Thinking of Going Into Business?
I started a webdesign business back in 2002. Even though I live in a very small town with only 1200 people, my business thrived for five years until I shut it down so I could do something else with my time. Most of my business was local.
Now I've transformed my webdesign site into a blog that tells people what they need to know to start a webdesign business. I tell people the tricks of the trade that took me many months to learn.
Plan Your Business
...writing a business plan helps organize your efforts.
Start by writing a business plan. This will force you to think about how you would like it to work out. While writing, you're likely to be hit by lots of amazing inspirations. Get wild with it. Write your heart out - you will be amazed at what you end up with.
Here are the sections of a business plan:
Business Description
1. Location
2. Legal Structure
3. Nature of Business
4. Owner's Resumé
5. Business History
6. Goals
Products and Services
1. Products
2. Services
3. Advertising
4. Suppliers
5. Production
6. Quality
8. Costs
Market Information
1. Market Areas
2. Market Trends
3. Target Markets
4. Competition
5. Niches
Marketing Strategy
1. Mission Statements
2. 1 to 3 Year Marketing Goals
3. Marketing Strategies
4. Marketing Timeline
5. Marketing Budget
Pricing
1. Direct Expenses Per Unit
2. Monthly Overhead
3. Pricing Strategies
Facilities
1. Location, Size, and Zoning
2. Age and Condition
3. Expansion Opportunities
Management and Personnel
1. Management Expertise
2. Key Personnel
3. Organization Chart
4. Staffing Plan
5. Sub-Contracting Plan
Benefits to Community
1. Jobs Created
2. Building Rehabilitation
3. Meeting Community Needs
4. Increased Community Tax Base
Financial Management
1. Record Keeping
2. Bookkeeping
3. Start-Up Costs
4. Financing Plan
5. One Year Cash Flow Projection
Conclusion
1. Statement of Commitment
2. Restatement of Goals & Objectives
Get More Training
Their current class offerings include:
CSS
Designing Websites using HTML
FP Themes - Eliminate the "Canned Look"
DreamWeaverMX
Introduction to JavaScript
Expression Web Designer
PHP
SEO The Write Way
FrontPage 2002/2000
FrontPage 2003
SQL for Database-driven web sites
The Power of cPanel
Grant Writing
Learn which font works best
Access
More Prospects, More Revenue: Using eMarketing to Grow your Business
Adobe InDesign
PowerPoint
Basic Virtual Office Assistance
QuickBooks
Basic Drawing/Layout in Word
Quicken
Ebooks for Fun & Profit
Typography
Effective Newsletters for Your Business
Word
Excel
Plus a variety of Photoshop, Flash and other graphics classes.
Get Legal
...make your business respectable.
If you're serious about owning a web design business, you must do it legally. That means getting a business license. Every state and locality varies on how a business license is obtained, and the costs involved.
more on this topic
Books To Help You Learn
...in this business, you can never learn enough.
More web design books.
Start a Knowledge Base
...keep track of the cool things you learn about web design.
If you don't have a knowledge base for your webdesign business yet, start today. Start collecting all those tidbits of information that tell you how to do neat tricks with your webdesigns. Anytime you learn something new, you can keep the information in your new knowledge base. This knowledge base can be located online for others to use too.
Keep Up With News on the Industry
- Smashing Magazine
- Smashing Magazine is a weblog dedicated to web-developers and designers.
- bunnyhero dev
- Blog about Flash CS3 and web development.
- Web Designer Wall - Design Trends and Tutorials
- Web Designer Wall topics focus on web design, tutorials, and modern design trends.
- Tutorialized
- Links to hundreds of tutorials on topics of interest to web designers.
- Vitamin
- A resource for web designers, developers and entrepreneurs.
- UX Magazine
- The user-experience magazine.
- WordPress Training
- WordPress training videos and blog tutorials.
- Ten Web Development Tips I Wish I’d Known Two Years Ago
- Hindsight = 20/20... we're all in a learning process as web designers, and every now and then we find a new technique that saves us a lot of time and effort. This article attempts to help guide new web designers on the path.
