Insights from Chris Schmitz Featured In Web Designer Depot’s Latest Article

I was recently sighted in an article by John O’Nolan (http://john NULL.onolan NULL.org/) on Web Designer Depot (http://www NULL.webdesignerdepot NULL.com/) discussing some of the issues involved in starting a web design business.  John O’Nolan asked for some volunteers to share some of the issues they’ve had to deal with when setting up shop on their own.  To read the entire article, check out Starting A Web Design Business (http://www NULL.webdesignerdepot NULL.com/2011/01/starting-a-web-design-business/).

Here are my insights from the article:

“1. Working on my own time – Although this is one of my favorite parts of the job, sometimes it’s hard to sit down and focus at the computer when I know I can get to things later in the day.  If I happen to have an unproductive day, I quickly find myself buried in work and things can get pretty stressful.

2. Distractions – Some days everything seems to click.  I can take a few minutes away from a project to fire off a few emails and get right back to work without missing a beat.  Other days, responding to email and putting together quotes or proposals can take up most of the day.  Those days tend to feel very unproductive, but because I am managing every aspect of the web design process there are a lot of things to tend to.

The main thing that kills me is email.  I think it’s important to respond quickly to clients, so on days where my inbox is flooded it can be very difficult to get much development work in when I keep switching back and forth.  I have trouble regaining focus when I have a lot of interruptions, but that could just be me….

3. Client Management – Some clients are joy to work with, others not so much….  Not only does taking on a bad client make your life more difficult, but it also affects your bottom line.  Difficult clients are more work, and if the majority of your clients are difficult to work with, your job is going to be a lot more stressful and you’re going to work a lot more hours than you should be.”