People contact me for tips and resources to improve their learning and find out what it takes to work in Freelance web design and development.

All of us were in this situation at one point, not knowing how and which direction to take. So I feel it’s good karma to pass on and share this knowledge.

So you know what I’m referring to, here are some examples recently from visitors to Jayonline:

1. I am also embarking on a career of freelance Web Design / Development, I have always had a huge interest and I get a lot of pleasure from it. I wonder could I pick your brains for a minute or 2.

2. Want to find out about “ruby on rails“, apparently the next big thing when it comes to Web Development. Does this sound good to you or am I missing something? Just really need a bit of advice since I dont know any other freelance Web Developers.

3. I am very much interested in becoming a freelance web developer such as yourself. Please could you give me some tips on where to begin.

Here’s what I usually reply:

Events: Not sure where you are based, but London, Bristol and Brighton always have digital events on, most are free or charge a small fee.

The best place for networking, building up a network of friends as well as clients.

Getting known for your skills: Think about specialising, don’t try to do everything as you can’t. Get known for ‘that ruby person!’.. I specialise in three things, then people remember you for those skills… ‘Who do I know who does Ruby?’, and they will think of you..

Be friendly, wear a smile: And to further the above notes, if you don’t do what they are looking for try to refer them to a colleague. Then they will also keep you in mind if they need any further help in the future.

At events, smiling, and not looking nervous will give the sense that you are approachable, confident, even if you are not the first few times! This will build up your reputation and make you and your services memorable.

Finally, check out two good links I have used written by Andy, where the many comments from the sites visitors will definitely save you making the same mistakes when starting out:

Top tips for Freelancers
7 Habits of a Highly Successful Freelance Web Designer

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at and is filed under about us, work, web services, freelance, freelancer tips, small business, startups, life. 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.