- PromotionWorld : 7 vital knacks of professional web designer while designing creative website
- What should a professional web designer know how to do?
- 6 Steps To Bake SEO Into The Web Design Process
- Despite tough economic times, and advertising budgets being pulled back in almost every sector I know of, companies are still ...
- Brutally Succinct
- Very informative blog for web designers
- A List Apart
- This site is full of information and tutorials for web designers.
- 24 ways - web design and development articles and tutorials for advent
- The advent calendar for web geeks. Each day throughout December we publish a daily dose of web design and development goodness to bring you all a little Christmas cheer.
The Web Design Business Poll
... please choose one answer.
Add your web design site link here
...vote for designs you like best.
Here's what we're going to do here... I'm listing web design sites, and you can add yours if you like. Then we can vote on the ones we like best.
Note: This is only for sites owned by professional web designers, it is not for sites about how to start a design business, or for sites about html editors and the like. The intent here it to show how other web designers choose to present their business on the web.
Webdesign Bookmark Paradise. All links you need or we add them ! No Spam, no pop-up sites.
We search and test the best for you, spam + popup more...3 points
Miami web design
Miami web design, Miami SEO, flash, and ecommerce more...3 points
Web Design
AUSTRALIA - Steber Website Solutions is a fresh, i more...2 points
Website Design | Chicago Website Design | Illinois Web Design | Weblinx, Inc.
Chicago Website Design Company. Chicago Web Design more...1 point
http://www.352media.com/
352 Media Group is a professional Atlanta web desi more...1 point
Website Design, Graphic Design and Internet Marketing Services
SavvyDog's Website Design and Graphic Design smash more...1 point
Intellisites - Albany Web Design
Albany web design, web sites, database development more...1 point
Rise Creative Group - Orlando, Florida Web Design - Website Designers
Discover Orlando, Florida's premier website design more...1 point
TwoThink | Web Development, Graphic Design, Hi-Definition Video Production, Search Engine Optimization and Marketing in Orlando
Orlando, Florida's Top Creative Design Agency, Two more...1 point
Professional Web Development Company
Solexy company is a professional provider of web d more...1 point
http://www.silver-stream-productions.com
Silver Stream Productions is Multimedia Company lo more...1 point
Miami Web Design
Unlimited web Designs is a leading Web Design Comp more...1 point
PSD to XHTML, PSD to HTML, W3C Valid XHTML & CSS by XHTML Slicing
PSD to XHTML and PSD to HTML services are brought more...1 point
Business Web Design
Get your business the attention it deserves with a more...1 point
Illinois Website Design | Chicago Website Design | Orange Concepts, Ltd.
Illinois Web Design, Chicago Website Design, Chica more...1 point
Web Site Design London
Kaizenet is a web design company that specialise i more...1 point
FREELANCE WEB SITE DESIGNER
Ken Liang is a London freelance web designer who s more...1 point
3am Group - Orlando Web Design, Orlando Search Engine Optimization
Orlando Florida's Premier Web Design, Search Engin more...1 point
web design tips
1 point
Web design & website design by professional web designer
web design by professional web designer for websit more...1 point
Gold Coast Web Design
AUSTRALIA - fresh, innovative web design company.1 point
Web Design and Development Company
A web design and development company based in Leed more...1 point
Search Engineering Specialists
Isulu.co.uk, the Search Engineering Specalists, is more...1 point
Website Design UK
Website Design UK based Company offering solutions more...1 point
Underscore
Underscore is a specialist branding agency with a more...1 point
Web Design India
Web Design India & Web Development India by Ko more...1 point
PSD to HTML
PSD to XHTML and PSD to HTML services are brought more...1 point
Professional Web Site Design & Development in Connecticut
We are a full service web site design and developm more...1 point
WebsitePush: The #1 Marketplace for Buying and Selling Websites - Recent Auctions
Sell your websites and domain names at WebsitePush more...1 point
Troy DeShano Creative
All-in-one creative direction, design and producti more...1 point
Articles from my Klamath Design blog
... on how to start a web design business
- Web Design Ideas
- If you're planning a career as a web designer you should start as soon as possible to collect your favorite designs to keep as inspiration. Here are some sites that collect great web design treasures.
