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General Discussion

Posted by Jonathan Musso
Jonathan Musso
3,760 Points

How would you go about being self employed?

If you are self employed as a web designer/developer already, what do you do? If you are aspiring to get there, what do you want to do? Do you want to specialize in anything, create your own product, etc. How would you go about being self employed with current technology knowledge?

3 Answers

Yele X.
Yele X.
5,537 Points
Yele X.
Yele X.
5,537 Points

I am self-employed now as a licensed electrician, and have had other businesses my whole life. I started Treehouse to build a business in web design and development.

I'm going to build a web development business the same way I built everything else. Throuyour work. Go after networking first with friends and family, telling them about what you do and asking if they, or someone they know needs the service you provide. As a small business owner, most of the work/ leads come through referrals. Other important steps are to have a professional website, and examples of your work available. I have tried several different forms of advertising, I've found marketing within my community to be the most effective per dollar.

Jonathan Musso
Jonathan Musso
3,760 Points

Those are some great ways to get started. Do you have any specific interests in the web technology that you want to specialize in? Do you want to be a generalist? Why?

Jonathan Grieve
MOD
Jonathan Grieve
Treehouse Moderator 91,254 Points
Jonathan Grieve
Jonathan Grieve
Treehouse Moderator 91,254 Points

I don't know about the US, but if you're in the UK, for sole practitioner business it's simply as easy as registering with HMRC. It's a bit more complicated when you want to employ staff but if you've got the drive anyone can do it. :-)

Jose Fremaint
Jose Fremaint
2,885 Points
Jose Fremaint
Jose Fremaint
2,885 Points

Im a web designer and i have a new web development company. I was a Graphic Designer for 5 years working for a company. Now i have 3 years as a web designer working for me. First i was designing the website and sending the PSD to a web developer. Then I learned HTML,CSS,Javascript and Wordpress development and now with those skills I'm creating custom wordpress themes.

I started creating a website for a friend that have a Barber shop. He got me 3 more clients… and those 3 got me 2 more… thats how i did it.

Good Luck with your projects! Have a great day.