Is there room for yet another web developer?

I am an aspiring web developer, but I only do this in my spare time, when I am not at my actual job.

I have done over 10 different sites now, all of which have come to me through people I know. But I am considering putting my own website together with an overview of myself, my portfolio and how to contact me - essentially selling my services to a far far bigger audience.

What I am really asking is, is it worth it? or will my site just drown in competition from other similar freelancers (I am pretty experienced in SEO though)

FYI I am UK based if that makes a difference...

Thanks for your input!

 

If building websites is no problem for you and you have enough time to build yours, why not to give it a go? Worst case it will waste you time building the site, but with today's tools, I can imagine finishing auch a portfolio site in a day. It can always bring you occasional jobs.

If you expect to make living from it straight away, perhaps you would have to advertise yourself somewhere. As you said the competition is big and is getting bigger and bigger. You would probably still drown even if you had cool SEO.

The internet is also getting bigger and bigger through. Perhaps even more developers will be needed in future.

 

On this forum we have people who are extremely smart when it comes to web development, programming and a host of other things related to the subject, yet, I don't think they are really making good money on it. So, I don't think being a good web developer is all it takes to hit it big. First and foremost you have to have an entrepreneurial spirit, know you niche really well, have good social / interpersonal / marketing skills. Of course you can develop all those skills / abilities as you go. Honestly, if your social / customer service skills suck, I'd advise you to keep it low profile and simply enjoy it as a hobby.

 

Yeah i actually do have very good social and interpersonal skills. I mean I am not expecting this to replace my job, just a side income when I have the time and the clients!

 

Your technical skill and artistic ability is what you need to do the work but will not get you the work. You have to know how to market yourself and attract the right audience. Personally I've done freelance work before and it's a grind. I did it full time.. I was fortunate to have automotive clients that paid very well (which later lead me down a different more lucrative path) and a few side projects that generated money to keep me going when times got slow. But honestly the lack of medical and stability caught up to me and I gave it up. I would work my ass off to get a "gig" then would find myself working my ass off even more for a client that would rarely trust my professional opinion and would always flip flop back and forth on ideas. Once the "gig" was over I found myself chasing the next dollar. For me it SUCKED.

Turning back time....I wouldn't change anything because it eventually lead me down a career path with stability and a very comfortable salary. However, if I did it all over again I would have focused on creating Web Based Products and Services to generate some residual income because the same effort applied to acquire new clients and build new web sites could have been applied to other services that would have made me much more money. Heck...I wonder where I would be today if I did just that..

 

Hi...Today website and development for client is not very lucrative unless u are highly skilled. Designers and Programmers are expensive to hire and competition is very fierce especially from other third world countries...
But making money on the net is still very good. You have to have ideas and then you can implement them using your skills..
Envato started a few years ago from a small garage, and today it is one of the biggest market places.
Try your luck

 

The fact that you're asking us this questions proves that you're very interested in getting into this business. It's definitely a great career, regardless if you're working on your own or for an agency or other company. There are plenty of opportunities, so I sincerely suggest setting up that website for yourself and giving it a go. It can't hurt.

There are different ways to make a living from selling your services, and I recommend getting clients to pay you monthly with a larger launch fee for your hard work in the beginning. Each client you pick up will add to your monthly income, and who knows.. you might not need that job by the end of the year.

 

Thank you, I agree with you in general. The cost of establishing a portfolio site is relatively low so why not? as far as monthly payments go, that would only really work for hosting and SEO services (which i am planning to provide) but a bit of residual income is always nice!

Thanks for your encouragement/advice everyone

 

Whenever I see someone wondering whether setting up is worth it I always ask what do you have to lose?

Put simply you won't know if you don't try. Give it a go and see what happens and good luck!

 

Compete with SEO with expert people and companies is quite difficult. The good news is that there are easier and better ways to get customers at the beginning. Just create a cool page offering your services and start calling and sending emails to local businesses. You can look for local companies with old-stylish designs and then go directly there and explain them how you can improve it, and the benefits that they might have with a better web page.

 

Yeah this is definitley the approach I was planning on taking to begin with... Also using an established domain rather than a brand new one.