- Graphic Background with Whitespace for Text
- Code for a web page with a graphic in the background, and whitespace for the text area.
- Backups Can Save Your Web Design Business
- Backing up your web design business files may save you from a business information blackout.
- Applying For A Business License
- Web design businesses need to get business licenses to operate legally.
- Redesigning Web Sites, Proposals and Portfolios
- Sales pitches to prospective redesign clients should be well thought out using proposals and portfolios.
- Free Sample Service Invoice For Web Design Businesses
- Free service invoice for web design business owners.
- Why I Started My Web Design Business
- Starting a web design business came as a surprise to me, but it was profitable and worth doing.
- The New Web Designer In Town
- If you want to start a web design business, learn everything you can about it first.
- Marketing Plan - Part One: Choose Your Core Services
- How to choose core services for your web design business marketing plan.
- Marketing Plan - Part Two: How Will Your Core Services Benefit Your Clients?
- How will each of your core services help your potential clients?
Starting a Web Design Business
More web design DVDs
The Downside of Design
...good idea to read all perspectives before starting.
- What I Hate About Becoming a Designer | Jeremy Adam Davis
- It's been a year since I started to get more into the design aspect of computers but I'd like to share some things that frustrate me as I make this
Web Design News
...from Google News.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byMore ideas on how to start a web design business
- How To Start A Web Design Business
- Small business web design.
- Starting A Home Based Web Design Business
- Klamath Design helps people starting a web design business. My tips for home based web design businesses come from my experience as a former web design business owner.
Your comments are welcome...
Let me know what you think.
-
Reply
- LindaJM LindaJM Jan 19, 2009 @ 6:24 am | in reply to Lara
- - I'm glad you asked! I'm about to start a ten-posting section on my blog, Klamath Design, that will start with an article on creating a marketing plan.
-
Reply
- Lara Lara Jan 18, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
- Like the lens...but there is nothing on marketing your web design service. :( Would love to know how you promoted your services!
-
Reply
- Joan4 Joan4 Jun 18, 2008 @ 6:28 am
- Great lens! You have such a broad range of knowledge and experience! Thank you for sharing!
About me
Lensmaster LindaJM has been a member since June 11 2007, has rated 1,574 lenses, favorited 677, and has created 111 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee". See all my lenses
My Bio
I live in the Klamath River Valley of Northern California. I'm a writer with several novels under development, and a few being submitted to agents. None published yet, but hopefully that will soon change.
You can learn more about me by reading my lensography or this page about my novels.
I have two other Squidoo accounts:
1. Politics - AmericanCitizen
2. Spirituality - Geniyyah

Are you a Squidoo lensmaster over age fifty?
Come join the Senior Squids!
Check out these great lenses...
-
- Image and Video Mentor
Welcome! I'm Linda Martin, your Image and Video Mentor here at Squidoo. I love working with images and know you will too once you have the right software and a few simple instructions. This lens lists sites where you can find free images on the web.... view lens -
- Ten New Lenses by LindaJM
Only the newest, the fledgling, the fresh out of the box lenses made by me, LindaJM. This page shows the lenses I've made most recently. Often I've gone to bio pages of other lensmasters and wondered what they've done most recently. This lens is my... view lens -
- Writing Topics from A to Z
Ever felt writing-obsessed? If you're a writer, most likely you'll identify with that term. We who write are usually thinking or learning about writing when we're not actually doing some writing. I like to write novels, but in my spare time I write... view lens -
- Geniyyah's Lensography
Hello, I'm Geniyyah, the spirituality-seeking alter-ego of lensmaster LindaJM. I've brought this series of lenses into their own account because I want to keep them clustered together for clarity's sake. You see, in the very long list of... view lens -
- An American Citizen's Lensography
We're such a diverse bunch of people, I don't think anyone can narrow it down to what exactly American citizens think of their country, their government, their land. So take this as just one solitary American citizen crying out in the midst o... view lens
by 7 people |











