Hi, here is a topic i would like our opinions on. Why is it that most webmasters are really not as rich as you would expect.
Considering how hard most of them work, they really cannot say they are "OK", Well here is my own 2 Pence.

I think webmasters need to look beyond just getting websites and designing and start looking at developing products in the
long term. Say you come up with a good design for something like a classified directory. Look at what others in the industry
have done and see how you can improve it. If you have to partner with a few other like minded folks, do so.

If you do such, you can set up google ads account and have some change dropping into your pocket here and there. What i
have learnt to do over the years is this and it has helped a lot. I have created mini and micro sites with very little struggle
that on a weekly basis generate at least $50 each from adverts and other items etc.

I have discovered that the money comes in handy when you have those urgent needs etc. And am not saying just do some
funny looking app etc and hope to make money, use the spare time you have or the time spent chasing non paying clients
and invest it into something really good. 2 years or more down the line, you would be amazed at how this would help you.

Another thing is to spend time developing yourself. Currently i have close to a 100gig of video tutorials ranging from HTML
to Ruby to Python. I don't know everything, but i spend my free time on some videos. What that does is you keep your mind
active and think less about debts etc. When am bored, i just play a video. Now i may not know everything in detail, but it
most certainly opens my mind to other technologies. Currently i am watching videos and tutorials on mobile development,
i don't have any project for that yet, but as i watch the videos, am working on a simple mobile app one can download for free.

These build you up for future projects. once i spent 3 days watching sharepoint videos. A few months later, someone called
to ask if i knew sharepoint, "jokingly" i said i am a guru in sharepoint and what do you know, i got a contract of about a 500k.
I certainly spent about 50k brushing up my skills, but if i had not spent that time watching the video, someone else would have
gotten the job.

As webmasters in our part of the world, i cannot tell you how much of our time is spent running after unserious clients with layout
and designs and concepts etc only to be told its to high, someone said he can do the same for 30k etc In my opinion, that time spent
can be used to develop something worthwhile or train/equip yourself for the future. Do something worthwhile with your time. Be like
me set up a bulk SMS account and send your debtors payment alerts instead of chasing them about, LOL. It works o, i can send you
100sms that you're owing me in an hour. LOL (Please don't do that to anyone, people can go crazy).

Lets have other ideas and suggestions. Cheers

this post is so serious to me, I would have to come back later to respond. I'm monitoring the election in Nigeria right now, . . .

How do you define "rich" and "poor"? For example, I tell people all the time, though I am not looking to make a million bucks, if you give it to me, I won't turn it down. I just want to make enough money to pay my bills and have a little tucked away for retirement and a rainy day. Why? IMHO, more money, more problems.

To someone like me, 10K is dirt cheap but to some other guy, it could be heaven. Yes, one must look to make residual income as opposed to hoping on steady jobs and I agree with you there. As I tell ppl, just as we have 10 fingers, we must have 10 diverse money-making ventures that way, if one fails, the other 9 pick us up.

I feel most of 'em work more on finding more than working on what they have already.

True talk, I will bookmark this page and read it like a Gospel, hold onto it like a Creed, and follow it religiously. thanks bro

Makes sense. One of the top secret thing i have under my shelve has been exposed here.

Brilliant writeup.

Another reason webmasters are broke/poor is that they blow up the cash they make in beer parlor, club ad women.

first, sorry for parading your thread with so much words, I just love the topic.

Why is it that most webmasters are really not as rich as you would expect.

"who is a webmaster?" Okay. I would assume you're talking about "Web designers, front-End Designers, front-end developers, back-end developers and co. There are things people need to know concerning web design and development generally. It is never a field for someone lazy. It will never be a field where mediocrity would win over professionalism. It is a field where your skillset speaks louder and more effectively than your "certificate". It is a challenging field whereby people bring out new things everyday. It's a field you can't catch up if you 're a slow learner and it's a field you can just become the most sought after.  .  . if your skills are really tight!

Now why all these? maybe "gibberrish" or irrelevant. But No. Wait and think for a second what is it exactly I'm trying to pinpoint?

What I'm trying to say is most "webmasters" as you called them, don't know they are part of larger communities. I used communities cos designers dont just belong to "InfoTech" as, in my own opinion, amateurs designer say, we belong to larger and more effective communities like the field of "branding", the field of "Visual Communication", the field of "psychology". Most designers don't even know that what they are designing is a "product". . . and what sells a product is how it is "branded". You are designing with one clear goal, which is "pulling traffic" and nothing pulls traffic than a website beautifully designed and functionally responsible; Hence "visual communication". When users come to your website, you want them to come back. . . and the only way to make them come back is to give them a wonderful experience. A good designer/developer or whatever would put himself in the shoes of the user and design from that perspective. . . That is "Psychology".

