Stuck with my new business..

Kohai Media said:

But feel that I can't compete with those people.

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Never say that OP and don't be afraid to open a thread in the marketplace you never know who might want to give your service a try.

As some have mentioned before, try offline methods. Simply walk around small businesses in your city and offer them your services.

First of all.. Please so not let negative thoughts come in. I know its easy to say but you need to think of new ideas that can work (devote every second of your time on it). That way no negative thoughts can creep in.

If you believe online market is little bit hard for you then tey offline. There are still many people who believe in doing business with real people offline.

Cold calling, meeting actual business owners where you can pitch your service will still work. You have to be creative on how to pull the deal, go a little extra mile in terms of work, and be compitive in your pricing.

Just be selective, but of course, for that, you need a portfolio or something else to convince a potential client to pay more.

The clients that look to spend the least $ are not the ones you want to work for anyway. They will have thousand requests etc... so make sure you do not just try to get a bunch of low paying ones...

Having said that, you see the marketplace here may have similar stuff say selling websites:
- Some sell one for $30 , where others charge a couple of hundred $$$, yet they still get sales. You just need to find your selling point, what are you doing better, such as optimized page load speed, well-written content etc..

The most competition you will find is in the race to the bottom. If you try to compete on price you will always lose (unless of course, you'd live in a country where $2/hr is sufficient).

- Do you just have a website or some sort of past projects/portfolio?
- If you do not, try to find some. When not competing on the price you are selling the quality of work and that is easier to do if you have some portfolio to back it up.

Good luck.

Thank you for being vulnerable enough to be honest with us and with yourself.

Several have offered you business advice, which will definitely assist you on the path... but the vibe that I get from you is defeatist... coupled with a slant towards analysis paralysis.

The thing is... it doesn't really matter what you do next... because the mindset is always going to prevail. If you've convinced yourself that failure is around the bend, then I can almost guarantee that that's what comes.

I would take some me time and figure some things out.... and then take the necessary steps to remind yourself of all the times where you have succeeded... and that the only thing between you and your next success is your attitude about it. You have to figure out a way to let go of that mind chatter that says "what if I fail". If you're going to play the "what if" game, then it's just a decision to play it in a positive direction.

What if...

What if I find my footing and surprise and delight myself with all of the joys awaiting for me on this path?

What if I stop shoulding on myself and start accepting that this is where I am, and that's ok?

What if I take time in every day to remind myself of what an amazing creator I am?

What if I pat myself on the back for making the decision to open myself up to a new adventure, to take risks, and to take pleasure in the blazing of my own trail?

What if I totally blow my own socks off with how good it feels to identify a goal and to take the necessary steps towards obtaining it?

What if, possibly for the first time in my life, I remember who I am?

HiPurple said:

Thank you for being vulnerable enough to be honest with us and with yourself.

Several have offered you business advice, which will definitely assist you on the path... but the vibe that I get from you is defeatist... coupled with a slant towards analysis paralysis.

The thing is... it doesn't really matter what you do next... because the mindset is always going to prevail. If you've convinced yourself that failure is around the bend, then I can almost guarantee that that's what comes.

I would take some me time and figure some things out.... and then take the necessary steps to remind yourself of all the times where you have succeeded... and that the only thing between you and your next success is your attitude about it. You have to figure out a way to let go of that mind chatter that says "what if I fail". If you're going to play the "what if" game, then it's just a decision to play it in a positive direction.

What if...

What if I find my footing and surprise and delight myself with all of the joys awaiting for me on this path?

What if I stop shoulding on myself and start accepting that this is where I am, and that's ok?

What if I take time in every day to remind myself of what an amazing creator I am?

What if I pat myself on the back for making the decision to open myself up to a new adventure, to take risks, and to take pleasure in the blazing of my own trail?

What if I totally blow my own socks off with how good it feels to identify a goal and to take the necessary steps towards obtaining it?

What if, possibly for the first time in my life, I remember who I am?

Click to expand...

Thank you.. sincerely

You need to start by making your website your portfolio.

https://kohai.media/ is not very impressive.

GringoMonkey said:

You need to start by making your website your portfolio.

https://kohai.media/ is not very impressive.

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In which way? Design-wise or do you mean I haven’t got project examples?

Both

GringoMonkey said:

You need to start by making your website your portfolio.

https://kohai.media/ is not very impressive.

Click to expand...

I disagree

Op your website is fine but it screams Squarespace. So your problem is two-fold. I imagine the kind of businesses you are targetting don't respond to your web design. Squarespace is more targetted towards already creative people, they understand their audience and have their design for that market. If you are going to target some entry - mid-level b2c businesses that don't know anything about minimalism they will not respond to your website. Plus your portfolio is empty. Either remove that link or add some sample work. Even if it's just images of themes you are ripping from ThemeForest.

1. Make a buyer persona and build your website targetting those buyers.
2. After you send your proposals/offers/inquiries to leads, spend some time building templates to sell on marketplaces. It might not bring you much but it might bring you something.
3. Join forums where you can provide value to small businesses with regards to their web design, internet marketing queries. It pays in the long run.
4. Go to trade shows just to meet other business owners introduce yourself hand out your cards.
5. Build a blog and do some inbound marketing. Educate your potential customers.
6. Design a website for a prospective client before you approach them, sell it at a low price if you have to. Word of mouth can get a lot of work.
7. Build a website for a local charity or cause for free, it'll be good for the portfolio.
8. Build a one-pager/ infographics/ informational website that is visually appealing based around a cause that people are passionate about and share it on design inspiration galleries.
9. Practice the design part and post your designs on Dribbble.
10. If you are finding it difficult to get responses for entire redesigns. Point out a single problem to your potential client and tell them you can fix it. Get your foot in the door.

I'll post more... later on maybe
Freelance is not an easy gig.

edit. Why are you on squarespace anyway. For 60 dollars you'll have hosting for a whole year and your domain.

edit2. Id like to check out one or two of your favorite original designs if you have any

Cheer up! I am sure you would make a good competition if you can offer good service and customer support.

It's not only about the price, and many would pay a higher fee for a better quality even if the service is exactly the same.
You can also sell a certain type of product that does not require full customization for every order.

Remain focused and you'll get there bro! Keep the drive, first few months are always the hardest.