IntroductionIntroduction

How I Got My Start

The Business End Why Start Your Own Business? Getting Clients/Advertising What To Charge How to stay successful

The Business Plan Competition

Conclusion

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How I Got My StartHow I Got My Start

Fell into my lap

Parish was first client

Forced me to learn HTML (using Frontpage) Stuck with/kept up with technology

Learned a lot in my first few years Consider myself lucky

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What Did I Learn?What Did I Learn?

Have confidence in your work If you don’t believe in your work, why should

someone else?

Communication with Clients Put things in English People skills

Specialize

Proper Business Workings

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The Business EndThe Business End

Why Start Your Own Business?

Getting Clients/Advertising

What To Charge

How to stay successful

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Why Start Your Own Why Start Your Own Business?Business?

Be Your Own Boss

Greater Payoff Potentially More Money More Satisfaction

Do What you like to do My Own Business vs. My ‘steady’ jobs Create work you can call your own.

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Getting Getting Clients/AdvertisingClients/Advertising

Word of mouth Talk to people you know Referrals are key

Build a portfolio Do some pro bono work to get started Do good work.

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Getting Getting Clients/AdvertisingClients/Advertising

Put yourself out there Website (www.casabona.org) Business Cards Job/Gig Boards

www.gigs.37signals.com www.authenticjobs.com www.freelanceswitch.com

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What To ChargeWhat To Charge

Hardest Part for Me

Don’t go too low Will show you’re not confident in your work

Prove your worth Don’t get pushed around and cheated.

Be up front with the client

Know your target market

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How to Stay SuccessfulHow to Stay Successful

Have a plan and follow through If you have an idea, run with it

Network Make contacts, remember people

For me, it’s side projects and services You can’t always count on having clients Offer some service that will constantly bring in

money

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How to Stay SuccessfulHow to Stay Successful

Don’t let your business go stagnant Redefine it Keep up with changing technology

Take Risks

Set Attainable Goals Start projects by taking smaller steps Great Plans are nothing if you have no base

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Recommended ReadingRecommended Reading

How to Start a Home-Based Web Design Business

By: Jim Smith

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The Business Plan The Business Plan CompetitionCompetition

Competition Background

The Idea: Into the Open (www.intotheopen.com)

What I will be doing: Creating a business plan This will force me to really think about my

business

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ConclusionConclusion

If you have an idea, run with it

Have Confidence in your work

Be willing to take the risk

Keep up with the technologies Since I got my start: CSS became the standard,

HTML evolved into XHTML, AJAX got very popular

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Questions/Questions/Comments?Comments?

If you want to set off and go develop some grand new thing, you don't need millions of dollars of capitalization. You need enough pizza and Diet Coke to stick in your refrigerator, a cheap PC to work on, and the dedication to go through with it. We slept on floors. We waded across rivers.

-John Carmack

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