I just quit to run a consulting firm from scratch. Advice?
I've had a technology consulting firm called Deseret Technology ( http://www.deserettechnology.com ) for the last year or so. Heretofore it's received very little business, but as of this afternoon it's my full-time and my main support, so I plead for HN's advice on drumming up business.
Our target niche is medium-sized businesses in the Salt Lake City and Provo Utah areas, though of course we're willing to take accounts located elsewhere. The name "Deseret" emphasizes locality and hopefully conjures up good feelings inside Mormons.
What suggestions would you make regarding successfully marketing a thing like this? Should our webpage stay so plain? As a consulting firm, our target is much more B2B and low-level than a traditional web design shop (though web design is fine if that's all there is). This means our website is designed to appeal to IT workers who'll contract us to help with projects, etc.
Anyone have good connections in the UT area that can help me out? I'd appreciate that. :) My email is [email protected] if you have anything you'd rather not divulge in a public forum.
Thanks for your time, HN. Looking forward to your responses.
I'd also recommend speaking with an attorney, or finding a basic contract from an online resource that you can use for jobs you accept.
You may also want to speak to an accountant to make sure you handle the tax-aspect of a business correctly. You can make some mistakes that wind up costing you a lot more in fees and penalties than a meeting with an accountant would cost.
Spend some time on the website Freelance Switch (http://freelanceswitch.com/). It is a good resource for somebody in your position.
Good luck. Working for yourself is rewarding, but it's also definitely a challenge.
Oh, and regarding your website, you should improve the design. Don't think of it as a way to get new clients, that's unlikely. However, even if someone had heard about you through a referral, they check out your website first. It must look professional (i.e. business-like boring). If it doesn't, you lost them before they even talked to you. So this isn't a matter of getting clients, it's a matter of not losing them.
Personally, I like the content you've got there, I don't think that's going to require much in the way of changes.
Also, you might want to do something to make it more obvious that your icons are clickable.