Re: Step by Step

>         Let me be a little more specific. On my budget, I can't even
afford
> to buy a $5.00 magazine, let alone a $20-$30 book. I need to get work
right
> now! After my first completed site design, I'll be able to buy those
things
> I need.

Honestly you really need to come up with some money to get the materials and
tools.  Trying to do it without is not a good idea.  There are bank loans,
family loans, etc.

At the very least you need to have your own domain name being hosted on a
fast server.  You'll need business cards, a dedicated telephone number, a
registered business name, a tax number, a business bank account, and
business checks.

Software and hardware wise you will need at the very least a scanner, a
graphics editing program (Photoshop for example), an FTP program (I use
WSFTP Pro), a variety of browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, and
AOL all for testing your sites), a good word processor (like Microsoft Word
for when your clients send you documents in electronic format).  You'll also
need a decent computer and a fast internet connection (I use ISDN). Don't
forget a good antivirus program to scan any files that are sent to you.  Do
you have a reliable backup device?  Tape drive, writable CD rom?  If not get
one.  You need to be able to backup your clients data in case of a
catastrophe.

I wouldn't worry about HTML editors.  I use Notepad+, Multi-Replace, and
Finder, all freeware to do all of my web design.  My largest site is over
3,500 pages and I can make a global change to all of those pages in minutes
with no specialized HTML tools.

Do you plan on functioning as the "Webmaster" for your clients?  If so you
need to be available to them 24/7 so add in a cell phone, pager, and laptop
computer.  Why?  What if your clients site goes down at 1 am on a saturday
night while you are on vacation?  Well if you want to keep the client you
need to be able to get things up and running ASAP.  This is the most
important if you are doing any sort of ecommerce enabled site!  An active
ecommerce site that is "down" is losing money.  I have one site that
averages 5-10 orders an hour.

Does this sound like a lot?  Well yes it is.  But it is what seperates the
"Pro's" from the "Amateurs" (at least in my humble opinion - and trust me, I
spend a lot of time as an "amateur" and lost a lot of money and clients).

>         What I need now, is help from someone on this list. I'm going to
> start bidding on jobs, and I need to know just the basic steps to complete
a
> job. For example, when a company accepts my bid, whats the next step?
> There must be some FAQs that these companies will be asking. What are
they,
> and how should I respond? (I don't want it to seem to them, like it's my
> first time designing a site for money, even though it is.)  :~)

Well you may want to consider being honest with your potential beginning
clients.  Heaven forbid that they find out that they are the "first" when
they thought that they were getting an experienced professional.  Not only
would you lose the job, thus losing the time and money invested, you may be
open up to a lawsuit, and then you'll be shut down before you even go live.
Trust me, I've seen it happen.

If you start by approaching smaller businesses who do not have the budget
for a big time web design firm to come in and do the design, and approach
them with a fair offer, being honest that they are getting a good rate
because you need to build your portfolio since you are only starting, you
will be much better off. They will also give you a little more leeway when
"bumps" occur in the time frame, etc.

>         And I'm still worried about legal fees, not so much the amount,
but
> more on, no money up front. Is there a way to get around this, have the
> customer pay, or will a lawyer draw up a contract that includes his/hers
> fees?

No client is going to pay for *your* legal fees in having a contract drawn
up and such.  This is one of those expenses you need to take care of
*before* you sign your first client.  Not doing so is at your own peril.

Trust me on this one, I was screwed bad.  When I first started, I bid on a
web site.  They wanted to redo their existing web site which displayed about
100 products.  So I made up my own contract that I thought was "iron-clad".
Well the joke was on me.  When I asked them to send me the materials for the
web site, a week later I received *boxes and boxes* of paper catalogs.
Total items of 100?  Not.  Try 3,000.  And by the contract I wrote out I was
bound to do it.  So for $2000 I had over 2,000 hours of work... That's less
than $1 an hour.  Now that was in '97.  I still have the same client.  But
I'm paid *much much* more now and I do 7 sites for them with complete
ecommerce capabilities and over 6,000 products.  Plus I get a bonus at the
end of a year based on their web sales.

However, I will always wish that I had been paid fairly for the work that I
did and had had a lawyer draw up a proper contract for me in the beginning.
Luckily I had a wife who was working that could support the family while I
was earning that measily $1 an hour.

>         Please someone, I'm like a child, running alongside a bicycle, I
> just need someone to help me jump on with my feet planted firmly on the
> pedals.

Well you sound like you are serious about doing this, and that is great.  I
hope my suggestions help a little bit in your decision making process.
Again, it may sound like a lot, but do you want to be a Pro or do you just
want to do this for fun?

Jo Poplawski

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