Hello, My business currently buys Template Monster templates and customizes them for our clients. We call ourselves an all-in-one solution since we offer 3 main services in one package: Design Hosting Management First of all, does this seem like a legitimate business to run? I choose to use pre-made templates from Template Monster rather than having completely custom-made templates designed since it is both less expensive and looks much better than most custom designs. Currently I customize the templates myself, but since I am not that proficient with web design, it takes me an extremely long time. The hosting and management I can deal with myself, but here is my main question: Would it be a good idea to get freelancers to customize the templates for me for around $350 to $600? I contemplate on charging anywhere from $1000 to $2000 for these personalized designs and then a monthly management/hosting fee. This way I can concentrate on other aspects of my business and manage my time in a much more efficient manner. Since the templates usually cost around $60, I would probably only be paying around $500 per site creating my profit range around $500 to $1500. The price I charge does seem expensive, but only if I were to promote online since the competition is ridiculous. For now my business partner and I are only promoting locally with our target market being small companies and start-up businesses that know nothing about how to have an online presence, so the price is actually very reasonable compared to other local web design companies. We are aiming to provide an all-in-one solution that gets a business from having no presence online to getting them every online service they would need; starting from registering them a domain name, to designing and managing every aspect of their newly created website. So once again, 1. Does this seem like a legitimate business to run? 2. Would it be a good idea to use freelancers? Or maybe I should hire an actual employee? 3. Any ideas/criticism for this business (we are still writing the business plan so any suggestions/comments would be extremely useful) THANK YOU EVEYRONE! Daniel Pollack
#2 Work out your costs. Paying someone hourly could be cheaper if you have many templates to customize. If you were customizing 4 templates a week at $350 = $1400 week = $5600 monthly. I'm pretty sure you can hire someone locally for much less. (salary)
Hi, it sounds like an excellent business model. Offline promotion is definitely your key. The fact that you can find such cheap offerings online tells you people will freelance for peanuts (so expect monkeys). I believe many people who hire via the online freelance suppliers find dificulty in achieving the results they want. The problem is that by the time you specify what you want in enough detail, you could have done it. I would advise finding local freelancers first and then look at hiring someone. Pay more to be able to talk to them face to face. As long as you can keep finding the customers, your onto a winner. Good Luck.
We have had many freelancers do quality work. The problem is that they seem to dissapear as fast as they appear! They all seem to be good for one or two projects, then you never hear from them again! I agree with Ammtek...find people that you can count on!
I've used the designer at www.skiilight.com and had some quality work done. It looks as though he's redesigning his site at the moment though.
Seems like an interesting idea however, as mentioned, you need to look at how this extra expenditure would affect your profits. Obviously having someone else do the customization saves you time, but can you make back that expenditure during the time it frees up? Also consider the amount of customization you need, and whether its really worth $350-$600. Do your research on the designers you're looking at and see how much they charge for a full design from scratch; then make a rough comparison of the amount of work you require for the customizations against the amount of work they do for full designs to get an idea of what sort of price range you should be willing to pay. Remember that with customizations, they're working with someone elses concept, and someone elses graphics, so its more likely they're just moving stuff around and tweaking a few things than actually having to conceptualize and create things themselves - don't be tricked into paying over the odds for what amounts to 30mins work for them. If this is something thats going to be a regular thing it might be worth hiring someone on a 'retainer' or monthly salary - pay them a fixed amount a month to basically do any work that you ask them to (within reason, possibly worth throwing in a few specific terms about acceptable workloads, to cover both you and them). Of course if you do that, then you really need to be 100% certain that this person is reliable. At the end of the day, you need to cover yourself in all areas; in terms of making sure you're not being robbed blind and overcharged, that the byproduct of outsourcing is positive for your business and your profits, as well as ensuring you have someone reliable who won't land you in hot water with your clients. Do your research and cover your bases and all should be well =)