Web Development as a Job

[SpicyDuck]

Does anybody here do Web Development on their own, self-employed? The more I think about it, the more I'd love to get into the game. But then, I think that maybe the whole market is saturated and it'd be a lot of work, for very little return.

What do you think? Is it possible to make a decent salary this way? I have a plan, and that involves a very low salary of around £8-10k. Somehow though, I think this is asking for a lot. Maybe I'm wrong. I really don't know, so I'd appreciate some input from people who've done or heard about similar situations.

Thanks.

 

[SpicyDuck]

If you're doing this self employed, you need to be a good salesman as well as a good web developer. In fact, in my experience, the former is a lot more important. You could be the best web designer in the world and still have no clients if nobody knows about you. Also, with limited/no professional experience you're going to have to blag it a bit to get the contracts and be comfortable doing that.

You've also got to keep on top of client accounts (make sure you're paid on time/at all), investigate and invest in advertising opportunities, keep accurate records and fill in a tax return and, if the business takes off, deal with the VAT.

I'm not saying you shouldn't go ahead with it - I believe you could make a very good living from it. I'm just saying there's a lot more to it than designing websites.

Regarding promotion, if your work is up to scratch, see if you can find a reputable webhosting company to set up a reciprocal arrangement with - they refer clients to you who are looking for web design and you refer hosting clients to them.

Best of luck with it .

Thanks Adz. I was already aware of the salesman aspect, and I know I can do it - Having given presentations and lessons to students of all ages, teaching English.

Most of all, I'm extremey passionate about design and development for the internet.

I don't mind doing a little blagging but, at the same time, I want my service to be as honest and fairly priced as possible. That, and a lot of hard work, should see me going in the right direction.

One thing I know nothing about is all the stuff related to tax and getting myself registered, but that'll all come in due course. I'm sure one of my uncles has experience of this nature, so I can ask him.

 

[SpicyDuck]

What do you think of a 8-10k annual income? That's not something I'll need to reach until the beginning of around Christmas time this year, but it'd be nice to be able to actually reach that point by then.

 

[SpicyDuck]

Although I asked the question, I agree with Mickey. A lot of people out there just don't have a passion for Web Development; they're just jumping on the bandwagon and wondering why they can't sell 10-minute Wordpress themes for £100 a pop.

Or they follow a Photoshop Tutorial to make a 'Chrome Effect', then go about thinking they're the dogs ******** for doing so. I think the key here, is for me to be innovative and unique in my approach. We all have the same tools, but we shouldn't all use them the same way.

I just have to work on getting a portfolio together. Bashing together 5 years worth of self-study, mistakes, discoveries and a whole lot else.

Mickey, it's not 8k per month that I want, although it would be nice haha, but per year would do very well for what I have in mind. At least, initially.

 

[SpicyDuck]

The reason why I'm only aiming for 8-10k, is that I plan to live in and around Asia for a year, two or three. Maybe more.

Lived there for a year before and, as well as being better (imo), living costs are much much lower. The only problem I see with that thus far, is I won't be able to meet clients physically. I'm currently trying to figure out a way around this.

As I said, I've lived in China before and I have basic usage of the language and a basic understanding of the culture. With that, my skills and a Chinese friend willing to help, I will also be aiming my services at the ever-growing market over there. The same might apply to Japan with a couple of friends I have there also.

But that's thinking a little too far ahead for the moment. Just thoughts.

 

[SpicyDuck]

You raise some interesting points. Japan, as you've mentioned, does have extremely high living costs, especially compared to Mainland China, Thailand and other Asian countries.

My idea though, is to do development for all countries around the world, via online communication and telephone. Although this may cut-out a lot of potential clients (due to not being able to meet them), I get the impression that a lot of work is done this way, regardless.

Also, although a lot of Chinese are proud to be themselves and to work with eachother, the prospect of having a foreigner 'with' them, does excite them quite a bit. More so if they're doing business with western customers, too. You raise a valid point about the living costs reflecting the market rate, but I'm sure it'll be fine for businesses based in the larger cities, such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and especially Beijing.

10k is definitely feasible in the larger cities. During my time out there, I met a lot of foreigners teaching English who were making more than that in some cases. It isn't rare at all for somebody with experience. I think the same will apply to web dev, mainly because of the foreigners touch.

Japan and South Korea will be very tough cookies, but I want the experience and knowledge of designing for all of these markets. The slight variations in audience, culture and language will prove a very big challenge, but it would be priceless and valuable knowledge at the end of it all.

As a nice little present, I get to continue my study of all these interesting languages, cultures, wonderful people and so much more. The way forward, for me at least, is definitely self-employment that allows me to travel. Making this work is something I'm entirely dedicated to.