How did some of you get started in freelance work?

I was wondering if anyone here does freelance design and gets paid nice $$ doing it. I am just curious,but how long did it take you to really take off and get customers. Cause I just started a small freelance thing with my friend, and its sorta a bit tough trying to get customers. So basically I am just wondering how other peoples experience went doing freelance work..

I started my business fr web design about 2 years ago. It started off pretty slow but local businesses in my town wanted websites so they cam eto me and I just went from there. I did alot of newspaper/ads/radio/TV and advertising

I started because I wasn't making enough money at work.

I think a good idea is to not just wait for people to come to you, but also to go to people and ask if they'd like a design for a reasonable price.

Also, make your webdesigning skills known (too many friends ask me to design something for them, and i do WAY too many free designs :/ )

i'm in a big city. i don't know if that makes it easier or harder to find work locally. most of my freelance work comes from all over the country.

i got my first web graphics freelance gig from someone who interviewed me at a company, didn't hire me and contacted me a few weeks later to do graphics on a site she was designing freelance. funny, huh?

i havent started yet but trying relly hard to get what i need to start on my own, any advice from you people that been through it all?? lets hear some good stories....maybe ill lear a thging or two..

Yeah, is there anythign I should avoid????

See my problem is,is that I am 21, but, I look like I am 17-18 years old and I can't really make myself look professional. So I can't go on and try to go to local businesses cause they don't take me serious.

So basically I got to find people on the net which is kinda hard sometimes.

try nice pants a shirt and tie
it helps

Lowizzy, I'm 23 and look 16. Just present yourself professionally (nice polo shirt and khakis should suffice) and you'll do fine. Act like you're 30, wear a wedding ring for a little added effect, wear makeup over any zits, leave a 5 O'Clock shadow on, put risers in your shoes.... There are a million people competing on the internet. If you are serious and want to make money, start locally. Show up 10 minutes early for the meeting, bring a partner for support (call him your "Marketing Director"), borrow your grandpa's Cadillac to take to the meeting, meet them at their place of business, not McDonalds or anything, just think as hard as you can on how to make that first impression and you'll do fine.

Wear nice shoes, and a belt. Slacks and a polo or oxford shirt.

Make sure you get contracts for any sites you do get, or you will get screwed over.

Visit a couple of BNI or Chamber of Commerce meetings in your area to meet local business owners. (www.bni.com or google for your local chamber of commerce)

Get some business cards printed, even if they are just basic name/address stuff.

Make sure you have a web site of your own with your portfolio. I've run across quite a few "web designers" that don't even have a portfolio or web site address.

Act professional, give a good firm hand shake, smile a lot, introduce yourself to everyone you can. When they tell you what business they are in, start thinking of ways you can help grow their business with a web site. If you see everyone in the room as a dollar sign, they will pick up on it and look somewhere else for their design needs.

Don't talk tech unless you can see that they are interested in the details. Instead focus on how having a web site would help them increase sales, because that's all they care about, not whether the site is in php or perl.

Sit up straight, don't fidget with things while you talk, don't cross your arms, look people in the eye.

If you go to a place like BNI or a Chamber event, memorize people's names and the business they are in as fast as possible. Keep a notepad with you to jot down web site ideas while you are in the meeting. (when I did a presentation to a BNI meeting, I gave examples of features that the businesses in the room could have on their sites to increase their business)

Don't go to those meetings for the sole purpose of getting business. Even though that is the real purpose, you aren't going to get business and referrals the first meeting most likely. You have to befriend the people and gain their trust for them to start passing your referrals. Maybe do a couple of free sites for the members, so that they will be more likely to recommend you to their colleagues.

Your age can either work for your or against you. If you look young and go in there acting young, you are dead in the water. If you go in there looking young and blow everyone away with your professionalism, you will not be forgotten.

I was 18 when I started going to these types of meetings, and my name was listed as president of our company. I dressed up and played the part, and people were impressed. I went to one convention however in a tony hawk hoody and jeans, (it was a convention full of doctors no less) and no one would take me seriously. I blew that one. You have to dress the part and act professional.

No what you're talking about. If you know you're having a meeting with a realty company, research real estate and learn a little about it, and find examples of good realty web sites. Think of creative features to have on their site to set them apart from their competition. Especially look at local companies in the same business as them, and see if they have sites. Then propose a better site to your prospective client. Chances are they have already seen their competitor's sites, and they are going to want something better. Show them how it will be better.

Answer your phone with the name of your company if you have one. Don't have a voice mail saying "what up dawg, i'm out right, leave me a message at the beep".

Use a "real" email address like [email]tom@yourdomain.com[/email], not [email]sk8trd00d@hotmail.com[/email]

Buy a leather portfolio (folder) to keep a set of pens, business cards, and a notepad in. It looks professional, insures you always have the supplies you need, and gives you something to do with your hands while you're standing and talking to someone, if you have problems fidgetting.

Run a spell check on everything. (I know there are errors in this post, but it's a messageboard, not an email to a client)

Respond to phone calls and emails quickly.

When returning a call to a client say something like "Hi this is Jim with Company X, do you have a minute to talk?" Don't interrupt them if they are busy, always give them an easy way to say "I'm really busy right now, let me call you back in a few minutes".

When leaving voice mails state your name clearly and say your phone number slowly and repeat it twice. Write it down on a piece of paper while you say it so you can make sure the person on the other end will have time to write it down.

Try to meet at the prospective client's business instead of a restaurant. Restaurants are noisy and public, you don't want a baby screaming in the background while you try to sell a web site. Also you will most likely have to buy them lunch if you take them out, and that gets expensive really quick.



That's just a few tips off the top of my head. Notice almost nothing about what I said had anything to do with web sites. Business is business, and if you are going to be doing business with people, all of that applies whether you sell web sites or pork bellies.