starting out as a freelancer...

I was wondering what it takes to become a freelancer either in design or coding...this is the following skills I have:

Good HTML Knowledge, don't like hand-coding but have experience doing it.

Photoshop - Quite good at producing my own styles and effects and Im slowly getting the hang of designing whole sites using it.

CSS/XHTML - I suppose they could come in handy for a site wanting to keep up with the times...XHTML is nothing fancy yet it will be quite essential in about 10-20 years...CSS isn't so hard but I usually use Dreamweaver to apply my styles as I can see the effects instantly on my page.

I am fairly creative and am really keen to start designing. I am only 14 and hope this will not lose my chances of getting work. What things should I be doing at this age to get myself into the business...don't give me the old "ask around your town" crap because Ive already done that and everyone seems to hve a site. even the kebab shop!

I don't have any money to invest neither, because Im not old enough to have a decent part-time job yet so there is no income really. And my parents don't really like spending money for my crazy websites after buying about 5 domains in the space of one year they have given up letting me loose on their credit cards!#

Thanks in Advance.
Vince.

So what if people already have a site, tell 'em you can build them a better one! :P

Being a freelancer is good because it doesn't matter what skills you have, as long as you can produce the goods, you'll get the work.

Therefore, it's best to have a decent portfolio of some real world (commercial) work you've done. If poeple can't see what you're capable of, you won't get hired.

Good to know that you have already earned some knowledge about web and its technology. But I think its too early to think too much about earning money.

Wait, and acquire some more knowledge, and use them as a great and wise professional. And rememeber, Knowledge is a thing that,

.."Crafty men condemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them..."

Thanks

so I should just concentrate on making a fansite or something like that to improve my skills?

Make sites that showcase your skills

but I have designed so many sites it is unbelievable, yet I can never find any cash to pay for hosting, and there are no good free hosts...If I make a site it would need all the php/mySQL stuff and u cant find a good service for free really...there are the application free hosts but if your site relies on php to work and u dont ave a php hosting account anywhere how are you meant to show them it??? bcos they all want content and the site would need php to generate it...

Why don’t you try setting up a local server to run your work.

Linux - free
Apache - free
PHP - free
MySQL - free

And find your self and old PIII to run it all

and as long as you are doing things for educational purposes you can buy the software for realty cheap.

and Good for you! @ 14 Nintendo and Zelda where the extent of my electronic endeavors. to busy playing transformers.

Dave

i dont find computers lying in the street...or anywhere else as a matter of fact...if I did....

Run it on your main computer then.

Vince,

It seems as though you're trying to find an excuse for the recommendations people are making...

I don't want to come across harsh, but you should take advantage of the advice they're giving...

Whether you're running Windows or Linux on your home PC, setup Apache, PHP, and MySQL, and then set yourself up with one of the free dynamic DNS services that will allow you to host your own webserver with a domain name rather than your ip address (ie: shakes.is-a-geek.com). This way you can showcase your work to anyone who may be interested in you... Tell them you have a server setup at home (that buzz sentence always impresses people! ) and give them the address to your server at home...

You don't necessarily need a dedicated PC _JUST_ for your webserver... I run a webserver on my home pc as well for development purposes, and I'm always telling people to check out my work that's in development (Stumpy can vouch for me! )...

Hope that gives you some insight... Anything is possible!

my ADSL is not connected 24/7 though

Vince,

Is that by choice, or is that what happens with ADSL? I'm on cable, so I'm not sure if it's the same...

Although, I'm sure there's a utility out there that will ensure it's on all the time... Does anyone know?

no, it isnt on 24/7 because we have 2 pcs in the house and we share the connection by switching the usb cables around...so if im on adsl then my dad cant go on and vice versa...

Switch to an Ethernet modem (if you can) and get your self a router. that's how I do it. Spread on 6 computer.

Should not be more than $100 US. im sure your dad would appreciate both of you being able to be on at the same time.

The other option (the one I use) is to buy another network card, and a switch (like a hub, just a box with some network ports on it).

Plug your modem into the PC that you'll want left on all the time, and also whack in the other network card into it. If you're using Win2K/XP, setup "inet connection sharing"... then just plug in any PC's network cable into the switch box, and you're connected!

The disadvantage/advantage with this option is that you have to have the server on @ all times, which is fine for me, but may not be your cuppa tea, in which case, go w/ dfano's method.

Vince,
As was stated before you do seem to be shooting down other people's ideas. The truth is that in order for this to work you are going to need to show some initiative and try and come up with your own ideas. WE can't hand everything to you on a silver platter. Take what people have suggested about home servers and fly from there; set up 24/7 internet, install the server etc. And by the sounds of it you can do a lot with what you have. You have your own computer, a fast internet connection, and some cash; even though you say you don't, you do, because your parents already got you 5 domains. With some convincing and some reasoning, hell, even a loan, you could get started showcasing your work. One thing that you need to remember is exposure, the beginning is going to be touhg, as you are going to need to get a few customers, but once you make them happy and they start talking you shouldnt have to do too much more advertising/promoting.

devilFish