I am planning to start my own web design company. But have a few questions:
Firstly,
What is the best way to communicate with a client - I live in the UK and phone cost to USA would be pretty high when spending time chatting about what they would like on their site - as well as flying accross the world ofr that matter.
secondly,
What is the best way to recieve payment? get them to send you a cheque - credit transfer or what?
thanx in advance
and I will be doing a few sites in advance (about 2 weeks) of launching the company to bulk up the portfolio so If your interested then email me
webmaster@worldofwrestling.co.uk
(no doubt I'll get flooded with requests so If I don't choose yours don't get stressed)
Since you're starting out, why not focus on companies in the UK needing websites designed? Especially smaller companies and non-profit organizations. You may have to do a site for free or low-cost, but the referrals it can gain you are well worth it.
I've found that the best way to accept payment is through a check or money order. Customers aren't really that certain about giving out their credit card numbers unless you're a big name like Amazon.com or Ebay, and that you can guarantee that customer's purchasing safety online.
I hope this helps, any questions feel free to email me, as I've been through this before
Like it has been said start small, you are not likely to get many clients from the USA if you are a small company as small businesses will hire a small webdesigner in the USA. If however you get very good at your work and people in the USA start to get interested then they will usually deal with the communication problem.
I do a lot of work for another design agency and they have people who fly over from the USA to meet them because they want their services, but then again my client has many big clients as well.
Don't ask for a credit card. People just don't like to use them unless they are dealing with really big corporations.
Use checks. They are fast, accurate, etc.
Start with people in UK. It will help you grow before you are ready to work overseas. I have to admit that I wouldn't be able to start a company that does business across the world like that.
one more problem though:
when using the EMBED and OBJECT tag for flash how do you ensure that no matter what browser someone is using the flash shows up or if not an image show ?
Daniel - I have my own multimedia company in the UK. If you have any questions or just want someone to bounce ideas off then please to do not hesitate to contact me. Don't worry, I will not steal your clients as most of the work I do is local in Lancashire.
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Webmaster of Gib-Online Dot COM (or webmistress for that matter!) www.gib-online.com
The Rock of Gibraltar on the WEB
I am also starting a web design company and I agree with the people above. I think I am going to just say "send me a check and once it is received I will give you the site" sort of thing. That way they can't steal the site from you and they will probably trust you to give them the site because you are a company who doesn't want a bad reputation. Good luck!!!
Most people don't want to part with their hard-earned money unless they "see" the site before they pay for it. Post a relatively large picture of the site online so that they can see the basic layout and design. This way your clients can also make suggestions or changes before the site is published.
I have maintain about 10 client domains now, and i find that once you client has worked along with you creating the site they want they will pay you. it is actually quite hard not to notice how honest your clients are.
BTW bank transfers are the easiest form of overseas money transfers
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