Today, it hit me that I'll have to get a real job soon. I'm turning sixteen in a few months and I want to have enough money to buy a car and more money to put in my pocket. Don't get me wrong traditional jobs are great, but I think I can use my technological skills to my advantage. My mom suggested that I do something related to computers so I thought web design! The real problem is that I have NO idea about the business aspect. I can make an exceptional website and I'll be utilizing WordPress and their handy templates. I also went to a camp this summer where we learned more about HTML/CSS. For advertisement I thought I could make some flyers and hang them around town and maybe buy a spot in the local classifieds. Hopefully, I'll spark some interest with the local small businesses in town. So here are my basic questions: 1) Any tips on the technical side you could give? Like is WordPress a good CMS to use, good places to find templates, etc 2) How much should I charge? 3) How would I handle domains and storage? Would I make the website and set their domain and storage up for them but they pay for it separately or incorporate those costs into my price? 4) Any other tips would be greatly appreciated! BTW I'm planning on starting this idea in summer, so I have lots of time. I'm too busy now!
Its good to see that you are trying by your own skills and you are dedicated to work. But, whatever you are planning is not so easy and the questions you have asked here cannot have just a single anwer. You have to choose the answer according to your capability and skills. All the best for your future, just continue working hard for good results.
I would agree you're the person who can best answers these questions. As far as pricing, play around with the prices. Don't sell your self short, but remember no one knows what you're capable of, not just your work, but HOW you work and how well you work with clients. Be sure to have a portfolio for potential clients to view. SOrry I couldn't exactly answer your question, but I hope it helps. Best of luck!
It's good to see a teenager trying to make his or her way in life, and good luck to you! Regarding I find that it is preferable to include the web hosting fee (you call it storage) into the overall fee. The reason for this is, it is profitable, you can charge your client more for the web hosting than you are paying for it. Also, some clients prefer it this way, they are too busy to get involved in the hassle of paying web hosting fees. Wish I could be sixteen again, but on the other hand the economy was better when I was sixteen, these are pretty tough times economically for teenagers.
dude , i can tell you a nice idea towards freelancing , first google for "link building tutorial" and understand it properly now , on wickedfire , warrios forums, black hat world , here on dp you can offer your freelancing work best of luck
I think that no one can answer his question exactly but he will have to collect the points that could help him to start and keep a pace in his work. However, he should start researching with concentration.
I'm 19 and have been internet marketing for about 3 years, so I know how you feel. What you could do is charge less than you would normally charge, that way you would be cheaper than the competition, but have them sign up for your affiliate program through Hostgator. Hostgator has an affiliate program where you get $50 for every signup, no matter how much they pay. Putting an ad in a classified newspaper is a good idea. Have them respond through an email account that you set up. So you could charge say $10 per page of a website that you set up and then have them get hosting through your link. They can even get the first month for only a cent and you will still get $50. If any of this confuses you, let me know, I'll help you out as much as I can. I also have about 300 templates you can have if you want.
kwyser took the words right out of my mouth. Classified ads, local advertising etc. - offer sitebuilding for small and mid-size companies, add free hosting as a bonus - hostgator aff. program - good to go.
I was at the same place about a year back. You said you want to use wordpress. But I would suggest going for a better CMS like Joomla, or drupal. Also CMS alone will not help. You'll have to gain some knowledge about HTML, CSS, PHP. You can simply create a website by replacing the contents from any template. But the real problem will come when you'll need to customize something as per client's requirement. So learn a little of HTML, PHP and CSS. Then you'll be able to create powerful website using any CMS, whether, Joomla, wordpress etc. You can goto http://www.w3schools.com to learn these languages.
First of all thanks for the help everyone! One more question how would the customer choose what they want. Could I just use the same template for everyone using different graphics or should I give out choices?
Thanks! And not to be nosey or anything but are you doing well with your business? And for when you said they should use affiliate web hosting, would they sign up and I'd set their account up or would I just send the files to them and they can take care of it?
Here is a tip where I work, odesk.com. You can browse through job listings to see how freelancing is done. You can setup your own profile there. But remember, unless you dont have anything to show off, no one is going to hire you. So, I suggest you that you should create some sample websites first. They can be anything like a personal website for your pet dog, or for your class club etc. Anyways, here is the link to my profile: http://www.odesk.com/users/Joomla-C...edge-and-experience-Joomla_~~7c0be21d422d8345 You can take my profile as an example to create yours. Also go through the job listing there. EDIT: I can teach you the basics of web hosting and all, in case you want to. Just PM me. I am in need for an assistance, and you can come handy.
