Once you’ve gathered all the necessary skills and experience needed to design a website, you may be thinking that it’s time to go it alone and set up your web design agency. If you have an entrepreneurial mindset but you aren’t sure where to start, here are 7 top tips before starting your own web design company.
Decide Your Business Approach
Getting your web design agency off the ground can be challenging if you don’t know where to begin. While some agencies may fool clients into overpaying for cheap designs to make cash quickly, you will never build a successful web design company that way. There are lots of key factors to take into consideration beforehand, such as whether you plan to build a web design agency targeting a particular niche, or you want to go all out and provide services that relate to all things web design. Having a clear vision for your business is crucial if you want to see any kind of success.
Create Your Business Model
Once you have established how you plan to approach your business, the next stage is to conduct research and legal work. Applying for a business license is crucial before you get started. You will also need to purchase business insurance for your agency. Creating a business plan to outline all your objectives and goals can help you stay on the right track.
Know Your Budget
There are lots of running costs that you will need to factor in before setting up your web design agency. If you plan to purchase business property, you must know the cost of studio space, equipment, gas, and electricity. Whether you plan to run a small agency or would like to expand in the future, knowing your day to day running costs is crucial.
Build the Perfect Team
No matter how much experience and expertise you have, don’t ever think about doing everything solo because, after all, you are building a company, not a freelance business! It’s only natural that you will want to hire the best people for the job, so having a team of members who can cover each area of your web design business model to get you off to a good start. If you don’t have the budget in place to hire expert designers, you may want to consider building a remote team for your company at a lower cost.
Create a Marketing Strategy
Attracting as many design clients as possible should be your top priority, so instead of sitting around your studio hoping that clients will find your brand, you need to know how to market and promote your company to gain a following. Whether it’s by creating a business page on Facebook to reach out to customers and clients, or by launching your blog to engage with other designers, the possibilities are endless. You may also want to sign up to design and development platforms such as GitHub, which can be useful when it comes to spreading awareness of your agency.
Try to Find the Initial Clients Early
There’s an opportunity to find the first group of clients before even officially opening a shop.
Many times, founders will bring some clients with them whom they already know and wish to continue working with them. This usually means that a web studio doesn’t open with an empty client list.
If that’s not the case, then drum up interest by talking with previous contacts as soon as you’ve left your current employer. This way, the contacts will still remember you, and ruffling the feathers of your old employer is avoided!
Avoid the Urge to Splurge
The temptation when there’s some start-up capital is to splurge on state-of-the-art computers for everyone, the latest ergonomic chair at a shocking price, and so on. Avoid doing this at all costs.
Being sensible with your budget is one thing. Just avoid going on a spending spree to get everything you believe the business needs in month one. It not only blows the carefully created budget, but it costs money that may be badly needed if sales aren’t received as quickly as expected.
Deciding on your business approach, creating your business model, having a budget in place to finance your venture, as well as having the right marketing strategies in place are just a few top tips to take on board before launching your own web design company.