A designer who is aware of all these, would never be poor! to emphasize that, NEVER HAVE A REASON TO BE POOR. A designer who can think like that, would be able to come up with a very good idea that generates money. I have met alot of designers/ developers, listened to video interviews and conference sessions and what I've realized is that, most designers or developers have one project or the other that they do online. The latest I've just seen is www.shiftedit.com . . . an IDE web application. That is innovation. Not just that. You can think of anything. The web is an open market. all you need to pay for is domain name and you are a potential billionaire.

It is only sad that in Nigeria, I have found it really difficult to see a distinct desginer or a developer. Most people just parade themselves with half knowledge and don't really know what this field is. A guy just reads one book or just jump on one WYSIWYG application and start calling himself a web designer. Brings out a cardboard made business card and start advertising himself. They come to nairaland and start shouting "Get web design and hosting for 10,000 Naira". It is just pathetic when I see the jobs they've done. I usually call it "waste of domain name". I would give them the advice Sean Parker gave Mark Zuckerberg in the movie "Social Network", about advertising on facebook at the early stage. "You don't know what it is yet!" So, don't kill your skill by chasing money without knowing what that thing really is. Check the history and know its state. Then you know where exactly you are.

SO all in all, Only when Designers know their role and know what skill is required of them that they can think of creating something that brings money home! I have met so many designers and no one needs to tell you they are doing great. But ofcourse, most of us are obsessed, with buying gadgets. from MACbook to Drawing Pad to some sophisticated Monitors etc. So, it's not about getting rich like Dangote (maybe try another career). Paul Rand was never as rich as Dangote but he was very wealthy. He made it from graphic design. Paula Scher (not sure about that name) is rich as a graphic designer. one of my favourite bloggers, Abduzeedo, now works with google, and i'm sure we all know that "no be beans".  So, the point here is You can't just be poor if you got your skills right.

I hope to see Nigerian designers and developers up the scale one day.  .  .

first, sorry for parading your thread with so much words, I just love the topic.

Why is it that most webmasters are really not as rich as you would expect.

"who is a webmaster?" Okay. I would assume you're talking about "Web designers, front-End Designers, front-end developers, back-end developers and co. There are things people need to know concerning web design and development generally. It is never a field for someone lazy. It will never be a field where mediocrity would win over professionalism. It is a field where your skillset speaks louder and more effectively than your "certificate". It is a challenging field whereby people bring out new things everyday. It's a field you can't catch up if you 're a slow learner and it's a field you can just become the most sought after.  .  . if your skills are really tight!

Now why all these? maybe "gibberrish" or irrelevant. But No. Wait and think for a second what is it exactly I'm trying to pinpoint?

What I'm trying to say is most "webmasters" as you called them, don't know they are part of larger communities. I used communities cos designers dont just belong to "InfoTech" as, in my own opinion, amateurs designer say, we belong to larger and more effective communities like the field of "branding", the field of "Visual Communication", the field of "psychology". Most designers don't even know that what they are designing is a "product". . . and what sells a product is how it is "branded". You are designing with one clear goal, which is "pulling traffic" and nothing pulls traffic than a website beautifully designed and functionally responsible; Hence "visual communication". When users come to your website, you want them to come back. . . and the only way to make them come back is to give them a wonderful experience. A good designer/developer or whatever would put himself in the shoes of the user and design from that perspective. . . That is "Psychology".

A designer who is aware of all these, would never be poor! to emphasize that, NEVER HAVE A REASON TO BE POOR. A designer who can think like that, would be able to come up with a very good idea that generates money. I have met alot of designers/ developers, listened to video interviews and conference sessions and what I've realized is that, most designers or developers have one project or the other that they do online. The latest I've just seen is www.shiftedit.com . . . an IDE web application. That is innovation. Not just that. You can think of anything. The web is an open market. all you need to pay for is domain name and you are a potential billionaire.