Are you a coder or a designer or both? If you are a coder, then you need to be really fluent in HTML, CSS, PHP e.t.c. If you are a designer, then you will need to brush up on your photoshop skills. I would really not recommend using wordpress themes or wordpress, as it is unprofessional, and limits your and the clients options. I would build up a portfolio, and then advertise on forums. I don't know about you but where I live, not many people find web designers/coders by looking for flyers. Most of them use the internet, Google and design and website forums. If I got completely the wrong idea of what you are trying to say, please forgive me. Im just trying to help.
I'm just doing this for the summer (I hope) so I probably won't need to post on forums and stuff. Maybe I could just put an ad up and see how it goes and thanks for the info you helped a lot!
Whats going on man I think im the most qualified person in here to answer your question. Let me begin: I started a web design business 3 years ago (RookWebDesign.com) when I was 15. My dad was laid off at the time and his previous job was in sales so he went around town trying to find businesses that needed sites. During the first few months I managed to sell 4 sites at $600 a pop. Im not going to lie I am not the best designer so I decided I would pay someone $100 per design. I would then manage and set up the site for the clients. This left me with $500 profit per site which is really easy money. It was awesome because I have way more cash then all of my friends and didn't have to get a job like all of them. Things started to go down hill when my parents got divorced. I had/have no sales experience so I really had no way of selling sites on my own. I tried craigslist, local ads, flyers, business cards you name it I tried it. Trust me man people don't like going out of their way to find a web designer. You HAVE to come to them. If your a people person you should have no problem doing this. Be prepared though because every once in a while you will get a$$ who is mad at the world and will take it out on your for walking in his shop trying to sell him something. If you don't think you can handle selling sites to people then I would recommend just creating a few sites that you can run on your own and generate ad revenue from. I used to run several movie sites that made me a nice $300-$700 a month with adsense. How much more does a teen really need? Right? well 3.5 years later I am still here and still have not gotten a real job. Do I like it? Yes. I am taking a year off from College so I can focus on online business full time for a solid year. So far things are going pretty good. I just moved into my new place, started SEO work for a few companies that I used to design for which give me a decent steady monthly income, and am working on a much larger personal website that is currently being designed. I can put 100% of my attention towards it because I dont have school taking up my time. If it just so happens that this thing im working on makes me $10,000 a month then I might just not ever go to school . Thats the best advice I can give man and hopefully you go at with full force...normal jobs suck. PM me if you have any questions ill be happy to help.
Omg that's so weird. My dad was in sales and he's laid off too And sorry about the divorce but thanks for the tips! I have quite a few hobbies I enjoy and maybe I could turn them into possible websites to earn money from. I'm not much of a "go out and get stuff" girl so I'll probs just put an ad out and if it works it works and if it doesn't it wasn't meant to be. But I know if i have the determination and drive anything is possible! And I'll be sure to PM if I need anymore help!
Dude, EVERYONES EXPERIENCE IS DIFFERENT! 1) Any tips on the technical side you could give? Like is WordPress a good CMS to use, good places to find templates, etc -- WORDPRESS IS FINE! - Drupal / Joomla haters.. do you guys even think about the end user? To clarify wordpress is a blog application.. but plugins and creativity can make a good cms. -- If you can code a PSD TO xhtml/css / wordpress standard.. that goes for at least 97$ a site.. -- graphics.. 5 dollar banners, etx 2) How much should I charge? -- This depends on your skills, but I see decent website sell for 45$ to 175$ 3) How would I handle domains and storage? Would I make the website and set their domain and storage up for them but they pay for it separately or incorporate those costs into my price? -- Tell them to purchase the domain and hosting you supply the website 4) Any other tips would be greatly appreciated! -- Learn the Business.. saying just for a summer is a waste of time.. takes 30 days to get paid from most clients and any other reputable company.. stick with short fast items I think you need to understand your timeline better and what you can do.. what do you want to do.. look at fiverr.com tenbux.com and many other low dollar site.. Better Questions: 1. what are you good at? not just I can do it.. 2. set how much time you want to spend doing it a day.. 3. Be Realistic 4. give away some free work to build a "positive movement" - aka itrader or reputation 5. Did you know more people read forums versus do work? wanna make money or not!
Just a friendly advice "once you are hooked-up in this field there is no turning back" For starters, if you do not have deep knowledge or expertise with the web development, design, back-end configurations (hosting and setup), and marketing, do not offer this yet, take more time to understand the field you are getting into, but if you want to try freelancing simply look for what you can offer that will not put too much pressure in your mind and that you can accomplish immediately...goodluck
I have just read "How to become a successful freelance blogger" by Paul Cunningham. Awesome eBook. If you're thinking about freelance blogging, I suggest you read it.