As most independent web design professionals I have to wear different hats. I am the technician, the manager, and the entrepreneur who drives the studio. And given all these facets, I truly enjoy working the business angle of web design. Before I started designing websites I obtained a business degree, which helps quite a bit in managing the business. However, considering my background, I know that most freelancers are not in the same boat. So if you’re a one-man band, in the following paragraphs I share a few things I learned over the years as an entrepreneur who started a web design business.

1. Focus on 80/20

In business school the 80/20 rule is a popular concept, also known as the Pareto principle. Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian economist who discovered that 80 percent of the land in Italy was owned by 20 percent of the population. The same rule in business states that 80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of the efforts. So how does this apply to your web design business? For one, it means that as a businessman you need to stop wasting your time with futile activities. Stop chasing clients and projects that don’t produce results for your business. Adopting this mindset makes you conscious of your efforts and helps you gravitate to areas where you get the greatest results. One clear example could be eliminating all distractions when working on design or development. This includes online chat, Facebook, phone calls, and designate another time to handle all communications. Meetings are also a big time waster for many people. Instead of chatting mindlessly for hours, reduce meetings to a minimum and focus more on execution. Focus on the handful of activities that actually pay off and do more of it. Reduce the time wasters to a minimum and you’ll achieve more.

2. Track Everything

Simply put if you don’t measure your efforts, you can’t improve your results. Just like an athlete who increases his endurance or speed by clocking his time, anyone can increase his output by tracking it. So for example if you know you can hand code 5 HTML pages a day, this serves you when budgeting time for your next project and also in calculating the cost for a project proposal. Tracking time is essential because it tells you how many hours you spend on a given project. And at the end of the project you’ll know if you made money, lost money, or broke even. And given the options for time tracking available on the web it’s easy to track time for any business. For this purpose I highly recommend Harvest. It has an online interface and a downloadable widget for the Mac dashboard.

3. Communicate Effectively

You won’t believe how many business opportunities fall through the cracks because of ineffective communication or lack of it. The solution is simple: be professional and clear in all communications. This means in person, via email, in phone conversations, during follow-up, and you’ll never miss a beat. All these communication channels have a time and place for their most effective use. For example when contacting clients for the first time I’ve found that it’s more effective to use the phone than to send an email. Email is important and works wonders once the relationship has already been established. When you’re first contacted by a client through email pick up the phone right away and give them a call. They’ll be impressed by your prompt response and initiative. If the next contact is a meeting, make sure to dress a little more formal than your usual attire. First impressions always count. And remember that closing a sale is a process. It doesn’t just happen in the first contact, it may take up to ten interactions for a client to hire you for their next project. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. Know the process and when to apply each approach. And always use an email signature so that your contact information is readily available at all times.

5. Use Professional Business Documents

Business documents are the pillars on which business relationships are forged. Therefore it is crucial to have professionally designed documents ready to start the next project. I use three main documents when dealing with clients. They are part of a process I found to be very effective in my business relationships. I use a Client Worksheet, a Project Proposal, and a Client Feedback Survey. The Client Worksheet is a questionnaire that the client completes with information regarding the project. It is the first document I use in the process. With a completed Client Worksheet I have a better idea of the project scope and the work they’re expecting. This document also weeds out the tire kickers because only serious inquiries will take the time to answer this document (remember the 80/20 rule). I use the completed questionnaire to draft a Project Proposal. This document contains all the regular legal babble, project scope, guidelines, and cost so that all parties are clear on the matter. And finally, once the project has been completed and all files have been handed over to the client I send a final document, which I call the Client Feedback Survey. In this document my main concern is client satisfaction. I get their feedback and politely ask for three referrals. And I later use their feedback as a glowing testimonial on my website. All these documents send a clear message to the client: professionalism, which for my business means future work.

6. Streamline your Invoicing

Creating and managing invoices used to be such a drag. But those days are long gone. Sending invoices is easier than ever with web apps such as FreshBooks. All my invoices are managed through their online interface, which allows me to send email invoices to clients. They can later download PDF’s and I don’t have to worry about licking stamps or tracking. Clients even have an option for online payment gateways such as PayPal and Google Checkout so payment is even faster for me and more convenient for my clients. I encourage you to go completely digital with your invoices and use a web app like FreshBooks. It almost makes billing fun.

7. Be on top of Finances

Managing finances is the part where most creative types get lost. The only way to know if you’re running a healthy business is by tracking your income vs. expenditures. You can do this by using a monthly profit-loss statement, which can be created using an Excel spreadsheet. But there are many programs like QuickBooks that do this painlessly for you. If you don’t control this aspect, you might as well give up. It’s imperative that you know how much money is left after all is said and done.

8. Delegate and Outsource

I learned early on that I needed to hire help if I wanted to accept more work. There’s only so much one person can do in a day. To grow as a business you must delegate and outsource. And if you think you’re throwing money out the window, think again. By outsourcing to contracted agents you’re guaranteeing your client a faster turnaround and giving yourself a better return on your investment of time. This way you can concentrate on what you do best, and let a hired specialist handle the rest. It also frees your time to look for the next project without having to worry about developing every phase of the web design process. Work with people you know and trust, but if you don’t have a programmer in the neighborhood all you have to do is go online to sites like Craigslist, E-lance, and other job boards. You can find people willing to collaborate all over the world. And collaborating with other specialists is not only profitable, but it’s also fun. It will expand your network base and grow your business by leaps and bounds. And remember, the door swings both ways.

9. Relationship Management

All businesses thrive on relationships. The better you are at building and managing your clients and contacts, the more business you’ll command. So with this goal in mind, I recommend using a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager). A CRM is nothing more than an address book on steroids. But it does more than simply save your client’s contact info. It allows you to include special notes about clients, schedule events, set periodic reminders, and plan your next meeting all with a single application. I recommend using Highrise, a web application created by 37Signals that works spectacularly well in this regard. But there are more robust applications like SalesForce that really pack a punch. The important thing is to choose an app that allows you to manage all your clients effectively.

10. Build your Network

The only reason people will hire you is if they know you and trust you. And how do you grow your business if you don’t know enough people? Simply go out and do something with other interesting folks. This is where your social skills come in really handy. Being socially active is a good way to promote your business. You do this by joining groups that are not directly related to what you do. This could mean attending social events like art gallery exhibits where people tend to flock and mingle; or joining a photography group, a local charity, local meet-ups, wine tasting events, conferences, volunteer organizations, etc. Whichever activity strikes your fancy, do it. By simply becoming more socially active your network automatically expands, and you never know where business opportunities can come from. The important thing here is to be consistent. This approach is more of a long-term strategy. But if you’re constantly putting yourself out there in a way that people look to you for advice regarding your specialty you’ll be a successful networker. I try to meet at least one new person each week. I do this by going to parties, business events, and joining organizations that are aligned with my interests. Once I find a person I’d like to foster a relationship with I invite them for coffee or lunch. We exchange ideas and we keep in touch regularly. That’s why it doesn’t surprise me that my last project came through a friend I met at the gym.

Wrap Up

Apply these tips and you’ll become a more business oriented web designer, which in turn will help you turn a tidy profit. Having the shop in order will also make you feel more fulfilled by what you do and free your time to focus on doing your best work.

Written by Cristian Bosch on Saturday, September 26th, 2009 and filed under Business, entrepreneurship, marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Tags: Business, entrepreneurship, marketing, tips