I need an advice

[arrodecycle]

Hello!I'm new here. I've been browsing tons of forums for an idea of what to do. I was laid off from my job about 3 month ago. I've been looking for a job since then, but did not even get a single interview. I worked as a web designer for a publishing company for the last 5 years. Looks like www.allkayakfishing.com is an active forum with active members and may be someone has some experience working as a freelance web designer. May be "All Kayak Fishing Chit-Chat" category is not the most appropriate for this question, but I want to try anyways to get some opinions before I go ahead with my life. I'm wondering if it is possible in the current economy to find work for a freelance web designer and make enough to pay for rent and groceries. I was able to find a small project on craigslist and I developed a website for a company. It was a small project and took me only a week to complete. I got paid $800 for 1 week of work which is not bad. Please people give me some ideas. I have 2 kids and my wife is out of work as well. Thank you in advance.

[Granite Goliath]

First, lower your prices and use it as advertisement (say $200 off)

Second, offer $50 for customer referrals that buy a website (let others work for you)

Third, go back to old clients and see if they need updating. Pass along the referral offer and see what comes of it.

Fourth, deliver resume to shops instead of companies. With resume add on sample work and what their online might look like. Offer bonus packages such as updating, uploading, and 3 month adjustment (after 3 months they can change the look or something)...for free or hugely discounted.

It's a bad economy and the more bonuses and discounts you can wave, the more attention you can get.

Lastly, offer different sets of packages. Right now not a lot of shops can afford $800 for a website, but maybe $250 for a simpler one.

[PerryC]

Like GG said, I would submit to shops. From what I have seen, even larger companies are subbing out some or alot of their work more than they used to. I'm sure you have some names from your previous company, so you may be able to get some help there. Different packages would be appealing from basic to advanced with different pricing.

Who to work for? You could look in the industry you were in and maybe start there. You can also look on the internet and see which websites are outdated, that you have the skills to update. Those are often situations where they may already have a webmaster that is too busy to handle it by themselves, or ??. With the company cutbacks that have happened, often the person supposed to do the updates just dont have the time as they are doing shipping, answering phones or who knows what. I would say that small to medium businesses would be more apt to use a small company or individual person for their website work.

Also, even a sucessful small website company will often consist of at least 3 or 4 people to make them work. One may be good at HTML, another good at top notch graphics that can also do layouts/story boards, one do search engine work and a good salesperson. Maybe a web programmer, with the array of .asp, MYSQL, and the others and your set. Not everyone, but some people including myself who try to do everything themselves can get overwhelmed by the many aspects of putting together tight websites, and often have to make excuses why things don't get done for several months or a year or so. I would say IMHO, that is one costly mistake to avoid at all costs.
Perry

[Chriskayaks]

Hi arrodecycle

I got some web designing experience as well and designed and updated a few websites for a few companies. I'm not sure about the ideal price range in the United States for designing of websites.

Hopefully my advice will help you a little bit. You can always try registering at a hosting company like HostGator. They provide cheap hosting accounts and you can generate some income asking a monthly fee for hosting but you will have to be hosting support. Look for something that will provide live support, support ticket system or even Skype in order for people to contact you.

Advertise your services on sites like Craig's List and similar sites. You will be able to get a few projects and jobs from them. I also recommend doing some additional normal design and or signage work. This will also provide some income.

Like Perry and Granite said, search for websites which you can update and provide special packages from basic to more advanced and try to bring in specials that somehow forces the client to pay a little more for extra services but aren't going to take all of your time to do.

Hopefully all of our information will help you to start your own business and maybe provide a steady income for you and your family. Please remember one thing though, Rome wasn't built in one day.