Hi po,
I'm self employed (5+ years now) and although most of my business is programming, I also do websites. For what its worth, here's my advice.
1) Your site screams "one man band". Avoid "I will", "Choose me". Use "Us", "We". Refer to yourself as a company not an individual.
2) The homepage waffles too much about what you do & don't do technically, what tools you use. 99% of customers don't care what tools you use. Don't forget most of your customers won't even know what you're talking about when refering to "CCS, PHP, java, flash, code validation"
3) There's too much talk about money. Businesses generally pay via cheque so there's no real need to spell out how you'd like to be paid.
4) Your examples are a bit, errrm, amateurish. The best one is the AME jobs one. The other 2 look a like a nights work made by a hobbiest. If you have no other examples. Design a few madeup sites as examples.
5) Your contact page. The boxes are out of alignment which shows lack of care to detail. Presentation is always a good idea.
6) "Payment is not upfront, but upon completion of your web site." - Not a good idea. I personally find it best to charge a development fee before I start anything, even with returning customers.
Regarding getting work. Small local businesses are your best bet to begin with. Go in to them (dress smart) with a simple presentation pack (include a CD which sells your business, even something simple in powerpoint). Very briefly explain what you do and ask if you can leave something which might be of interest to them. Dont be pushy at any point.
In your presentation pack offer an insentive for that small business to make money for recommending your services to others. For example they earn 10% commission on all successful recomendations.
See if there's a local business network group in your area. Join it if there is, it's a great way to get your name and business cards into the hands of people who could give you business.
Anyway, thats just a basic outline from my own personal experience :)
I'm self employed (5+ years now) and although most of my business is programming, I also do websites. For what its worth, here's my advice.
1) Your site screams "one man band". Avoid "I will", "Choose me". Use "Us", "We". Refer to yourself as a company not an individual.
2) The homepage waffles too much about what you do & don't do technically, what tools you use. 99% of customers don't care what tools you use. Don't forget most of your customers won't even know what you're talking about when refering to "CCS, PHP, java, flash, code validation"
3) There's too much talk about money. Businesses generally pay via cheque so there's no real need to spell out how you'd like to be paid.
4) Your examples are a bit, errrm, amateurish. The best one is the AME jobs one. The other 2 look a like a nights work made by a hobbiest. If you have no other examples. Design a few madeup sites as examples.
5) Your contact page. The boxes are out of alignment which shows lack of care to detail. Presentation is always a good idea.
6) "Payment is not upfront, but upon completion of your web site." - Not a good idea. I personally find it best to charge a development fee before I start anything, even with returning customers.
Regarding getting work. Small local businesses are your best bet to begin with. Go in to them (dress smart) with a simple presentation pack (include a CD which sells your business, even something simple in powerpoint). Very briefly explain what you do and ask if you can leave something which might be of interest to them. Dont be pushy at any point.
In your presentation pack offer an insentive for that small business to make money for recommending your services to others. For example they earn 10% commission on all successful recomendations.
See if there's a local business network group in your area. Join it if there is, it's a great way to get your name and business cards into the hands of people who could give you business.
Anyway, thats just a basic outline from my own personal experience :)