RE: expected income.....

>As always, any help, reassurance or general words of encouragement will be
>greatly appreciated. Flames are not necessary ( my wife has already done a
>good enough job! hehe )

Never give up!  Be creative!  And most of all, don't listen to the
naysayers who will attempt to run your ideas into the ground.  I've been at
this since starting off in my house back in 1996.  I worked as much as I
could "moonlighting" and then convinced my employer that we needed to
branch out and to allow me to bring my home business into the office.  Now,
I'm still at home, but as a separate office over 130+ miles away from where
my employer is. (xDSL is great!)  I have the latest and greatest technology
at my fingertips and the phone is ringing off the hook.  Two words -- niche
marketing.  We always have focused on doing one thing and doing it very
well.  If you pick an area of expertise that is related to what you do or
know, you can go pretty far.  (We offer dynamic database-driven site
content as our niche to various markets.)

Some other helpful hints?   Network with anyone, anytime that you get a
chance. Meeting someone who may not be interested in a page or site now,
doesn't mean they might not be in the future.  Likewise they may refer
someone to you down the road.   I met an old friend from high school and
have already received many new jobs and leads from just that conversation.
Make sure everyone you know is aware of what you do.  My sister just turned
up another customer today.  If your friends or family think you are just a
computer jockey, they will probably miss opportunities to shuttle business
your way.  

Don't ignore the obvious!  The reason some things work is because they've
been out there forever.  Specifically I'm referring to advertising, like
business cards, newspapers, radio, etc.  As you grow your business, set
aside a budget for advertising and stick to growing that part of your
business.  Nobody will knock on your door if they don't know you are out
there -- and just how many bazillion results do you get back on a search
engine for "web designer" or "consultant"?

Speaking of the obvious - get involved in the community and make a
difference.  Joining your local chamber of commerce will give you more
networking opportunities and a chance to learn from others in different
fields how they make things work.  You can do pages for charities or other
organizations that will help your portfolio as well as helping out some
very worthwhile causes.  Some chambers even have meeting facilities that
you can use or rent for client meetings.  

It's up to you what you do in this field.  There have been many times that
I think I'm crazy for doing this.  I left my employer for a while and went
to work back in the corporate life of a large telecom company based in
Kansas City.   I'm now back with my original employer.  With the telecom
company I had another web design/programming job with low stress and a very
organized structure.  Now I get to do a wider array of tasks, but I also
have the headaches of domain registrations and the irritable customers.
It's not an easy job, and there will be low points.  Just keep plugging
away and never give up!  (And always keep on top of your competitors -- if
they weren't there . . . well you'd be called Microsoft.)

Bradley Miller
Programmer/web master - AccessZone Design
www.accesszonedesign.com

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