In my post Billing Practices: What’s fair?, ‘K’ asked for some ways an aspiring web developer can find clients. I gave some advice in a comment, but felt it would be a good item to elaborate on. So, here’s some ways to help start your freelance web development career.

• First, be professional. Real clients want someone they can trust. You need to show professionalism in every aspect. Dress the part! Don’t meet with a client in shorts and a t-shirt. You may end up with that level of casualness after you’ve known the client for awhile, but you should be in atleast business casual for your first meeting. Speak the part! You aren’t hanging out with your buddies. Drop the profanity and don’t call your client ‘man’ or ‘dude’. These seem like basic items, but you’d be amazed and the way people act!
• You need a portfolio. Clients don’t want to hire someone that has never done anything before. A great way to build up your portfolio is to do some pro bono work. Find some charities that need a web site or a web site revamping. Find friends and family members that own a business and develop a site for them for free. Treat these pro bono clients as well as you would a paying one. Not only will these clients give you something to put in your portfolio, you’ll gain business by recommendation from them.
• Go local! Competing on the Internet for web development business is just plain tough. You are competing with people from all around the world. There is always going to be someone that will do the work for cheaper than you on the Internet. Many web developers that you compete with live in countries where the cost of living is much lower than yours. You simply can’t charge as little as they do. Clients that shop online venues for finding web developers are also more likely to be cheap and sketchy. I avoid online bidding sites like the plague.
• Related to going local, find a niche. Is there some other industry that interests you? Become THE web developer for the real estate businesses in your town. Or cater to restaurants. The idea is that if you are specializing in something, you’ll be able to focus better on that company’s business because you know about it. You’ll also find yourself getting more personal recommendations within that industry.
• Going local and specializing both relate to making the client feel special. You want potential clients to feel like you are totally there for them. Any self-respecting client would rather deal with a local developer that knows their business than a developer on the Internet who is basically an anonymous person. Personal recommendations are how you are going to grow your business. Without them, you are constantly fighting to get clients. Once you start getting recommendations you will have more work than you can handle. To get those recommendations you need to make the client feel like they are the most important thing in the world to you. Drop the BOFH act and start kissing their butt.
• OK, so you’re going local and you’ve got a niche. Just how exacty do you get in touch with these people? The answer is good old fashioned hard work. Go through the phone book and make a list of your potential clients. Write up a personalized cover letter for each and send them a brochure explaining your services. Then, follow up with them, preferably in person, in about a week’s time. Make sure you have business cards to give them when you show up. They may not have time to speak to you right then and there, but if you leave a card it will help them remember you. Make sure you take extra brochures with you on the visit. They may have chunked the first one in the trash.

These are just a few thing you can do when just starting out in web development. Obviously there are many other techniques that can work, but I’ve found that the advice above has worked well. I’d love to hear comments from others on things that have worked well!