Freelance Web design is not an easy career to get started in. While it doesn't take a lot to do, after you've built a website for your parents and all your friends, how do you find other people to pay you to build or rebuild their sites?
When I started out doing Web design, I was working full-time as a technical writer. I moved from there into the Web team as a writer, and finally as a developer and designer. I had no real interest in doing Web design as a freelancer, because it seemed like a lot of work to me. When I finally started freelancing, it was as a second job, that I did periodically outside of business hours.
The One Thing I Wish I Had Done Differently
I wish I had known about networking when I started as a freelancer. At the time I knew what networking was, but because I had not wanted to be a freelance Web designer, I never saw the need. Now, I recognize that there were a lot of lost opportunities because I didn't write down someone's address or save their business card or contact them when I started freelancing.
Networking is important to freelance designers because we need to build products for clients. A freelance writer goes out and finds stories to write about and either pitches them to editors or writes them and shops the final product. A freelance Web designer starts with nothing but his or her name and possibly some recommendations from friends and relatives.
Networking helps you in many ways:
- Potential clients - anyone you meet may be a potential client.
- Introductions to potential clients - even better, anyone you meet might be able to introduce you to a potential client
- Learning opportunities - when you meet new people you get a chance to learn about them and their interests, and this can result in new design ideas or even new ways to build the sites you design
- Expanding your business - the next person you meet might be the perfect complement to your Web design business. Perhaps you'll meet a logo designer or someone who writes Web copy. Together you can offer a more complete package than you could apart.
What Do You Wish You Knew About Freelancing Before You Started?
Fill out the form below and let us know what you wish you had known. What are some pieces of advice you can give to new freelancers?
