Planning to start new web design company : Help

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning to start new web design company. There is no problem regarding skills and fundings. But I have one question. How should I get my first client and first project? Apart from web designing, we will also provide services in developing web applications. Kindly guide us and tell me how to get my first project.

Thanking all of you in advance. Kindly guide us.

There are a lot of ways to find clients.

If you actually know what you are doing and have a legitimate business, one thing to try is to attend a local business association meeting and start meeting business people in your area. In the US we have a group called the Chamber of Commerce - there are local Chambers in almost every town. Joining these organizations gives you a way to meet other motivated business people and make yourself part of the business community.

Another thing you can do is put together a few presentations on "Using the Web to get more business" or things like that, and talk at business group meetings and seminars - such as the Chambers, Kiwanis, and so on.

i would say get a sponsor to get the word out

Networking is the key. As woodyz pointed out, joining a local business group would be ideal. Other things you can do is drop business cards. A lot of businesses will let you do that, and you can sometimes even set out a stack of cards.

Take my current position, for example: I am the manager of a local quick lube chain. I get to talk with nearly every one of my customers there, and I can determine their needs, just from general conversation. When the time is right, I drop them a hint and mention that I develop websites and such. The key there is to follow through, though. You need to carry the same charisma and integrity through the services you provide that you do through your self-marketing. If you don't, your customers will be left with a bitter taste, and they'll be less likely to spread the word about the wonderful job you did.

I agree.. Networking is a big part of getting clients.

One thing you may want to do is have a portfolio made (put in a binder to show prospective clients). Do some research around your area. Find businesses that don't have a site up (a lot of small mom and pop type stores probably won't have a site). Get some literature together so that you can go and talk to these stores (preferably a owner or at least a manager) and explain to them the benefits of having a website... (for restaurants, being able to have people see the menu online, and even place orders online).

But for this to work, you'll need to sell them by showing them a good reason to spend the money on a site.... showing them a portfolio of what you can do to impress customers that may visit their site...

Yes, I would build an online portfolio of designs and web apps for nothing. Just to get a portfolio you can refer to. Walk down the street in your city/town and offer to build a website for free/low charge just to get your feet wet. Once you have your first few clients, you'll start to get a feel of where and how to find good customers.

Also try out these freelancer sites; rent-a-coder, elance, guru and gaf etc.

you can also try posting on a forums to get more customers, you can try to make some ad camapigns, provide discounts for the first cutomers, now for you the time is for getting brand awareness rather then high revenue

Brand awareness? Add campaigns? Discounts???

To each their own, I suppose. If you are selling toothpaste you might want brand awareness and add campaigns, but in the Web design business (especially for a one-person company) there is no advertising campaign that will bring enough business (or any business for that matter) to justify it, and you have no "brand" to be making people aware of, and giving discounts just means you will get work that you can't afford to do and will take time away from going after the actually profitable work. You have to understand the business you are in.

Like others here have stated, you might want to find a way to network with people who have a high likelihood of needing your services. One good way to get this contact will be through business organizations and groups. Pay particular attention to groups that are specifically for companies and professionals who provide web related services - such as site programming, design, graphics, management, marketing, etc. since these are the people most likely to have needs for your services at any particular moment, or who will know someone who does. I have gotten a lot of work from people who were overloaded with their current workload and were happy to find someone to send work to.

For example, one technique I use is to phone all of my competitors in my local area (it is best to already be acquainted and on friendly terms with them through "networking") and ask if they have a particularly troublesome or annoying customer I could take over from them - someone who is losing them money or is more of a headache than they care to deal with. I have gotten a number of very loyal and profitable customers over the years this way. You have to be good at solving problems and controlling customer expectations for this to work, but the point is you have to be aware of what you are best at and search for customers who need that quality above all else. That is just one example of how you need to think when doing business in a highly fragmented industry like web design.

Target your customer very specifically and find the best way to contact and get to know that small set of customers who are most likely to give you the type of jobs you need. No add campaigns, brand awareness, and especially NO DISCOUNTS!
Solve problems for people and they will pay you "full price" and more.