Journey to location independence and $10k a month

[Davidla]

Do you outreach with linkedin? I know a guy that swears by it, doesn't need to spend a dime on ads. Takes awhile though. Outreach is probably the wrong word though.

Niche down and give out free value, join and create groups etc.

Haven't used Linkedin at all, although I'm sure it can be a great way of finding clients.

 

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[• nikita •]

Do you outreach with linkedin? I know a guy that swears by it, doesn't need to spend a dime on ads. Takes awhile though. Outreach is probably the wrong word though.

Niche down and give out free value, join and create groups etc.

I've never tried using LinkedIn myself but it does sound like a good idea. If your profile is well fleshed out the client can easily see your skills and that you're credible.

 

[• nikita •]

Gah, I'm in a strange place.

I seem to be invited more to design projects (Photoshop) rather than coding. And I am much more skilled in that area. However, the earning potential is much lower. I mean it would take the same amount of time for me to finish a complicated design as it would a website, but no one pays thousands for a design like they do for a website. I have no idea how to even automate it.

 

[• nikita •]

Started getting replies to my Upwork proposals, those that reply always mention how they love that my proposal was personal to their case and not just cookie cutter.

The Wordpress job ended up not working out, the guy kept making appointments to call me but never did and kept delaying so I ended it; it would have just caused frustration and wasted time. I'd rather work for reliable clients. After that I got accepted to a job, and another seems like he's about to hire me. A client I sent a design proposal to said she ended up finding another designer, but wants me to built the site.

You know what annoys me though? Upwork's horrific fees, jesus F*cking christ.

 

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[Bugs Bunny]

I hate upwork. It's horrible. Have you tried Craigslist, fiver? You could probably have a front end offering that you can use to attract clients and probably convert them to repeat clients.

 

[• nikita •]

I hate upwork. It's horrible. Have you tried Craigslist, fiver? You could probably have a front end offering that you can use to attract clients and probably convert them to repeat clients.

Mainly using Upwork as it's an easy way to get clients while I build up my portfolio. I'll start reaching out to people once I can show them website's I've done. Craigslist I haven't tried, it's putting up ads for your business, right? Fiverr is terrible, I've tried it before for design and got no clients despite making an awesome gig. I have to spent ages advertising it and only for a few $$ which get cut with terrible fees.

 

[Bugs Bunny]

Craigslist gigs section has job posting for web development. You can also post jobs wanted ad.

 

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[• nikita •]

So the guy who took forever to respond and I ended up taking back my offer/proposal just messaged me asking how much money I want to design and build his website. Apparently he needs it done and hasn't found anyone. The power of good proposals, eh?

Now I'm wondering how much to ask for... It's a pretty big website and the designs will take a long time too. Originally I asked for $1000 but that was just for the building. But the guy seems desperate enough for me to ask for much more.

I'm thinking of outsourcing actually, but where, as the guy's already using Upwork... I don't even know how it all works with other people building the website and then passing it on to me to pass it on to him.

 

[• nikita •]

Almost finished my first web design job on Upwork... this guy is such a great client, I got lucky! It feels great when someone is very pleased with the results! Wondering if I can get a referral from him or if it'll be pushing it...

I'm also considering sending snail mail to ~20 businesses. Send them a letter on how they can improve the site, and put a stress ball or something inside lol so that it stands out and doesn't go straight in the trash... Not sure how legal all this is though, what if some touchy guy gets pissy and calls it harassment.

 

[• nikita •]

Made a list of rich, "unsexy" (as Fox likes to call it) companies with terrible websites. Gathered information about them and wrote guides for 6 of them on how to improve their website, with an offer to help them. Have about 10 left. Then will be sending them along with a small gift or chocolate. Heh, hope this works

 

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[Deleted48496]

How's the journey going? Keep us posted

 

[• nikita •]

How's the journey going? Keep us posted

I moved on to another venture. Web dev is extremely saturated and I realized I could provide much better value elsewhere.

Here's my new thread if you're curious: Progress Thread - Path to creating a digital product

 

[mo3]

I moved on to another venture. Web dev is extremely saturated and I realized I could provide much better value elsewhere.

I'm so glad you wrote that I just read this entire thread (sorry, late to the party), and was worried - I set up a webdev company 18 months ago and I've just escaped it. It was a TON of work doing design and coding. More than most people imagine to provide secure, attractive, mobile responsive sites.

It got to the point where I was turning work away because it ate up every hour of my day and even selling sites at 4 figures wasn't a good return as it took so long to do the work properly.

IMO it's not a good model unless from the outset you plan to grow an agency, take on large corporate clients, and have nothing to do with the design/coding yourself.

Off to read your next thread now!

 

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[• nikita •]

I'm so glad you wrote that I just read this entire thread (sorry, late to the party), and was worried - I set up a webdev company 18 months ago and I've just escaped it. It was a TON of work doing design and coding. More than most people imagine to provide secure, attractive, mobile responsive sites.

It got to the point where I was turning work away because it ate up every hour of my day and even selling sites at 4 figures wasn't a good return as it took so long to do the work properly.

IMO it's not a good model unless from the outset you plan to grow an agency, take on large corporate clients, and have nothing to do with the design/coding yourself.

Off to read your next thread now!

Hah, yeah I didn't think it through/research enough when starting it out. I read Fox's thread and fell into the typical trap of following ideas that others have done successfully that seem easy. Fox was successful because he's good at the communication part and can effectively communicate the benefits of his websites to clients. I'm a major introvert and instead of trying to force myself through things I'm naturally terrible at, I should follow an idea that involves something I'm naturally great at. And just because someone was successful in a horribly oversaturated field doesn't mean I also will.

After making sites for clients for just a couple hundred bucks at MOST, I gave up. Hearing "Well, we were thinking $100 max, what do ya think" in a thick Italian American accent was the humorous breaking point for me.

My ultimate goal for the company was to move from coding the sites myself to turning into an agency but it would require too much time, too much "well, in the future when" steps. I needed something more concrete.

If I had finished reading TMF before rushing to start I would've realized all this!

 

[mo3]

Haha! Been right there, so easy to do!

But, each time we fail we learn right - so it's all good

 

[MattR82]

Why don't you put some effort into improving your communications with clients, and look at outsourcing some of the design?

I don't know if I would call web design saturated. There are absolutely tonnes of good businesses with crappy websites hurting them out there.

Your client selection is not great!

I don't understand how you think looking into turning it into an agency and outsourcing some design etc is too much work.

 

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[• nikita •]

Why don't you put some effort into improving your communications with clients, and look at outsourcing some of the design?

I don't know if I would call web design saturated. There are absolutely tonnes of good businesses with crappy websites hurting them out there.

Your client selection is not great!

I don't understand how you think looking into turning it into an agency and outsourcing some design etc is too much work.

I missed out a major part of what made me give the idea up -- it's not fastlane.

Everyone and their grandma has a web dev company. There are a ton of shitty websites but there are also a ton of web devs, and a ton of pissed off business owners who don't want people ringing up their ears about new designs. It takes a lot of calls/emails/whatever to get a sale, let alone a well-priced sale. I felt too spammy trying to make it work.

Web dev is one of the most saturated fields you can get into. And I found an idea that isn't saturated, benefits the customers immensely and I can provide a shit ton more value. The idea sells itself, I can monetize it a lot of different ways, and it can scale thousands of times better than a web dev company can.

Props to those making a web dev biz work though, it just wasn't for me.