Working for the right type of clients for you, will allow you to focus on what you do best: Web Development.
In the past I’ve made the mistake of working for any clients that asked me to do work for them. Some of these clients have been clients that had a very small budget but huge expectations about what could be delivered for that small budget.
This is the type of client that won’t value your time or your expertise. I’ve found doing work for such clients will leave you feeling undervalued and out of pocket (working lots of hours for little reward).
The best type of clients are those that appreciate your an expert Web Developer and that any use you time and time again.
So who are these clients ? The best clients are companies with at least five employees that have been in business for sometime, these clients are usually realistic about timescales and understand using an expert, will lead to a job being done properly.
Examples of good clients for a freelance web developer are:
- charities or organisations that need to communicate alot of information (they require ongoing work on their websites)
- digital media or marketing agencies (ongoing stream of new websites needed)
- large arts companies e.g. like a music company that needs websites for bands regularly
These type of clients often keep a roster of freelancers to work with, so if you can establish a good relationship with one of these you can gain a lot of repeat business.
Working for a repeat business client has the following advantages:
- This saves you time and money by not going to do lots of marketing to gain new clients.
- Saves hassle about getting paid, as you develop a relationship where you know and trust one another
So the moral of the story is the selective about the clients you do work for. Target the clients the value you and will come back to you time and time again.