It is only sad that in Nigeria, I have found it really difficult to see a distinct desginer or a developer. Most people just parade themselves with half knowledge and don't really know what this field is. A guy just reads one book or just jump on one WYSIWYG application and start calling himself a web designer. Brings out a cardboard made business card and start advertising himself. They come to nairaland and start shouting "Get web design and hosting for 10,000 Naira". It is just pathetic when I see the jobs they've done. I usually call it "waste of domain name". I would give them the advice Sean Parker gave Mark Zuckerberg in the movie "Social Network", about advertising on facebook at the early stage. "You don't know what it is yet!" So, don't kill your skill by chasing money without knowing what that thing really is. Check the history and know its state. Then you know where exactly you are.

SO all in all, Only when Designers know their role and know what skill is required of them that they can think of creating something that brings money home! I have met so many designers and no one needs to tell you they are doing great. But ofcourse, most of us are obsessed, with buying gadgets. from MACbook to Drawing Pad to some sophisticated Monitors etc. So, it's not about getting rich like Dangote (maybe try another career). Paul Rand was never as rich as Dangote but he was very wealthy. He made it from graphic design. Paula Scher (not sure about that name) is rich as a graphic designer. one of my favourite bloggers, Abduzeedo, now works with google, and i'm sure we all know that "no be beans".  So, the point here is You can't just be poor if you got your skills right.

I hope to see Nigerian designers and developers up the scale one day.  .  .

first, sorry for parading your thread with so much words, I just love the topic.

Why is it that most webmasters are really not as rich as you would expect.

"who is a webmaster?" Okay. I would assume you're talking about "Web designers, front-End Designers, front-end developers, back-end developers and co. There are things people need to know concerning web design and development generally. It is never a field for someone lazy. It will never be a field where mediocrity would win over professionalism. It is a field where your skillset speaks louder and more effectively than your "certificate". It is a challenging field whereby people bring out new things everyday. It's a field you can't catch up if you 're a slow learner and it's a field you can just become the most sought after.  .  . if your skills are really tight!

Now why all these? maybe "gibberrish" or irrelevant. But No. Wait and think for a second what is it exactly I'm trying to pinpoint?

What I'm trying to say is most "webmasters" as you called them, don't know they are part of larger communities. I used communities cos designers dont just belong to "InfoTech" as, in my own opinion, amateurs designer say, we belong to larger and more effective communities like the field of "branding", the field of "Visual Communication", the field of "psychology". Most designers don't even know that what they are designing is a "product". . . and what sells a product is how it is "branded". You are designing with one clear goal, which is "pulling traffic" and nothing pulls traffic than a website beautifully designed and functionally responsible; Hence "visual communication". When users come to your website, you want them to come back. . . and the only way to make them come back is to give them a wonderful experience. A good designer/developer or whatever would put himself in the shoes of the user and design from that perspective. . . That is "Psychology".

A designer who is aware of all these, would never be poor! to emphasize that, NEVER HAVE A REASON TO BE POOR. A designer who can think like that, would be able to come up with a very good idea that generates money. I have met alot of designers/ developers, listened to video interviews and conference sessions and what I've realized is that, most designers or developers have one project or the other that they do online. The latest I've just seen is www.shiftedit.com . . . an IDE web application. That is innovation. Not just that. You can think of anything. The web is an open market. all you need to pay for is domain name and you are a potential billionaire.

It is only sad that in Nigeria, I have found it really difficult to see a distinct desginer or a developer. Most people just parade themselves with half knowledge and don't really know what this field is. A guy just reads one book or just jump on one WYSIWYG application and start calling himself a web designer. Brings out a cardboard made business card and start advertising himself. They come to nairaland and start shouting "Get web design and hosting for 10,000 Naira". It is just pathetic when I see the jobs they've done. I usually call it "waste of domain name". I would give them the advice Sean Parker gave Mark Zuckerberg in the movie "Social Network", about advertising on facebook at the early stage. "You don't know what it is yet!" So, don't kill your skill by chasing money without knowing what that thing really is. Check the history and know its state. Then you know where exactly you are.

SO all in all, Only when Designers know their role and know what skill is required of them that they can think of creating something that brings money home! I have met so many designers and no one needs to tell you they are doing great. But ofcourse, most of us are obsessed, with buying gadgets. from MACbook to Drawing Pad to some sophisticated Monitors etc. So, it's not about getting rich like Dangote (maybe try another career). Paul Rand was never as rich as Dangote but he was very wealthy. He made it from graphic design. Paula Scher (not sure about that name) is rich as a graphic designer. one of my favourite bloggers, Abduzeedo, now works with google, and i'm sure we all know that "no be beans".  So, the point here is You can't just be poor if you got your skills right.

