What is my family company doing wrong?

Question

We run a Web Design/Development business together, and we have 1 client from when we started in March 2008. I am the senior designer, and I do all the Designing. My father is the main contact and helps me get through all the legal business that I am currently familiarizing myself with. I work in Dreamweaver, and am currently advancing with my PHP knowledge. I just recently figured out how to code profiles and logins/member databases. I have sites that have working registration and login, and am on the verge of creating fully functional profiles. I am also very familiar with custom-placement Div objects.I have many other skills as well. I would even be comfortable creating a site without being paid to do it until itwas ready and done.

My family and I have tried advertising, but it is as though no one is looking for a Web Developer. Then again I know this cannot be true, as I have looked at places such as Monster, and there are a myriad of listings. The problem is that the requirements are insane and that of a college graduate.

I'm trying to figure out why there are no listings looking for an Experienced PHP/Div-oriented web designer that has completed HS and Some College. It is as though there are no web developer jobs available for students IN college....it's depressing. I am doing this business with my family so I can get money for my Education, is that so bad? Not to mention, we are very low-priced compared to the big-wigs that charge thousands of dollars nad give templates, whereas our designs come made originally. I know there must be someone out there who would be MORE than happy with what we cna do for them...What are we doing wrong that we only have one client in the past 8 months? We never did anything wrong according to him or our reviewers.

Answer 1

You should expand on where you look for jobs. In many cases it is best to build a strong portfolio to give to people. A good way of going on about this is taking on lower prices jobs and building a strong reputation to get started. I think your aiming to high right now, monster etc usually have people looking for very high qualified individuals. For now I think it would be best if you went with websites such as getacoder.com or elance.com. GAC is one I use personally and give a lot of jobs on it to people for designing. I do coding myself personally but I've paid in the range of $100-$1000 or so for some designing jobs. Which may seem low but its a good way for people to start.

Answer 2

No, you were not wrong. They presented themselves in a way that did not appeal to you, and so lost their chance to work for you. That is now business works. There must be someone else in your area who can do the same kind of work? I probably would not have emailed them, but perhaps knowing why their ad seemed inappropriate to you will compel them to change the ads. Or maybe they don't care, will share and gripe your email with everyone in their church, and forget about it. If they are so gun-ho about littering their ads with Christian symbols, they may be seeking like-minded clients and wouldn't want your money anyway. That is the impression I would have gotten from seeing an ad like that.

Answer 3

There are a lot of people looking for web designers and web developers. If you want a few free leads, send an email to [e-mail]

Answer 4

Nothing, its simply the economy.