Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

In an ideal world, we`d all have business raining down on us .... realistically, don`t expect it to happen .... but do what you can to get what you can.

1) Your site has to be optimized for search engines, and for the area you want to service .... SEO, content, inbound links, etc.,  as well as clean/functional coding that search spiders can get through. There are a variety of online tools to use to get a .better look of how effective your site and its coding are.

2) You need a site that, at a glance, looks professional and gets your message across quickly and easily to potential customers to sell your service, and your business. First impressions go a long way, and your content needs to back it up.

3) Build a solid reputation with your current customers .... if possible, give them a few of your business cards, and ask them to pass along your name/number/card if they know someone that could benefit from your service.



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M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

one thing you could do is call a bunch of people and ask them to visit the website.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

There are several sites that match people requiring web design work with web designers.  How it works is clients post requests and designers respond with bids.  An example is http://www.designquote.net/.  There are several of these sites you could try. 

 

It has become more profitable for me to work as an outsource for other web development firms, although I still have my own clients.  I work 99.9% online through email, IM, netMeeting-type-collaboration tools - I don`t like to meet with clients in person or talk on the phone, unless absolutely necessary.  I understand it makes normal people nervous to do work without `real` contact of some sort - like those people that don`t understand the concept the the clipboard when they cut/copy and paste, I guess.  So having lots of customer testimonials and a solid online prescence is a must.
But be careful, if you are trying build a portfolio, you ususally can`t use the outsourced work you do.  To build a portfolio, you can do some pro bono work for non-profits.

i do logo and business card design and when i am looking for work, i find that the easiest way is to do a google search. for example "i need a logo designed" hit search and usually youll find 4 or 5 blurbs that actually are up to date. i even found this site by doing that process.

just an idea