I hope to see Nigerian designers and developers up the scale one day.  .  .

@alleno, you are very very correct. And yes, you are not the only webmaster that thinks that way. When i tell people these days that i have drastically reduce the number of client jobs i do. They think i am joking or have gone looney.
This is a very good post really.

Donpuzo:

Makes sense. One of the top secret thing i have under my shelve has been exposed here.

Brilliant writeup.

Another reason webmasters are broke/poor is that they blow up the cash they make in beer parlor, club ad women.

Or dancing salsa at nite clubs with all those women. . . (but i do love salsa sha with all those ehm lekpa babes)

yawa-ti-de:

How do you define "rich" and "poor"? For example, I tell people all the time, though I am not looking to make a million bucks, if you give it to me, I won't turn it down. I just want to make enough money to pay my bills and have a little tucked away for retirement and a rainy day. Why? IMHO, more money, more problems.

To someone like me, 10K is dirt cheap but to some other guy, it could be heaven. Yes, one must look to make residual income as opposed to hoping on steady jobs and I agree with you there. As I tell ppl, just as we have 10 fingers, we must have 10 diverse money-making ventures that way, if one fails, the other 9 pick us up.

However, i must say that ever since i took your advice and stopped chasing all them $500000000000000000 jobz, my income has seriously increased compared to before (less time chasing clients - lesser meetings - lesser stress and much more money), and i am able to pay all my bills with ease and still have enough to join donpuzo in the beer parlour and do my salsa at the same time.

first, sorry for parading your thread with so much words, I just love the topic.

Why is it that most webmasters are really not as rich as you would expect.

"who is a webmaster?" Okay. I would assume you're talking about "Web designers, front-End Designers, front-end developers, back-end developers and co. There are things people need to know concerning web design and development generally. It is never a field for someone lazy. It will never be a field where mediocrity would win over professionalism. It is a field where your skillset speaks louder and more effectively than your "certificate". It is a challenging field whereby people bring out new things everyday. It's a field you can't catch up if you 're a slow learner and it's a field you can just become the most sought after.  .  . if your skills are really tight!

Now why all these? maybe "gibberrish" or irrelevant. But No. Wait and think for a second what is it exactly I'm trying to pinpoint?

What I'm trying to say is most "webmasters" as you called them, don't know they are part of larger communities. I used communities cos designers dont just belong to "InfoTech" as, in my own opinion, amateurs designer say, we belong to larger and more effective communities like the field of "branding", the field of "Visual Communication", the field of "psychology". Most designers don't even know that what they are designing is a "product". . . and what sells a product is how it is "branded". You are designing with one clear goal, which is "pulling traffic" and nothing pulls traffic than a website beautifully designed and functionally responsible; Hence "visual communication". When users come to your website, you want them to come back. . . and the only way to make them come back is to give them a wonderful experience. A good designer/developer or whatever would put himself in the shoes of the user and design from that perspective. . . That is "Psychology".

A designer who is aware of all these, would never be poor! to emphasize that, NEVER HAVE A REASON TO BE POOR. A designer who can think like that, would be able to come up with a very good idea that generates money. I have met alot of designers/ developers, listened to video interviews and conference sessions and what I've realized is that, most designers or developers have one project or the other that they do online. The latest I've just seen is www.shiftedit.com . . . an IDE web application. That is innovation. Not just that. You can think of anything. The web is an open market. all you need to pay for is domain name and you are a potential billionaire.

It is only sad that in Nigeria, I have found it really difficult to see a distinct desginer or a developer. Most people just parade themselves with half knowledge and don't really know what this field is. A guy just reads one book or just jump on one WYSIWYG application and start calling himself a web designer. Brings out a cardboard made business card and start advertising himself. They come to nairaland and start shouting "Get web design and hosting for 10,000 Naira". It is just pathetic when I see the jobs they've done. I usually call it "waste of domain name". I would give them the advice Sean Parker gave Mark Zuckerberg in the movie "Social Network", about advertising on facebook at the early stage. "You don't know what it is yet!" So, don't kill your skill by chasing money without knowing what that thing really is. Check the history and know its state. Then you know where exactly you are.

