Lesson 1 – Getting Started: Your First Project

Before you get started building websites, it’s crucial for you to look for the right opportunities for projects. In this lesson, we’ll help you get your first client, share with you all the important questions to ask in the interview and even show you a sample interview.

Part 1. Choosing Your Client
Part 2. How to Interview Your Client
Part 3. Finish the Client Interview



CHOOSING YOUR CLIENT

Welcome To How To Become a Professional Web Designer Using Joomla Lesson 1!

Beginning today, you’re on a journey where you’ll learn everything you need to know to become a Successful Web Designer.

Stick with us and you’ll be surprised and proud of all the things you’ll be able to accomplish over the next few months.

Before we jump into today’s lesson, here’s a special message to you from our founder,

Hello,

I am excited that you took the step to put your web design business on the fast track. Over the next few months you will undergo a transformation that will give you a distinct advantage in the marketplace.

Over the course of this class, we’ll give you several modules (delivered as articles and videos in the exclusive area of The Successful Web Designer). I recommend completing each module even if you think you’re familiar with the topic. You’ll get the most out of the training if you do each lesson, even if you don’t necessarily agree with my methods or opinions of what it takes to become a successful web designer.

I have worked with tens of thousands of beginning web designers over the last 8 years and have developed the fastest, easiest way to bring in money as a web designer. If you stick with me and do the assignments, you will see results.

If you have any questions during the class, please submit a ticket and someone will help you out right away.

To Your Success,

Balogun Azeez
zolamandesign.com – Learn. Soar. Get Ahead.



Let’s get started!

Week 1. Choosing and Interviewing Your Client

There is really no better way to learn a new skill than by doing. So, while it might feel like you are being “thrown into the fire,” trust me. This is the fastest way for you to quickly become a top web designer.

I recommend you find a real project to work on to build your first website.

If you’re following the QuickStart plan, you’ll want to reach out to your network (friends and family members and people they know) and let them know that you’re training to become a web designer. The site you build – over the next four weeks – would typically sell for $3,000-$4,000 because it will have lead generation, copy, and e-commerce. We recommend offering a special deal (of $1,000) to your first client so you can get some experience and add to your portfolio. This is also a great deal for whoever takes you up on this offer because they’re getting a professional site for 25% of what it would typically cost.

If you’re following the 16 week course – or if you’re more interested in gaining experience and a portfolio piece (rather than making $1,000), we recommending approaching someone you know and simply asking them if they would be your test subject for your first project. You would do this pro bono, most likely, but you could charge a modest fee. Just let them know that you’re taking a training course and need a real business to work with for your project. At the end of the project, if they like the website it is theirs to keep at no cost.

The big benefit to the business owner is the knowledge they will gain about how to improve their website to make more money. Yes, you can deliver pretty amazing results as a complete rookie, if you follow this class closely.

Here are a few more pointers to make sure your projects run smoothly. You can pretty much follow these same guidelines for your first project.

Carefully selecting your clients and the projects you want to work on.

This is where most designers and developers make their first mistake. Way before you even take on a new project you can set yourself up for failure or success. This begins with selecting the right projects and clients.

I am always looking for the right opportunities. This means I carefully select the right clients. It doesn’t always work out, but here are some of my criteria.

A. Select an established business. It is much easier to step in and improve upon an existing business than to help start one from scratch. Also, start-ups are often on a tight budget and will have unrealistic expectations for their website project.

B. Select a business with an existing website. This is not a requirement, but it certainly helps to have a website with some history especially if they have traffic already coming to the site. In many cases you can step in and make just a few changes to dramatically improve their online business.

C. Recognize and select money making opportunities. It will take some time to develop this skill, but in the future you will have enough experience to easily uncover hidden opportunities in business. For example, I can typically assess the financial opportunity in any situation with a detailed interview with the business owner and then a couple hours of research. If it is an industry that I know really well, I can sometimes make that assessment in less than 30 minutes.

D. Select a business owner who will stay out of your way. Another thing you should look for is a business owner who recognizes that you are the expert and will give you control over the website project. This is a tough one because it’s rare to find a business owner or CEO who will let you run with a project and build it like you know it should be.

Over the next few days, try to find a client you can work with during the course of this class. Remember to be selective and choose someone you can really help succeed. This part of the process is as much for your learning as it is for your reputation as a web designer.

You may feel uncomfortable approaching a business owner, and that’s completely natural. We’d like to encourage you to go for it anyway and find someone that understands you’re in the learning phase. Think outside the box including business owners, charities, organizations, clubs, etc. However, you may choose to complete your own portfolio website as part of the class.

The only rule is that your website must be live when you complete the class if you plan to apply for the certification, and it must be built for a real person.

Once you choose a client, please comment below to let us know who you’ll be building a site for.

In the next lesson, we’ll talk about how to interview your client to make sure the website you build is as successful as possible. The interview is the part of the process that can make or break the entire project – so you won’t want to miss it…

To prepare for your next lesson, we have an additional video to share with you. As you consider conducting your first interview with your client, here is our advice on how to prepare for this interview. It is key to the creation of the client’s website you’ll build, but also this interview will set the tone for your relationship with the client. We want you to present yourself as a web designer and a business consultant.

You’ll find some “pre-interview” homework that we suggest you do before your first client meeting. This homework is not required for your badge, but we highly recommend it for making the most out of your client interview. We also have set goals you’ll want to accomplish in this first interview.

Also, share your process, questions, suggestions – or whatever you want – in the comments below…

for complete tutorial visit: http://www.zolamandesign.com/tutorial/joomla