I'm excited for you. Web development is an exciting business to be in. As someone who built a software development company here is my two cents about getting started:
1. Don't ever work for free. Even if you have to spend all day / night trying to learn how to get something done. Even if you end up making $2 an hour because you spend 90% of your time learning.
Don't de-value yourself. There are plenty of smart business owners that will gladly pay you a thousand dollars to build a small website for their business because they know it would cost them five thousand from a local shop.
2. Don't be afraid because you don't know how to do something. When you are working in web development you will always face problems that you have to learn how to solve. That's why this business is so exciting. It's always changing. The larger the projects the more complex the problems.
3. If you want to have a web development business embrace the fact that you need to sell websites before you can build them. You will spend at least half of your time working leads and meeting people. Build yourself a website. Make some brochures. Sit down and make a list of local businesses that need help with their websites. Go to these businesses in person and start talking. Be honest that you are just getting started and need to build a portfolio. Offer to help them.
The fact that you are in the portfolio stage will resinate with some people because they will interpret that to mean that you will go the extra mile because you plan to use this to gain more work.
To recap: Don't work for free. Don't be afraid of what you don't know. Get out there and start selling.
I wish you the best in your endeavor!
1. Don't ever work for free. Even if you have to spend all day / night trying to learn how to get something done. Even if you end up making $2 an hour because you spend 90% of your time learning.
Don't de-value yourself. There are plenty of smart business owners that will gladly pay you a thousand dollars to build a small website for their business because they know it would cost them five thousand from a local shop.
2. Don't be afraid because you don't know how to do something. When you are working in web development you will always face problems that you have to learn how to solve. That's why this business is so exciting. It's always changing. The larger the projects the more complex the problems.
3. If you want to have a web development business embrace the fact that you need to sell websites before you can build them. You will spend at least half of your time working leads and meeting people. Build yourself a website. Make some brochures. Sit down and make a list of local businesses that need help with their websites. Go to these businesses in person and start talking. Be honest that you are just getting started and need to build a portfolio. Offer to help them.
The fact that you are in the portfolio stage will resinate with some people because they will interpret that to mean that you will go the extra mile because you plan to use this to gain more work.
To recap: Don't work for free. Don't be afraid of what you don't know. Get out there and start selling.
I wish you the best in your endeavor!