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How to Learn Code, Start a Web Company, $15k+ per month within 9 months

Fox

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emailing does not close sales.

Exactly. I have only ever closed one sale through email and it was a strong referral. Emails are just to warm up the call and perhaps get some interest going. These sales are all closed through calling and talking directly to the decision maker.

I helped someone on this thread write up some emails and they got a 3/10 positive response - " lets talk". He called one of these and the call didn't go well. He got stuck talking to some gatekeeper. I said let's email them again and now they want him to do a much bigger job (after saying they are not interested on the call). Emails can definitely work but only as part of a bigger system.

A general rule in web design is that you probably don't want the clients who instantly bought through your cold call or cold email. They more than likely will not be great to work with. You want to spend time getting in with the right client. You will be building these larger sites for 1-2 weeks so client selection is very important and time spent up front getting it right makes 100 other things easier down the line.
 
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Fox

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Any tips on how present myself on the email and not to look like a bummer given everything? Come up with several other mock-ups before sending the email would be a good one?

Write like you would talk to a friend and offer a lot of value up front.

My emails, after a call, give a lot of practical and useful advice. You will see other services on this forum offering free-cleaning or consultation etc. My email is a free here-is-how-to-fix-your-website guide. They could, and it has happened, just take that and go elsewhere but most don't. If you can't explain in an email how to fix their site then you probably can't do it in person either.
 

Trivium iz rC

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Might have missed this part because I haven't read all 30 pages of this thread. Surprised that once most people learn HTML & CSS and a little of javascript, they don't make it easier and focus on front-end frameworks.

Hopefully I can help a little bit

Learn Bootstrap (Framework)
 

lifeNchoices

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Started my first site today. Its for my existing consulting business, my current site was crap and my customers typically didn't care if I had one. This is mainly for a show piece when I need a portfolio. I'm going to go through a few different designs and pick the best one. Here is a peak at one of them. Its up on a cloud 9 instance, it will shut down when my computer goes down for the night.


hobo Solutions
 
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D

Deleted44974

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My emails, after a call, give a lot of practical and useful advice.
But since you already called, you just maintain communication via email or book another call to close the deal?

Edit: @lifeNchoices, how did you build that website? Used a theme? Which one?
 
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JDx

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Started my first site today. Its for my existing consulting business, my current site was crap and my customers typically didn't care if I had one. This is mainly for a show piece when I need a portfolio. I'm going to go through a few different designs and pick the best one. Here is a peak at one of them. Its up on a cloud 9 instance, it will shut down when my computer goes down for the night.


hobo Solutions
Not bad. Looks a bit generic but I'm sure you will be adding in more custom content like your previous work etc.
Cant really read the footer text though, perhaps use white font color?
Also 'hear what are client say' ; our.
 

lifeNchoices

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But since you already called, you just maintain communication via email or book another call to close the deal?

Edit: @lifeNchoices, how did you build that website? Used a theme? Which one?


I used an Lhandler theme I downloaded some time ago, I wish I could still find it, but I do have the ZIP file if you need it.

I pretty much finished the HTML course and then started using theme's to re-do my website.
 
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lifeNchoices

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New site done today. Its amazingly easy to get something "Decent" done in a little time. Getting something ready to sell takes more detail, but what I have seen from some of the people I plan on contacting it shouldn't be that hard. I've compiled a list of about 10K companies to call. Out of that 10K, I hope to qualify at least 2-3K and actually close a decent percentage. New site below.

24/7 Computer doctors
 
D

Deleted44974

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How much time does it take you from start to finish to come up with a page like this?

Is always the small details that take up most of the time for me.
 
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lifeNchoices

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How much time does it take you from start to finish to come up with a page like this?

Is always the small details that take up most of the time for me.


The site I did above took me about an hour. I spent a few days gathering free and a few paid HTML templates online. So when I've been building my portfolio I just find a site then go through the templates I already have and try to get an idea of what would be a good fit.
 

Espectro

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Hello everyone, I hope your day is going well. I am seeking advice on the following : I know basic HTML and CSS, enough to make a decent website but not good enough to actually put myself out there to make websites in exchange for money. I purchased a HTML 5/CSS 3 on Udemy to further expand my knowledge on HTML and CSS and have more practicality when it comes to making websites. I hear stories of people making double digits which in my circumstances is amazing because I don't make more than $700 a month working at the job I currently have.

