How To Start A Business With No Money: Web Designer

30 May 2010 Start-Up


Unlike me, you have an eye for art. And unlike me, you’re also very creative. It’s what drives you. Why not consider starting a web design business? It costs less than $50 to get started. If it’s what you already enjoy doing, why not get paid for it? In this article, we’ll walk you through how designers get hired, where to get started, and what steps you can take to well… get started. So read on.

A Good Designer

A good graphic designer, like a plumber is hard to find. They are typically hired through referrals, like most professionals. Customers want to know that there was a personal or working relationship with someone they knew. It makes hiring the person less risky. Aside from the quality of work, customers want to know how professional you are. Did you meet your deadlines? How well did you listen to your customers’ vision and then communicate it through your design? This one always gets me: How timely are you in responding to phone calls, emails? So it’s of peak importance to have clients who can refer you to other clients, thereby giving you work. And so with that comes the chicken and egg problem. How can you get clients to refer you if you don’t have one client yet? How can you get a client if you never done any design work before? Here’s how.

Where To Get Started

All designers get their start somewhere- they most likely started small. When you’re a designer, people look at your portfolio to see how well you design something. This can be a logo, website, or any print materials. What’s a good place to start? 99Designs is one such place. At 99Designs, you can enter in paid contests where you help develop a logo or web design for a customer. If your design is the best, as chosen by the customer, you win the reward money. This can range anywhere from $100-$600+. The more the reward money, the more designers will be competing. What I believe is a benefit is that even if you do not win the contest, the work you did is something you can put on your portfolio. The more you have in your portfolio, the more design work you have done. The more design work you have done, the better the designer you become. The better the designer you become, the more likely someone will hire you. See how this works? 99Designs and other similar crowd-sourcing sites take out the “hire by referral” practice. You can be 13 or 31 and no one will care except for the quality of your work. For anyone starting out, that is a big selling point.

Now that you know how and where to get started, it’s time to act. You’ll need to:

  1. Create an account on 99Designs.com, Hatchwise.com, LogoDesignTeam.com, LogoSnap.com
  2. Create your own website to showcase your increasing portfolio. Options include setting up your own hosting and WordPress or Blogger site or you can get a free account. The template you select should be one that has a portfolio feel.
  3. Start designing.

Read Further

Created By: Jack Liu

Chief Community Officer at TeenBusinessForum. I believe that successful and ethical entrepreneurs make the world a better place. To make that a reality, I help empower teen entrepreneurs that will be the next generation of business leaders.

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