I am a web designer and developer by trade and I also do this on the side. I like the 8-5 job, however I also like the idea of running my own business full time. Has anyone out there done this successfully? I specialize in designing websites, developing them in PHP or wordpress, and then providing hosting or hosting management. I usually work with small businesses that do not know much about web design.
I too am in the same process. It's a tough field these days and on top of the many many different designers out there, you'll get the people under bidding you greatly yet not producing the quality of work. I am finding that trying to compete against others is not the way to go, you need to approach you clients with confidence and give them no reason to look at other designers. Hope that makes sense.
yeah, as tbwd said, you must find your "niche" and develop your brand to get known around. as, believe me, there is a really large wide range of coders and other specimens that make us lower the price of the work for nothing. you must keep motivated and live every day by day
I prefer freelancing over "real" fulltime work. But if I had to convert to fulltime I would definitely try to build up a solid portfolio of work and a creative way of attracting potential employers. Video resumes are pretty cool if done tastefully. Also, I've had success before working for people on this site temporarily and then having it end up being near fulltime work.
reputation is a big factor in freelancing. it takes some time before you start getting clients without much advertising. once thats done rest is easy.