Welcome to the new Freelancers/Self Employed topic

[BigTech]

Hello and welcome to the new Freelancers/Self Employed topic.
Please enjoy.....

Can you add me to the list too? I am a part time business consultant (in partnership with my husband). We mainly focus on improving sales in companies.

Flowery, you mentioned BT for web hosting. Would you mind telling me how much they charge? I am sure we are getting ripped off for web hosting, but dh says not. Does anyone else have anyone they can recommend?

dramaqueen I will check with DH who is my Website Manager/Legal Adviser , which involves having any technical-related conversations with BT to avoid my head exploding.

It was quite a bit more than 123-reg who we were using to start with. They were a bit cheap and cheerful but their website very easy to navigate and quite good. Would hvae been happy to stay with them other than the slightly crucial flaw mentioned earlier in the thread .

BT are more expensive but they do have people on the phone at weekends and evening which is important for me as DH does it.

Will check and report back anyway.

Thank you, that would be great. Dh is one of these types who believe that it is easier to stay with the same people for years because it is easier. I like to make sure we are getting value for money .

VWlady following on from my previous post to you, my work emails are now working, so if you want to get in touch use - info at face2faceHR dot com, or follow the link on the website.

Thanks Flowery. Will do. Excuse the hurry.
Still trying to get dd back from neighbour's party.

morning ladies, thread is growing nicely!

right, MUST get this website thing sorted! I would everyone who has their own website (particularly those who built their own) to please let me know who they use, how happy they are etc. I have some yummy free publicity hurtling my way and need to get the damn thing done pdq. i appreciate using a professional would be easier but (1) I'm a (broke)tightwad (2) pernickity (3) I'm an artist! (...) I can't pay someone to do something that i could, with a little application do myself. I don't want anything 'showy' just lots of pictures, minimal text and some thumbnails/buttons etc.

thank you!

(in between all of this, I am bleaching every bleachable surface in my bathroom and painting my front door so i can get my house in a reasonable condition to try and sell it and looking after three children and dying my hair to attempt to beat the grey into submission!)

Ooo I clicked on this by accident but what a find! I am a self-emp writer - have been for 7 years but only just started making a real living from it. Not looking forward to the forementioned box of receipts! Really need to get more organised and an accountant! Have nightmares about being a 'wesley snipes'!

dramaqueen apparently the BT webhosting is £5 a month, excluding VAT for businesses. HTH.

Persephone v happy with my website, do have a look here, as I say, did it all myself for v little outlay but a fair bit of swearing

hi can i join too. I am about to qualify as a holistic therapist and need to set myself up in business, any tips gratefully received!

ooh, beanbag, i did click on that earlier and was very impressed! looks very professional!

Hello fellow freelancers/'self-emps' {waves}

Please may I be added to the list? I'm a copywriter and editor for B2B and publications.

I work freelance but am also contemplating starting up a company with a colleague, so I'll be lurking here regularly!

SP

Web designers usually produce a beautiful looking site, but they often don't grasp the fundamental point that it's about selling things. We designed and built our own e.commerce site three years ago and I'm a bit embarrassed looking back at the mk1 version, but we still generated a fair amount of business. Since then we've gradually honed and improved it and now have a great little business. Other people we know in retail had gorgeous looking sites from the word go, but are no longer around, as they did'nt have the knowledge you gain from doing it yourself and had to keep paying for every change. A retail site is much like a child, it requires constant nurturing and love and attention, if you want it to be happy and successful, and that can be expensive.

Just to clarify my point here, I think using a good web designer can be a huge benefit, but running a successful retail site is about being a good all rounder. You really need to be heavily involved all through the process, and if you want it work in the long term, you have to be prepared to grasp the techie aspects as well.

Adding myself - though as I am in NZ all this talk of Nat. Ins. extra will float right over me.

I'm a music teacher and also it seems a tightwad control freak as I do everything - cash book, tax return and website myself. My website is very not special - but realistically I know that having one that googles well is enough.

I do however get to keep all the money I make doing things this way which pleases me a lot.

Ooh, hadn't even noticed that this topic had been created! How exciting!

You turn your back for a few days, and a super shiny new topic appears! How fab!

I've attempted to add myself to the list on the other thread- I have my own v. small business selling (mainly wholesale to baby/card/gift shops) a couple of my own products.

But it can be soo lonely working on my own- this topic's great!

Agree with you ScooperThompson, a web shop is hard work. As you say, too many web designers go for the flashy stuff which is hard for customers to navigate.

Also those sites are hard for Google/Yahoo etc to index so you don't get those all important links.

On that same note, PersephoneSnape, please note it is text Google likes, not pictures! If you do have pics make sure you have text to back it up.

Our site JoDivine (parental advisory, upmarket sex toys) is built using Zen Cart, and a template I've done myself. I've hacked some of the code, but even though I've been programming since 1981, it has been a steep learning curve.

Scooper: How long did you take to become established? I don't deny we're finding it hard work (in a competitive area).

jodivine, i can't WAIT to get home and have a good nose around your site! (i can't wait to get home and get the children all off to bed so i can have a good nose around your site!)

We look forward to welcoming you . Our site is very clean, picture wise, but I'd hate you to get in trouble for looking at it!

We give 10% discounts to mumsnetters too . Drop an email to samanthaATjodivineDOTcom an I'll send a discount code.

If anyone does email, and I don't reply, please moan at me - we seem to be having email problems, but it is proving very hard to pin down as most stuff appears to be getting through. Always something to sort out....

I really recommend the company I use to host my website, although I'm not sure if they do ecommerce. I've never had any problems but when i've been in touch with them with queries they've always answered them straightaway, even when emailing them after midnight! www.unitedhosting.co.uk/ I pay £5 a month and it includes email, which has always worked perfectly. Nothing to do with this company by the way, just a very happy customer.

I think email is inherently unreliable. The problem is it fails silently, not even bouncing back to the original sender!

Hello fellow SE peeps! Just found this thread and thought I'd say hi waves

I'm a bookkeeper looking after clients in a range of industries whilst also looking after two daughters under 4.

me too, just fund it. i freelance in health & social care and strategy for the public sector. fairly successful, no website but thinking about it IF I can't get a regular job which i am looking into at the moment. been freelance for 6 years and need to get out and about again.