I thought I would say ello! 5 years ago I bought a computer because it had a colour (color) screen! After taking it apart and rebuilding it I just kinda grew a fascination with them and soon discovered aol, lol, and after recovering from that set back I branched out and discovered the internet. Thought that after my son was born in the year 2000 that it would be cool to start a business so that I may build something that he could take forward, so offered web-design after teaching myself some very basics things and started building some really crap sites, however every new "local" client I took on was over the moon and every site I built was the best I ever did and I just taught myself and was open and honest telling new clients that I was learning as I went. Decided that seeing as people were getting ripped of for hundreds/thousands of pounds and then being left in the inter-wilderness that I would try something new. I decided after studying many a good businessman's philosophy that if you put the hard work in at the start it can reap rewards and there is no more powerful a tool than word of mouth, let me just say that I am no expert web designer, pretty poor by most standards, however I was offering something different to people who didnt even understand the web. I started offering a website and hosting and it being managed for around £30 per month, no build fee, so around $55 which is cheap as chips. I took on around 20 local clients and since then I have never advertised and have only grown through referrals which means that I can manage existing clients and build new sites. Sounds cheap but I know how much money is being paid into my bank each month and my clients know that it wont cost them £40 to change one line of text on their site as updates are free (within reason). And so now I have a decent sized portfolio of clients who generally don't put much of a workload on me, I thought initially if I could achieve 100 clients @£30 per month and mostly business sites would take around 1-2 hours per day to maintain sounded like a good business plan, but a lot of hard work at the start. It sounds crazy to some people, I have had to do the odd site for £700 but then that person is left alone and stranded, I know I get paid everymonth as I retain the copyright to all sites design and I host them all and my customers know if their telephone number changes they just need to send me an email, I reckon I would rather have £30 per month for years to come than £500 for one day. I spent long days and nights building sites and trying to fulfill all expectations and keep everyone happy, gladly I can say in 5 years I think I have lost maybe 4 clients - mainly due to the fact that they thought I would build a site and they would make millions. I know I have used many a template along the way, however I have had to balance cost against design and I feel I have a very loyal client base who continue to refer new clients to me so that I can continue to grow at a steady pace. Well thats where I am at, still don't know what I am doing, still learning and having fun and from my feedback I am "giving" back to new clients the chance for them to get an internet presence and have me always there for very little money. I won an award from Sir Alan Sugar for my idea/enterprise which boosted the client base and has helped me maintain the position of not having to advertise at all. Now I have 2 websites of my own that I do pay special interest into and with these I get to play and test all theories regarding SEO/COOP/AdSense and this forum has been most rewarding in that respect. I guess I am here to listen more than to talk, so a sponge I shall be. Scott
It's good you found your own piece of the market. Using templates makes building a website happen in minutes rather than days, time and effort is minimal; I commend you for keeping honest and not gouging people with cookie-cutter websites that are really only rented anyway. Templates are very easy to find and use also. I like things on the other side...custom web design built around the company, product, or theme. Choosing colors, layout, and finding that sweet spot somewhere between aesthetics, information, and performance. I love the evolution of site designing, even more I enjoy building something my client can be proud of and call their own. The icing on the proverbial cake comes as months of optimizing, tweaking, and monitoring pay off with great serps, increasing traffic, and (most importantly) increased cash flow. I don't even have time to do my own website because as soon as I almost get caught up I get another project lined-up. I wouldn't dare begin advertising until I hired more help. I think you've done well considering the experience level. Gain more skills and your value will grow. Increase a customer's bottom line and you will be as good as gold.
hello and welcome to the forums im also new here but was told about this place from a friend and im glad i came to check out this site!
<<I won an award from Sir Alan Sugar for my idea/enterprise>> excellent !!! i hope it was a hefty pile of £££££'s welcome to the forum
Hello, I am new here too and am looking forward to learning a thing or two about this Webmaster stuff.
Great introduction! Welcome! I'm actually following you in DP Forums. Hope to see you here, compare notes. Regards, Keith
Welcome to dp .. This is anusha.. __________________ efrendz! - World's fastest growing Computers and Internet Forum
hello Scott. What a fabulous introduction. You rock Nice to see someone who made it good in much the same way as I have been contemplating for the last 3-6 months. You are an inspiration, and I really liked reading about your business. Wellcome from springtime Copenhagen, Denmark
Thanks for the warm words, I thought about just saying "hello" and it turned into a bit of a long intro, well you've probably wasted enough of your day if you get this far so ..see you around DP!