SO all in all, Only when Designers know their role and know what skill is required of them that they can think of creating something that brings money home! I have met so many designers and no one needs to tell you they are doing great. But ofcourse, most of us are obsessed, with buying gadgets. from MACbook to Drawing Pad to some sophisticated Monitors etc. So, it's not about getting rich like Dangote (maybe try another career). Paul Rand was never as rich as Dangote but he was very wealthy. He made it from graphic design. Paula Scher (not sure about that name) is rich as a graphic designer. one of my favourite bloggers, Abduzeedo, now works with google, and i'm sure we all know that "no be beans".  So, the point here is You can't just be poor if you got your skills right.

I hope to see Nigerian designers and developers up the scale one day.  .  .

@bouzymill2 your last post was swallowed up by the spam bot! but i was able to see it using ehm winwap for windows

@all, great comments by everyone but if you don't mind, one of the things i would like us to do here is advice younger developers on what they can do to make it in the industry. So please lets come up with ideas people can get into. So some poor (webmaster, designer or developer) can get out of his/her rat race.

Cheers

alleno:

@all, great comments by everyone but if you don't mind, one of the things i would like us to do here is advice younger developers on what they can do to make it in the industry. So please lets come up with ideas people can get into. So some poor (webmaster, designer or developer) can get out of his/her rat race.

Cheers

caramba! yo no se!

This is really a great advice. I will read it over and over again. I am a web designer, web developer and software developer. Also I'm an undergraduate of unilag. I really finding it challenging. Its nice to have charitable guys like you who are willing to share beneficial secrets with others.

@alleno:

1) Don't be shy to take on hard projects. Worse case, you ask around for help or search google
2) Don't go for the million naira job right away. Start small and increase as you get more popular
3) Keep on reading and learning new skills. It is the only way to remain marketable
4) Be a shameless marketer. For example, at weddings for example, don't be ashamed to "take style" and drop your biz card on the table/chair while people are dancing. OYou never know who might pick it up.

Good luck!

This thread is making a lot of sense. Admittedly, most webmasters are not doing fine because of many factors some of which have been highlighted my many of you. One factor that have helped me stay afloat and i have leveraged on over time is "Recommendation". I have had many of my clients if not all of them recommending me to their business associates, friends and family members for web jobs because of my past jobs.

When you get a job, do a clean job, let the touch of professionalism be visible, do your best to deliver it on time and if for any reason you have a setback and cannot meet deadline, inform your client on time. This alone will build confidence in them and they will see you as a reliable fellow to deal with.

Over time, you will see them coming back again. I just sealed a good deal with a client i have never met before in my life through a recommendation from my old client (I had my contact with this old client on Nairaland).

Also, webmasters should start looking at taking advantage of the wealth on the web. Get into internet marketing (I make a good living online). I do this when i do not have a major work from clients. I have built over 20 personal sites and making money from it.

hi mcfranc

How do you do online marketing and what is required. I am a web designer, developer and software programmer and want to go into it I am an undergraduate of lag.I am really managing. Pls help.

I think the reason most webmaster are quite poor are:

1.) Africa companies and businesses are yet to understand what a properly developed website is hence the very low amount of money they budget for their web projects. This also has affected the level of professionalism in the industry. Imagine I have to build this project (www.rentwiseghana.com) for a company for just N30k. I didn't have a choice as man needs to eat.

2.) The web development market is very competitive right now with lot of outrageous and crazy prices being advertised out there! You can see a project a professional will build for say $2000 and a novice will offer for just $300. Most companies are looking for very cheap bargain and they will always say that they just want a website and nothing serious.

3.) Checkout most government websites in Nigeria, you will laugh at the level of ignorance being displayed. Most gov websites are poorly designed. It is a good reflection of how the nation sees the skills of a webmaster. Go to places like India, China, Russia etc, you will understand how a web application programmer is regarded.

4.) Webmasters in Nigeria are the most selfish and disorganised set of people. You can hardly see any group project around. It is always a solo thing everywhere. We need to bond, get an umbrella organisation and get very organised and sophisticated to allow for growth.

i_want_to:

I think the reason most webmaster are quite poor are:

1.) Africa companies and businesses are yet to understand what a properly developed website is hence the very low amount of money they budget for their web projects. This also has affected the level of professionalism in the industry. Imagine I have to build this project (www.rentwiseghana.com) for a company for just N30k. I didn't have a choice as man needs to eat.

2.) The web development market is very competitive right now with lot of outrageous and crazy prices being advertised out there! You can see a project a professional will build for say $2000 and a novice will offer for just $300. Most companies are looking for very cheap bargain and they will always say that they just want a website and nothing serious.

