Hi everyone, ive just set up my own company and gone freelance. I am trying to target new businesses, people who are looking to set up their own company and need logos designed and business cards, things like that. Any ideas of the best way to reach this specific customer. I have also set up a website using iweb, im not really a web guy I work mostly on print work, so I would love to hear peoples opinions on the site and how you think it could be improved. I look forward to hearing and talking to you all.
Hi Andymac, I'm in a similar position of having just set up an accounting company targeting freelancers. So I've been researching this area a bit from the other side. One place I would recommend to start is Find Freelancers - 96,356 Freelance Jobs on PeoplePerHour.com. There will be lots of people on there saying they need a logo made but what you will find is that they won't be willing to pay much. But if, like me, you have a limited client base to start you probably don't mind that too much in the short term. Other things to consider are posting on boards such as UKBusinessForums when someone has already brought the topic up. Hope that helps, Tim Whitehouse www.capricaonline.co.uk
new businesses Hi Andy Firstly congrats on going it alone! As Tim has said above, PPH is OK for getting your portfolio going, but I do personally agree that, by and large, hirers don't expect to pay too much (not just me dissing the competition, honest! I've looked at winning bids in the past and heard from plenty of freelancers on their experiences too). You could try Freelance Alliance (> green box to the right). We set this up as the antidote to bidding sites and the result is a straight forward directory of high end UK freelance creative and media professionals. You'll be optimised for your skills and location so anyone typing in 'freelance illustrators London' in Google will find Freelance UK members (plus you can list up to four skills if you're an illustrator as well as a designer and photographer, say). The other thing you can do is subscribe to a Companies House online service which for a yearly subscription allows you to see new incorporations daily in your area. PM me for more details on this. I've had letters in the past from people who've used this service to target me personally, so you'll need to be aware that newly formed companies may well receive a blizzard of dull, uninspiring junk mail that you need to stand out from. Best of luck!
Well according to me being just a freelancer can help in getting rid of most expanses, that you would directly have to face as while opening you own company. Any ways well done thanks a lot for sharing your experience.
To be honest I get most of my new clients through Freelance Alliance (the green box to the left), it really works for me. Linked In is also good as you can target your ideal customers. Get yourself know on social media too. I've recently got 2 new clients through Twitter. You will find as you start to build up clients word of mouth will spread too and they will recommend people. Good luck and well done for going it alone!
