catalog and online store work).
I am a sole proprietor and have an LLC to protect my personal assets. These things vary by where you live and you may need to talk to a lawyer to help you with the necessary paperwork and/or use an online service such as LegalZoom.
Those business expenses can run from a lunch check with a potential client, to mileage, to setting up an office and buying hardware and equipment. Learn about what is legitimate as an expense with the IRS before you file for year one. I have a separate business bank account with its own associated debit and credit cards.
Yes, people do operate out of the local diner or coffee shop, but that won't work for all clients.
I use a higher-end laptop and Adobe Creative Cloud for almost all my work. I backup all my work in two places -one on a drive in the office, one in the cloud.
I have made up my own invoicing forms and bill like many contractors with a portion to begin and the balance after launch. No payment, no launch.
You certainly need your own website before you take on clients. I have several that I use so I can demo different options and designs, including this free one using Google's Blogger.
If you plan to do social media work, or just to promote your business, have some business social media accounts, and consider whether you want business profiles separated from your personal profiles onFacebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Get some business cards and start promoting yourself!
More at Running a successful web design business - The Garage
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