First a little background... For the last 11 years I have been a webmaster/programmer, working most of that time under short term exclusive contracts as a sideline to my full-time job. A little over three years ago, the opportunity to be on a semi-pro race team opened up and I jumped at the chance. (maddernracing.com) As the requirements to race include a lot of time and travel, this did not work well with having a full time job. So, back in Feb, 2006 I had to make a choice. I decided to take the leap and go full time as a freelancer to be able to follow a childhood dream of running NHRA. Now for the challenge... Anyone who has chosen to go this same route has found that marketing is the key to getting clients. This is not my strongest trait. Hell, I don't even have a website. The link in my profile is a page I just made so I could print some flyer's. But, regardless of my lack of marketing skills, I was able to get past the hump and business is coming from many sources. Though, the main challenge I have now is choosing the right clients to work with and/or pursuing leads which will actually turn into real and quality business. For the last couple months I seem to be the target of people who want something for nothing, or have no real clue about what they want to accomplish. For example, I get this email yesterday which quotes "...create a Web 2.0 user interface to support and build the ultimate online music resource..." ... "... within my budget at $250 to $500 ...". WHAT? That may cover a consultation and a little research time. It really caught me at a bad time and I almost replied with a real bashing about waisting my time, but I was good. I get stuff like this all the time and getting to the point I don't even want to respond. But I do as I don't want to be a jerk or possibly offer any opportunities for a bad reputation to get started. Or this current project I have which the client wanted the text change to better reflect the needs of this one page. This I did and he said he really liked the writing but the page needs changing as well. I definitely agreed and pushed him a little in this direction even before he mentioned it. So, I made the changes and he likes how the page functions. But, now he's not sure but may want to change the software delivering the page for various reasons, again probably my fault for mentioning it. Now, here it is 10 days later and the job is still not finished to his ever changing desires and I'm not paid yet. I'm getting tired of spending an hour or so in a chat session or messaging client with a potential customer and find out in the end they are just not serious enough to spend the required funds to make it work. Now, I don't over estimate costs to these people and consider my rates reasonable. I'm not going to work for $5/hr like so many I see in other countries. I am consistent with rates in my area, and its not cheap to live in Los Angeles. One would think I could expect to be paid at least close to what I believe I'm worth, but the international competition is really killing honest expectations for many seeking freelancers to hire. Last Thursday I spent a good portion of the day creating this small site as close to the limited instructions of the client as I could. I sent him a few screen shots since I have learned not to actually send the code until payment is secured in some way first. This was the first job for this new client and I normally ask for a down payment up, but he stated his concerns and I took the chance without it... oops. He replied stating the content was great but the design was not exactly what he had envisioned. That's fine as I did not have anything really to go by and revisions were to be expected. As he doesn't know what he wants and I'm not psychic, what does he expect. I asked what he wants, liked, changed, edited, etc... no reply. Oh well, set aside and not hold my breath waiting to get paid. Moving on... See my trend here... All the above examples have come through Internet connection. I don't have near the struggle from offline or local sources. I know many reading this would just say drop the Internet referrals but that's where I found 65% of my current clients. I know many here have had similar experiences and I'm looking for some input on how to go about changing my habits and marketing efforts to try and more accurately/effectively find and then choose the right clients to work with. I turn business away and choose others and maybe I need to look at how I make these decisions. Currently, I get a lot of referrals, and actively pursue when I'm slow, at places like Elance and about 6 others. I have several other online means as well, but I won't go into those. The referral sites have worked well, but also bring on most of the headaches. I thinking I need to put more emphasis on offline sources, such as local IT agencies, but I've not done so well with those in the past. I'm just not suited, or have any desire, to work in the corporate world and that's what I find mostly from those sources. --------- So, in a nutshell, I trying to get some input on how to go about finding and choosing the right client base to get away from the headaches I keep getting myself into. Its not the lack of business, its the quality I need to improve upon. I know my first step is I need to put up a website. Do you think it would help if the referrals I get from online sources should be directed to this future site and have them go through submitting requirements and expectations? I'm thinking this may weed out some of the non-serious time wasters and will help me get a better idea of what the client wants through asking the right questions. What are some of the types of online resources others are using? I know that's asking a lot as you don't want more competition. Just asking for some hints on what others have tried. I'm mainly looking for Javascript/AJAX, DHTML, and Perl applications type clients. What have others found working well offline. I do some soliciting at a few local agencies and some real good work comes from word of mouth referrals, but that about limits what I do offline. I need to get listed on the phone book I know, and this will come out next publishing. Does anyone get much business from the white pages/yellow pages? What other published ads work? Classifieds, local news print ads/stories, direct targeted mailings, offline affiliate agreements, etc. what have you tried??? Anyway, the majority of my current clients are very happy with my work and I consider myself better than average in my skill set. I am just looking for some tip to try and get out of this rut I seem to be headed towards and get my business up to the next level. Thanks for any input you could offer. Dave ------- PS. If your going to be at the NHRA Fram Autolite Nationals in Sonoma this weekend (July 27-29), stop by our pits and say hi. I always get a kick from seeing people in person that I meet online. our car is #71 Top Alcohol Dragster, blue and white body, sponsor: Peen-Rite. ask for Dave or OJD .