3 replies
Hi All!
I have been lurking for a few days and I must say this forum ROCKS! So many great people sharing great ideas!! I would love to hear your advice on my situation:
A few months ago, I went to get my RAM upgraded at the local computer shop. When talking to the guy, I told him I was studying web design, and he says "we always get people asking about websites and stuff, we don't have anyone to refer them to. Whenever your ready, just bring some business cards down here, and we'll set them on the counter and hand them to anyone that asks about getting a website made" I was was shocked when he said that they didn't have anyone to refer people to, because this place has been fixing the neighborhoods computers for like 10 years! Anyway, at the time I thought, I'm not good enough, I don't know enough, etc. etc.
(For the record I wasn't studying in the official college sense, I was studying in my spare time via online resources, tutorials on youtube, etc)

I am no expert..I only know a little about a lot of different things. I know some HTML & CSS, a little bit of DreamWeaver. I downloaded WordPress but haven't tried it yet. I can make graphics and animations in Photoshop. I've also used online drag and drop programs like blogger and homestead's sitebuilder. I have been reading up on aff marketing and monetization techniques, but haven't done anything with the knowledge yet, just not sure where to start i guess!

Anyway, I am really broke now, and suddenly have no money coming in, so I need to get creative and make some cash quickly. I don't really have money to put into anything right now, maybe a few dollars for hosting but really, I am tapped out right now.

Can my basic skills make me any money here? I keep feeling like I just need a few more months to learn more skills before jumping out there but I am out of time. So I am just gonna have to fake it till I make it.
so what is the best approach to take here or angle to pitch?
I was reading up on some of the offline success stories here...there are so many great ideas here!
I was thinking about talking to some local strip mall businesses and trying to sell them 'instant' websites. I do have a laptop, I could bring it with to show them the site right then. I could also try to get a monthly maint fee? But what is the monthly maint on a little website for a restaurant, hair salon or vet's office? What am I charging for? Do I give them control of the site or not? If I charge a monthly maint fee, do I register the domain and hosting in my name or the biz name?
I also thought about trying to sell a sub page or banner spot on my new "area directory" (that I haven't built yet!) I suppose I could build one and "show" them the site before it goes live!? That way I wouldn't have to invest in the domain name and hosting yet.

I was also thinking of leaving some cards at that computer shop with the lure of free set up and try to rack up aff commisions for hosting at bluehost and/or try to charge them a maint fee too.

I am just not sure if I am skilled enough to pull this off! And I have no idea what to charge. Should I ask for chump change since I am really in need or try to get a higher price? Sorry for so many questions, I'm just trying to figure out what I'm doing
#fast cash #hosting #newbie #offline #post
  • Profile picture of the author Joel O
    Welcome to the forum! Your right, there's a lot of great people sharing amazing knowledge.

    If you want to consider designing web sites for other people, I would just keep learning and doing more and more. Try using all the main tools/programs out there to get the hang of them all. Go check out other web sites which might be similar to the ones your clients might want and try to re-create them to see if you know how.

    One tip; you do not necessarily have to know how to do the design work in order to get clients. You can always outsource the work that is needing to be done, just try to get 50% or all 100% up front so that you can afford to pay to outsource.

    That might be an idea for now if you need cash soon, since it sounds like you basically already have clients waiting via the computer shop.

    In terms of what to charge, I can't say since I don't know the area you live in. You will have to do a little research to see what others are charging in your area. Just understand that if you are new with no past testimonials, that you might have to beat others on price.

    One more thing... USE WordPress! I love it, and it can work for so many different types of web sites. Start playing with it and learn what it all can do, it can save you a lot of time.


    Hope that helps,
    Joel Osborne
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  • Profile picture of the author wbakhos
    As Joel said, if your not fully confident in your website creating abilities, I'd recommend outsourcing the work. you can find people to do it at elance.com, rentacoder.com, guru.com etc.

    This way you could improve your turnaround time by working on several sites at once meaning more cash flow coming your way by doing the same amount of, if not less work.

    Jump in and do it I say, because chances are if your not ready now, you probably won't be ready later. There is never a perfect time to do anything, you just need to bite the bullet and commit. Its more fun that way!
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    • Profile picture of the author Cornelius G
      I agree that you just need to take ACTION-ACTION-ACTION on your great idea. Mix it with self-confidence and the results will surprise you. YOU-CAN-DO-IT.
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