How to compete?

[peanutbutter12]

I left college back in 2000 when I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to sit behind a computer my whole life. Well, we're building a new house and I want to make sure we don't get into a rut, so I'm going to be doing web design it seems, once again. However, I have a major issue with running this type of business. Mainly, how do I compete with 14-16 year olds who can do the same things for a fraction of the cost?

Granted, a lot of these kids don't know a whole lot about things like PHP, but overall, they can match any basic website and charge a lot less than I would.

 

[jream]

There are many talented young kids dropping prices ruining a lotta web business. Sitepoint.com has tons of forums about this kinda stuff lol. Its a never ending discussion.

Anyways its true, they know a little html, maybe a little css, and they cut out a site layout in photoshop. If you get into deeper server side custom development thats where the money is, PHP/MySQL are requested a lot but the most high demand I ever is ASP.net/VB which I know nothing about.

Anyways take a look at Sitepoint.com they have tons of places you can sell art, designs, offer services, bid for a project, stuff like that (under the forums). Its tough, but if you freelance its nice to get a few gigs.

I found the best way to get some freelance work is going to places around you. A lot of people would much rather work with a freelancer than a company because you wouldnt be as expensive. And they usually dont know what Server-Side even means, they just say can you make this look like this. Pretty much making an Ad in html form lol. I always keep the css/xhtml valid for the newbies but you know It means nothing to them they just want it to look nice.

 

[davidcreed]

I have to agree with jream.

If you're looking to build your design business these days, your best bet is to concentrate many of your marketing efforts offline. Most people don't know the difference between quality backend and poor backend. All they know to look at is the front end and the $$ they put out to get there.

Talk to people around you and get your name out there. Do some quality work with one of the local churches or nonprofits and you will be surprised how quickly word gets around .

I get quite a few internet customers simply because I have put together good packages for people with little or no programming/design experience. People love plug and play, and it's best to build your business from the ground up based on what your customers are looking for.

Offering hosting services at a reasonable price with outstanding service is also a good way to lead into design and maintenance work.

just my two cents, and I wish you the best of luck.