M-I-5

yey its good stuff isnt it.....

hedsteve

The problem I have with it is that offering a product free degrades the value of it for people who do it for a living. its like having 2 grocery stores in town and one charges an acceptable price according to national standards and the other gives away everything free of charge. obviously you're going to go to the free store. which means every employ at the store that charges is going to lose their job and suffer because the owner of the free store decided give things away instead of having competative prices.

Another flaw in it is that you're doing comp work. that is free work to show examples to a posible client. your time is as valuable as his/her's so you should charge for your time coming up with the ideas. You should as get a breif on what your client wants before diving into a project. that way you save time in the long run you can get the project done ahead of schedule and get a bonus.

I mean sure I love doing design but if someone is giving it away free it makes all my investments in equipment and education useless. I might as well be a Philosophy major. (if anyone is a philsophy major sorry but I really don't see how it would be useful in any career)


had to edit some obvious grammar... obviously not an English major

M-I-5

im not offering it free but at a cheap price. there are so many sites to compete with the way i might have a chance of having success is having it cheaper. I wont charge as cheap as i was considering tho aftr reading that post earlier.

lilwicked805

It's a tough world out there for sure. I do freebies, less than what my checkbook would like me to charge sites and site right on the money. I don't have a flat rate/package that I post. I look at each project and base my fees on that. So many post $$ for sites across the board and it really doesn't apply to all that way and can cause potential clients to move on without giving you a chance. Be open to ideas, be well informed of your clients market, be on top of the coding game in your area and remember...the customer is always right. You can suggest but don't demand. You can show them why it may be better to go this way then their way but they are the ones paying you. I always give them a few templates to look at, my views and their requests. Usually it ends up being a combination of both. You will find many that have no idea what they want so you have to think on both sides of the fence to jump start them in the right direction. It's hard being out there on your own. Just try to stay positive and learn from the ones that will turn you down. Ask yourself why did they go with company B? What didn't I offer that they needed? Sounds like you are going in the right direction. Just remember your site is a reflection of you and your work. If you want professional work, make sure the site is professional, quick to load for modem users, not 100% java and verify your site constantly to ensure all links are working, all gifs are showing up, etc. :} :}

M-I-5

Thanks for the advice lindaw =) oh and anyone got any ideas for a name? lol

MisterMister

I agree with you, Steve. It's one of the reasons my business went under. There are too many people with a copy of Photoshop who think they are designers doing it for pennies.

lilwicked805

Hmmm I would say this is your first run at brain storming! Grab a piece of paper and pencil and let the ideas flow. Then when you find one your like, chances are the domain is already taken! lol Happened to me! grrrrrr

Let us know what you come up with and why you chose that name. :}

M-I-5

lol that is a problem right about 20 ideas down ALL the domains taken cept maybe .ltd.uk which i dont really want lol

MisterMister

I hear ya. Tried to get my new domain name, Planet 9 Design, and it was available for .com and I was all excited, but when I went back an hour later it was already taken.

M-I-5

slightly frustrating isnt it....