1) I don't know of anyone that reads cold emails. I don't. I get more than 100 a day. But they keep on trying. It's sooooo easy to do things that way. It's also sooooooo ineffective.
2) I'm not going to have someone design my website that waltzed in out of the blue. That is a very important part of my business, and therefore I will not put myself into a situation where I might be held hostage to them, as they "own" my website somehow, which is a measure of control over my business.
3) Why do anything for free anyway? You can build your OWN website which promotes what YOU do. You definitely need to hone in on how business people think and do business. I don't want free services. I want VERY GOOD services.
4) If all else fails, become an employee of some sort in your own company. You don't own the company, but you are learning the business as an intern. People want to help interns. Who wants to hire a high school kid that knows something about building a web site? A high school kid - that's who. Get an older brother, or your Dad - anyone - to lend you their picture as the CEO on the website you build for YOUR business. And don't call yourself an executive vice president on a business card. Marketing associate maybe. Be very humble. You are not 28 with a BA degree in computer science, so step back and act like an eager worker doing his best. If you think you CAN compete with a 28 year old computer science major that knows five or six programming languages, well good luck. I know a few of those, and they are damn good at what they do.
5) I charge a lot for my services. Do you know what that says about me to my customers? It says I'm worth it. I don't compete with the cheap people in my business at all. Do you know what it says when they say they are the cheapest - or, worse yet, free? It says they know what they're worth, and have priced themselves accordingly. And that is not a good thing in any way.
When you are in business, you are in business. This isn't an extra credit project for some class. You are entering the realm of professionals. Act accordingly.
To add...
If you're 17, the biggest advantage you have is your freshness - you're perceived to know all the latest trends etc. You'd need to use this to your advantage somehow (how is up to you).
In terms of "getting clients" etc, I believe you're thinking about it wrong. I've done that before (and continue to do it every single week), and get several emails per week from people pitching on some new "corporate video" or "web design". They all go in the trash.
The way you need to consider it is several-fold:
1. Go in to genuinely LEARN - be disposable to business owners (IE be their slave to achieve results for them) in the pursuit of the bigger prize (KNAWLEDGE). You're doing the default problem (that everyone does at some point) of trying to force yourself onto the buyer, like a creep leering over some girl at a nightclub.
Business is kind of like dating without the sex. You can "speed date" (networking), "Internet date" (LinkedIn) or go full retard and try to get with the model (take bold risks). Just like in the dating game, you are judged primarily on your performance in particular situations - just like if you get good with women (be matter-of-fact, bring more to the table than you take away, are genuinely interested in living a decent life), people will start to get interested in what you're doing.
2. Build up something *of your own* and lead with RESULTS - this is the biggest one. Build your own Wordpress site / blog / ecommerce site in a "high traffic" niche and start working to get traffic to it. I owned the "second largest" Webkinz website when I was 16 and had a bunch of other stuff (most of which didn't do very well).
You'd be totally surprised if you went into a company and showed what you've actually done. When people see you're legit, they start to get interested in what you have. To liken it to the dating stuff again, it's very similar to how attraction is triggered. Do *anything* to try and make progress - @Damian Pros has a book about Fiverr which may serve you well (don't be afraid to invest into your education).
To give Damian his due, I got my friend onto Fiverr and has been experiencing semi-decent results (nothing like his, but still proves it's a decent platform -- especially considering one of those orders is for $300):
Another good example is this "book" I found at 17 which basically sold me on the whole "business" thing (notice how the page LEADS WITH RESULTS):
Get rid of any ego you may have; suit up and act like you are "trying to figure it out".
Be amicable with people (real world business is opposite to how it is on Netflix; I've sat across the table from guys before telling me how they were on anti-depressants setting up their businesses & getting sued by their former employer for stealing a $500k/yr clientbase - provide them with stoic determination and you'll gain their trust).
3. The advice of actually going into companies is legit - you'd be surprised at how your luck changes the moment you show up in person. If you wrap the encounter in wanting to learn, there's not a lot they can do about it. Yep, it's difficult & takes balls... but that's where the magic lies.
The real secret to business is results.
99.99% of business owners don't care about anything other than how they're going to cover payroll next month. Showing up asking them for some money to design a shitty website doesn't contribute to that. The best thing you can do is focus on what results you generate for the client (think about a personal trainer -- the ONLY thing they need to sell new clients is before/after pics) - the more potent the results, the more interested they'll get.
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The biggest thing I would do if I were you is get rid of ANY labels you may have attributed to yourself.
Does the world *really* need another "web designer"? What makes you different to the next guy?
Rather than labeling yourself, go after what's going to make the most money. Copy successful websites to make your own $$ - go to Clickbank.com and pick out any product that's doing well, make a site to sell it and then see if you can make money with it. Make review sites for popular Amazon products/niches, build up traffic with YouTube/Medium etc. Put your own spin on stuff. Get products sold. That's all business-owners want; someone who's able to increase sales.
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As to the 18 thing...
People don't care about your age (unless you're trying to tell them you're better than them // Erik "look at me" Finmann).
If there's really a problem with it, get someone over 18 to provide their details (dad? older brother? sister wouldn't do it; most women scared shitless of "breaking the rules"). l bought some skateboards at 15 and they refused to sell to me because I was "under age" - told them to sell them to my Dad instead. Ain't nothing they can do about that.
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Quite pertinent actually - check out my school report card (found last night) from when I was 17 (excuse swastika... really didn't like school at this point) - sometimes, you have to burn bridges:
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Finally, if you're interested in the online world, you may want to consider copywriting...
If you can write slick copy (that makes people want to buy), you'll have infinite amounts of business.
@Damian Pros business is SPXMAC - look at which of their Fiverr gigs are doing well and make your own versions. DON'T copy them (they've earned their success and you must respect that) - provide your own twists on things (for example, maybe instead of Amazon listing copy, do eCommerce listings or something). There are plenty of ways to make money without being a douche.
Most of success in the modern world comes from mental dexterity.
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Now, a secret I found in my early 20's - give it ALL away up front.
We're lead to believe that business is meant to be shrouded in mystery, only showing people what we feel they want to see. The reality is that, in my experience, people want "access all areas" (so they can make their own mind up -- this is partly why the Kardashians are so popular) - and the modern web gives you the ability to do this very simply. Expounding your experience is the most effective way to make legit money.
Create a blog to document your progress. Put NOTHING else on the blog except documenting anything you've "done" -- cold calls you made, pitches you presented, wins/losses etc. If you create a Twitter / social presence, only put up stuff pertaining to your own growth. None of the horseshit about "book reviews" and other crap that has already been done before. Create small "business" websites to sell new products; if they don't work out, put them on Flippa for some dude to buy.
The biggest fear people have is of exposing themselves. I have it; I'm sure others do too. But in order to be truly able to make progress - be willing to bare yourself to the world. "Warts and all", as Cromwell said. You do that, with enough people, and you'll eventually make decent progress.