The question I have is when I do have the experience to make website and charge people/companies for it do I have to know any of the server-end languages such as Ruby on Rails? When I have made a website how do I get my client to access it? What is the best way to market my services? How do I know I am ready to charge for making websites?

Thanks to anyone who takes time out of there day to reply to these questions!
 

Drewskay

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The site I did above took me about an hour. I spent a few days gathering free and a few paid HTML templates online. So when I've been building my portfolio I just find a site then go through the templates I already have and try to get an idea of what would be a good fit.

What template did you use for the website above. Keep grinding!
 
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Drewskay

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So I feel I finally have a decent grasp of CSS/HTML and have been playing around with different themes for the past couple of days. I've reached out to some of my friends who are freelance photographers/videographers and am gonna meet with one of them this weekend about potentially making a site for them. Not much but it's a start. Thanks @Fox for the thread and guidance!
 

Samuriscimi

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The question I have is when I do have the experience to make website and charge people/companies for it do I have to know any of the server-end languages such as Ruby on Rails? When I have made a website how do I get my client to access it? What is the best way to market my services? How do I know I am ready to charge for making websites?

Hey Espectro, you're going to need a way to actually build the website. This means either Ruby on Rails, super basic FTP knowledge, or a hosting service that will just push your HTML/CSS for you.

My question for you all is:
I use Skeleton framework (ultralight) to build most of my sites, but its pretty basic.
Should I upgrade to Bootstrap and learn it, or keep adding my own edits to Skeleton?
 
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JDx

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Hello everyone, I hope your day is going well. I am seeking advice on the following : I know basic HTML and CSS, enough to make a decent website but not good enough to actually put myself out there to make websites in exchange for money. I purchased a HTML 5/CSS 3 on Udemy to further expand my knowledge on HTML and CSS and have more practicality when it comes to making websites. I hear stories of people making double digits which in my circumstances is amazing because I don't make more than $700 a month working at the job I currently have.

The question I have is when I do have the experience to make website and charge people/companies for it do I have to know any of the server-end languages such as Ruby on Rails? When I have made a website how do I get my client to access it? What is the best way to market my services? How do I know I am ready to charge for making websites?

Thanks to anyone who takes time out of there day to reply to these questions!
Welcome.
There have been a few posts on this throughout the thread; if you have some time i definitely recommend reading through it.

For your question regarding getting the client access ; you do not need to know any back-end languages.
Use the search function in this thread and look for 'FTP' and/or 'hosting' ; FTP allows you to connect to your/a server and place files on there. The server will be configured with Apache etc (web service) and you placing the files on the server will display them correctly as a site.
Again, start reading the first few pages, a lot of this has been explained by Fox and other members.
 

JayPrince

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Phew! Finally made it past the storm of 30 pages.

This thread is absolutely fantastic, I am just getting started in this field and the wealth of knowledge is spectacular.

I understand getting your start on Upwork isn't the most advantageous of beginnings, however to get exposure, why would it not be a good place to start right out of the gate? If only to get some exposure and confidence in your skillset.
 

PrimeLF

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Hey Espectro, you're going to need a way to actually build the website. This means either Ruby on Rails, super basic FTP knowledge, or a hosting service that will just push your HTML/CSS for you.

My question for you all is:
I use Skeleton framework (ultralight) to build most of my sites, but its pretty basic.
Should I upgrade to Bootstrap and learn it, or keep adding my own edits to Skeleton?

I don't think there's any correct answer for this, it really just depends on if you think Bootstrap would be worth the time.
Overall, I believe Bootstrap is good to know because many templates use it so it's a good skill to possess. If you think Skeleton works good enough and you can create a professional website with ease, then you shouldn't need to change unless you think Bootstrap would help increase the quality of your end product.
 
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PrimeLF

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Phew! Finally made it past the storm of 30 pages.

This thread is absolutely fantastic, I am just getting started in this field and the wealth of knowledge is spectacular.