3.) Checkout most government websites in Nigeria, you will laugh at the level of ignorance being displayed. Most gov websites are poorly designed. It is a good reflection of how the nation sees the skills of a webmaster. Go to places like India, China, Russia etc, you will understand how a web application programmer is regarded.

4.) Webmasters in Nigeria are the most selfish and disorganised set of people. You can hardly see any group project around. It is always a solo thing everywhere. We need to bond, get an umbrella organisation and get very organised and sophisticated to allow for growth.

One of the best websites designed by a member of this forum. It's very easy on the eyes and well laid out. I have seen rubbish designs too many times that I lost hope on Nigerian webmasters.

Sometimes its not about the money but the quality and hardwork put in. Kudos!

Recommendation helps me quite a lot too. Times come when i do get choked up, but i always try to leave a touch of d-h-t-m-l behind.
I have stopped doing any form of marketing for quite some years now - maybe later sha, but for now, i am doing just fine

We are all ignoring one obvious but general fact: Poverty and high unemployment.

As the i_want_to has alluded to, in a way, "man needs to eat". This can make a difference b/w standing your ground and turning away a project because you are offered little money and taking the job because again, "man needs to eat"

With the government not creating enough incentives for private industries, that would hire people, to take root, many of us are languishing in the unemployment market, not for a lack of skill of any kind but because there are very few jobs and for those that are out there, it's not enough. Not everyone has (or should have) the entrepreneurial spirit in them.

Something to think about.

Caramba! pero you do have a strong point there. Mehn, i think one advantage i have is that i learnt all my dynamic stuffs properly before i started managing the problem of hunger. . .

@bouzymill, try they pity us small. Most of us only have 5-10 minute windows between coding sessions. Shorter posts will attract more readers, I couldnt read your posts.


@Topic

1. Clients with their crayfish pricing disease.
2. Web devs with their "at all at all na him bad pass" disease.
3. Web devs with their laziness, sitting on a project for ages when they got nothing else really taking their time.
4. Web devs with their "solo" disease.  
5. Web devs being content with their present skillset, seeing no real need to keep studying.

Just to mention a few diseases. I'm sorry but the Nigerian market is bleeped up (i spelt it b-l-e-e-p-e-d, lol). All my jobs are gotten from referrals and most of the new ones i'm working on are from arab countries and india and they don't argue payment. I however write some "insurance" code that expire after 45 days just incase they try to do a chargeback on my paypal account within 45 days.

My advice for webdevs who need exposure: International online freelance. Sorry, but the Nigerian market can't pay your bills as of yet  

There have been a drive over the years to build an association, or organization of webmaster in Nigeria, but it has failed badly, due to the greed of many developers.

If there was an association which over the years, it's badge and identity becomes a sign of quality, and can be approached when standard is breached, clients can be forced/moved to offer good pay, in order for compliance with standard. And we will have a good web industry that will grow.

I for one have over 4 crappy sites flying around and many others with crazy design and features in my local host. What am i doing with them? Smiling at my skill set and angry at the money i get from them.

Not like i am paid so little. Even the worse of my sites, i smile to the bank club with nothing less than 60k. That's the least i have ever been paid to design a site.

What we need is an all round change! More like the reason why i took Marknollis World of Webmasters offnet and went back to my coding table!

One other thing to note is that young designers now live under the illusion that everybody must be a freelancer just like that! Not in Nigeria alone, but almost everywhere!

Before now, freelance used to be for people who have worked with agencies, worked as in-house designers for some companies for few years whereby they've made just so many contacts that they were forced into freelancing because they couldn't keep their outside projects with office project.

But now, every new guy wants to jump on the freelance ride with little or no contact.

It is almost difficult to start like that, even if you're a genius.

Most of the freelancers you see have one person fronting as the member on the freelance site and a dev team behind the curtains.
No one should expect to hit any big project within the first 6 months on a freelance site, not even a premium member. However just sitting back with the idea of "my hand never strong, chai" will not get anyone anywhere. Dunno about anyone else but I'd rather spend my time growing in rep and knowledge on a freelance site than waste in the hands of a "home" client. Not like all Nigerian clients are bad. I think I have two of the best Nigerian clients in Nigeria and I won't mind taking their calls by 3am.

One thing is that - this website thing is somehow like futbol to me. You need to place yourself in the right position to get balls.
So in the end, your income is not equivalent to how strong your hand is or how well you can code. . .

Na like Playstation 2 Soccer game.

LMAO Bros Tony