Nathanael Boehm on web user experience design, the Internet, social networking & free wireless

Posted by Nathanael Boehm on September 2nd, 2008 in General, Web Design & Standards

It has been nearly 12 months since I closed down my web design business and I’m now ready to get back into it, this time with some differences.

I learned some lessons during the 6 years of running that business:

1. You can’t do everything yourself.
2. You shouldn’t try to do everything yourself.
3. You need to find good people you can rely on to do the things you can’t.

Unfortunately by the time I realised lesson “C” it was too late and I couldn’t find good people in time before lesson “B” nearly killed me. In the end I was doing the work of four people, ramping up the business to take on more staff yet having several disappointments with actually getting the people on-board to do the extra work I was taking on.

I couldn’t charge what I was worth because I simply didn’t have the time to create the quality I wanted and was capable of which also meant I was getting depressed because I wasn’t doing as good a job as I should have.

So this time around I will be:

1. Only taking on work that I personally can do.
2. Only doing small projects.
3. Choosing the work I do rather than taking on every opportunity.
4. Charging what I’m worth.
5. Doing it properly.
6. Only working for other design agencies and freelancers.

Why the latter? Well another lesson I learned while running a business is that it is incredibly hard to provide the level of service that clients expect when you have a full-time job. Towards the end of the business last year I was making half a dozen trips to client’s premises a week during business hours. Many emails, hours on the phone - lots of frustration. I don’t want that and I don’t need that - so I’ll only be working for people who accept that as a freelancer I will be working outside business hours and who know how to communicate effectively via email, SMS, Skype, IM, whatever … without the endless hours of back and forth negotiations, explaining things, misunderstandings. No mucking about.

My services and areas of experience include:

• Web design: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX
• WordPress: Installation, hacking, administration
• Web standards: Site assessments and compliance
• User experience and interaction design
• Project management
• Technical writing and documentation, user guides/manuals
• Presentations, training material (I am a qualified workplace trainer & assessor)
• Information architecture
• Online community management
• Social networking and media
• Web 2.0
• Wireframing and prototyping
• PSD to HTML conversions
• Photography and digital post-processing
• Search Engine Optimisation and Internet marketing campaigns
• Web development: C#/ASP.NET and MS SQL, PHP and MySQL (keep in mind my small projects rule)

If you want to hire me then get in contact. My hourly rate is $85 negotiable depending on amount and type of work. Happy to consider fixed price as well as time & materials.

Have a look at my profile on LinkedIn.

Tags: Australia, business, Canberra, css, designer, freelance, hire, html, javascript, services, web, webdesign, work