Laid off? Can Not find a job?
I have a good friend, who lost his job in dot com bust in silicon valley and then again in 2009 down economy. Steve is great at technical stuff and overall smart and hardworking guy in real life like many who got laid off around that time.
No matter how hard he worked to send resumes and phone interviews, he was unlucky to find a job. He was simply unlucky, after 3 months of not having an income , he was bored and frustrated to say the least.
Steve designed a website for me in his free time and he did a great job that other people started to like these simple jobs and now he is working from home, making websites and web designs for others. When you have driven past Steve’s apartment, the last few months, you may have noticed that his Honda Civic is usually in the driveway. That is because Steve now works at home with some of his friends and they are freelancer for anyone who may need web design work, logo work and so on.
How to be a Web Designer Freelancer
If you love web design and are technical savvy, you might just be perfect for web designer jobs at big companies as a staff designer like many people. However, if you like to be your own boss or not finding a job like my friend, you may want to look in to freelancing web design jobs.
Now with web presence for everything, web design is key ingredient for many big, small business to have a web presence. It is not only lucrative, but it also gives you freedom of starting your own small web design business. I am simply not good at web design, creating custom logo, coding css and html codes, I know little stuff but when it comes to big issues, I call my friend to help me. Two of my sites are designed by him and you can check out his company with his other friends at .
There are a few Benefits of Web Designer Freelancing
- Freedom to work from home
- Freedom to work anytime, as web design can be done at anytime.
- You can be your own boss or work for big Company as a web designer.
- Once you make name for yourself, business will be word of mouth and keep coming
- You can set your own rate for charging the web design fees as long as they are reasonable.
- Flexible work hours, waking up late can be okay
Possible downside of Freelancing:
- Until you established your self there might be no income coming in
- Even if you get a project, it might not be steady income
- Sometimes you need to do rush project, working 80 hours a week
- Self discipline is needed to be motivated when working from home.
- Social life can be lonely being working from home
What are Available Resources for Web Designer Freelancing?
So, if you decided that you want to start a freelancing job, what are the resources available to you? Some sites can bring you lot of potential clients and opportunities.
Some of the best sites you can find potential clients and advertise your services are;
elance.com
freelancer.com
Some sites may charge to place your ads in it, some are free. I have not tried it but I see some advertisement on craigslist.com for web designer, so you may want to look in to it.
When is a good time to start?
Good time to get started is now, the sooner you will start, the sooner it will start to work for you. Remember Rome was not build in a day so do not expect immediate success right away. As a freelancer writer I know it takes time. Good luck.