I understand getting your start on Upwork isn't the most advantageous of beginnings, however to get exposure, why would it not be a good place to start right out of the gate? If only to get some exposure and confidence in your skillset.
Why do Upwork jobs for a few hundred when instead you can work directly for a company for more. Even for an entry level design, you can get paid more than you would on Upwork. Personally, I think it's better to find & work directly for the client rather than go through Upwork.
 

PrimeLF

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Do you make custom graphics and logos for your clients as well? Or do you primarily focus on the website alone? If you were asked to do these for them how would you respond?
 

JayPrince

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Why do Upwork jobs for a few hundred when instead you can work directly for a company for more. Even for an entry level design, you can get paid more than you would on Upwork. Personally, I think it's better to find & work directly for the client rather than go through Upwork.
I can understand that, more money in my pocket!
 
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JDx

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Do you make custom graphics and logos for your clients as well? Or do you primarily focus on the website alone? If you were asked to do these for them how would you respond?
If they need it, we make it. If we can't make it, we outsource it to someone who can; photography, logo, copywriting, social media, etc. etc.
These things are fairly 'simple' and also very common in creating a website for a client. Would you really want to say to a client: "Hey yeah we can totally create a great new website for you. The design is top notch and is tested for getting you results. But no, we can't write any info on the page and we don't do any logo or image creating, so good luck with getting that sorted."

The client should be busy working. You are helping them out;
Map out what needs to be done,
Do it,
???,
Profit.
 

vshetty.vs

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1.How much information do you guys acquire about the client you are about to contact for a email/cold-call
I search on LinkedIn,facebook,whois for the owners information and if I don't get it I send an e-mail on the one given on the site.

Is this too much research because I cannot get to 30 companies a day just around 10 and I tend to spend 2 -3 hours just cold-calling

2. how do you know which email or number to contact, many companies have multiple departments

BTW I usually tend to find excuses instead of cold calling. So I send an e-mail asking if he wants to talk and if he is free for a call the next day,this way I HAVE to cold call no matter how tired I am
 

PrimeLF

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If they need it, we make it. If we can't make it, we outsource it to someone who can; photography, logo, copywriting, social media, etc. etc.
These things are fairly 'simple' and also very common in creating a website for a client. Would you really want to say to a client: "Hey yeah we can totally create a great new website for you. The design is top notch and is tested for getting you results. But no, we can't write any info on the page and we don't do any logo or image creating, so good luck with getting that sorted."

The client should be busy working. You are helping them out;
Map out what needs to be done,
Do it,
???,
Profit.
Yeh! Guess it wouldn't be too professional if I couldn't do those as well :)

Thanks!
 
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lifeNchoices

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1.How much information do you guys acquire about the client you are about to contact for a email/cold-call
I search on LinkedIn,facebook,whois for the owners information and if I don't get it I send an e-mail on the one given on the site.

Is this too much research because I cannot get to 30 companies a day just around 10 and I tend to spend 2 -3 hours just cold-calling

2. how do you know which email or number to contact, many companies have multiple departments

BTW I usually tend to find excuses instead of cold calling. So I send an e-mail asking if he wants to talk and if he is free for a call the next day,this way I HAVE to cold call no matter how tired I am


1. I can't speak on doing this for web sites, but in my other IT business, I use to call and try to get an idea for the IT systems they used(voicemail, auto attendants, what happens after hours when you call). I would see if I can find out how much money they made, how many employees, how many people in IT management can I find right away. Having a good idea of who you are calling works wonders.

2. I typically call and ask for the IT director if I don't know them by name. This will usually end up with the call going to voicemail, but I still like to give them a call.

I'm not the best cold caller, but once you do it for a while and you stick to your script and keep it natural it will come.
 

Mikey G

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What are you all using to develop sites? Can't one use Wix or Shopify to borrow templates and make adjustments?
I have plenty of experience utilizing Wix.
 

Scot

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What are you all using to develop sites? Can't one use Wix or Shopify to borrow templates and make adjustments?
I have plenty of experience utilizing Wix.

Honestly, if I paid you a few thousand $$ and you gave me a Wix site.. we'd have words.
 
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Mikey G

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point taken lol. What do you recommend starting off?
 

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