I got a new web design client... what next?

[OzzieMan]

So im a website designer and developer and i've been doing it for a while for the company i used to work for....but now i have my own client for whom i'll be developing a website. We are still in the very initial stages of discussions but he'll sign up for sure.

The thing is, while i have a strong technical background in web development, i don't have a background in doing this as a freelancer or agency owner. I have an overall idea about what to do next but i still feel a bit lost. Like the next thing im gonna work on is the scope of work. And then a contract perhaps.

Is there a course out there from where i can learn more about "how to run this business" side of things? I've seen a lot of "How to start your web agency" courses but they all mostly focus on how to get clients. I'm not worried about how to get clients, at this moment. I wanna learn more about what to do "after" i get a client.

Can anyone help?

 

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[Fox]

Hey @OzzieMan - I run an exact program on this side of things and have sponsored the forum for two years.

I think this is the first time I have ever jumped into a thread to link it like this, but since you are directly asking.

MARKETPLACE - The Proven Path to a Fastlane (Still Open for 2024)

Is web design still a profitable business in 2024? If you've been following me here or on Youtube, you probably know that I started a web design business back in 2016. If you missed it, I have a full gold thread on how it went here. In short, things went very well, I posted about it online...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[CoderSales]

So im a website designer and developer and i've been doing it for a while for the company i used to work for....but now i have my own client for whom i'll be developing a website. We are still in the very initial stages of discussions but he'll sign up for sure.

The thing is, while i have a strong technical background in web development, i don't have a background in doing this as a freelancer or agency owner. I have an overall idea about what to do next but i still feel a bit lost. Like the next thing im gonna work on is the scope of work. And then a contract perhaps.

Is there a course out there from where i can learn more about "how to run this business" side of things? I've seen a lot of "How to start your web agency" courses but they all mostly focus on how to get clients. I'm not worried about how to get clients, at this moment. I wanna learn more about what to do "after" i get a client.

Can anyone help?

FIRST thing to do is actually close the client with a contract (you can use DocuSign) and get them to pay with a payment processor like Stripe. Nothing is 'real' until the funds hit your account. Then do the Statement of Work.

For payment, 50% down deposit (non refundable) to pay for the wireframe and design phase => 40% down to then pay for the development on your staging domain => remaining 10% upon deployment. That way you get the most amount of $$ upfront and protects you if the client ghosts.

 

[Simon Angel]

The next step is to provide value.

Talk to your client and figure out what their problems and needs are. Find a way to solve said problems and needs with the website and systems you're building.

And like CoderSales mentioned above, get paid at least 50% in advance. If they do not want to put down 50% now, they will NOT pay you the full amount later. Trust me.

 

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