questions for professional web designers >>>

hey, i didnt really know where to post this so mods can move it if they want. i just have a bunch of questions....

> i am currently 15 years old, and i want to start a design company in college and do it as a living...i am asking for any advice you can have to give me...

> the services i want to offer are as follows: web design, graphic design, print media, hosting, custom scripting/programming, advertising (commercials, business card design, bill boards, magazine ads)

> i want to go into a design college/university and meet other students there and start the company with them as co-owners. we will start it and eventually hire more people and we will be the owners/execs

> here is my rough plan (the alpha if you will): i will do web design until i get enough money to hire people. i am interested in many fields, but i will focus on web design myself. I will hire a photographer (i love photography and i do it as a hobby, but i am not that good), an advanced coder (for heavy php shiz, b/c i hate coding i only do HTML, JS, and CSS [learning Flash]), a print/graphic designer (someone who is very familiar with vectors, and to assist me in other graphic design), a backend/server tech (i hate that Unix and Linux stuff and someone more accustomed to servers). eventually after a while i want to hire a cinematographer (to do TV commercials).

> i dont know anything about business (yes, i plan on learning) so any advice would be greatly appreciated

> also, what is the average salary of a web designer (both alone and part of a firm) yes i know that depends on your skill, but just general figures.


thx for any and all help!

Wouldn't you rather live off your parents for the rest of your life and let them pay for your computer and internet connection and just play games all day?

yeah right...you obviously dont know my parents, i work for everything. they buy me clothes, food, utilities, and pay for a boarding school education. thats it. i had a paper route for 3 years and used the money to buy PS and GoLive and some games. now i design websites for $$$

Who says I don't know your parents........

Major in marketing and spend more time with your girlfriend. (I'm not joking, this will help you more than anything else.)

I would focus on just one area rather than trying to be everything at once. You aren't going to have time to run a company that tries to do all that stuff and go to college at the same time. I'd just do a little web design on the side by yourself if you happen to get a client or two or something. You need to wait until you're actually out of college to be starting a company. Because the company will interfere with your education, and college will interfere with your company.

yeah, thx

Yea..focus just on art and web design. Go to school, get a degree (it doesnt necessarily have to be design-related or even business related). the important part is the piece of paper that says you graduated. for example, im dual majoring in political science and business. and after you graduate, you have two directions you can take...your area of study in school or design. since your young, its difficult to say that your 100% sure you wanna do design when your 25. if you do take the design route, start small. theres a ton of processes in starting a business but after graduating from school, youll understand them. your plan seems fairly sophisticated for a 15 year old. stick to it, but dont expect too much at the start. you plan is the outcome of a heavily sucessful design company...but if you stick to it, you'll be there someday.

You could always think of a back up plan and major in something that makes money, then minor in art. That way, at least you would be knowledgeable in 2 fields. Art you can always work on for the rest of your life, and if you are lucky you can be successful with it. Plus there are other parts to running a business that can be really helpful studying in college. Like (as mentioned before) marketing, or business, or accounting. Minoring in art would also give you a chance to study and learn in a creative environment. But art is something you achieve all your life. A piece of paper from the school in a nice book cover doesnt mean you are any good. You'll figure that out in college! Art matures with age, just like a fine scotch....
You might also consider taking some basic computing courses, like logical structures, database design, or maybe focus on one language. That would help you immensely with coding pages and develope more complex web sites. The rest you can pick up on your own. Plus it would kill a few requirements.

Its good to see you are planning ahead. Keep focusing on what you want and what you need to get there. Nothing wrong with starting a business in college. You might meet people that will be your greatest business partners. shucks, Dell started his business in college and look where he is at now....

ignoring the timeline and focusing more on the business side, you've hired about 3 too many people. for a small start-up design/multimedia firm i'd look at:

- another designer, one who can put together sites as well as just design, someone as well-rounded as possible (video, print, etc.)
- a programmer who can handle your sys admin stuff (shouldn't be too tough as it'll only be a few machines and a server or two)
- a business/marketing person to handle sales, generate sales, and run the books

a photographer is something you won't need that often and you'll bill the client for it and hire out when you do.

chris