Reply to: Do you have a website to sell your contracting services?

[SimonMac]

I am knocking up a very simple website, mainly to have the "company" email address but also to try and instill a more professional look to my services.

[MarillionFan]

I've had a few contracting websites over the years(consultancy style) but frankly didn't do anything for me. You'd be better focussing in building a network (ie. Linked In, Agents etc)

[Tribesman]

Great now I can send you lose of spam so you lose that one contract amongst it.

BTW your company registration number and place of registration is missing from the website as required by the Companies Act. Just shove it in the blurb about privacy.

Come on now... It's not the first company website with an email address on it. I can handle the spam.

I'll check on the Companies Act requirements and add what's needed. Thanks for the tip.

[SueEllen]

I built myself a website to add to my LinkedIn profile. Took me a day. It's more a vanity project than anything else, but it lets my connections know what I'm about.

See it here.

Personally I like the idea.

Great now I can send you lose of spam so you lose that one contract amongst it.

BTW your company registration number and place of registration is missing from the website as required by the Companies Act. Just shove it in the blurb about privacy.

[Tribesman]

I built myself a website to add to my LinkedIn profile. Took me a day. It's more a vanity project than anything else, but it lets my connections know what I'm about.

See it here.

Personally I like the idea.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

It really depends on how much you rely on it to get business. Almost all of my business comes through my website - I have particularly high rankings in Google for certain terms e.g. "xxx developer London" etc. and get about 8k visits a month. My website is just a blog though and the content drives most of the traffic there. I also consider myself more of a consultant rather than a traditional contractor and almost never use agents (unless I'm desperate).

A simple one-page "business card" website is fine to present a professional image but as others said, if this is all you are using it for, don't spend too much time on it.

[lilelvis2000]

Networking will get you more work. trust me. My website only gets 6 visitors a day and two of those are search bots. I get the odd phone call but usually they want some free advice and then they go and hire someone else they know.

Networking and word of mouth always gets me work. though you could give LinkedIn a look for jobs.

[marple]

Build a network of contacts and potential clients and let the website come later

70% of the job market is unadvertised - so that is your target market

I will be developing a similar plan myself with a view to severing my dependency on agents. In fact I just got my own gig in Banking and they said choose your agency! needless to say I didn't choose either of the two against who had failed to get me in there previously.

I am a PM who runs regularly runs multi million £ contracts, finding my own gigs and raising my own contracts isn't that difficult.

JC

[Saddo]

What's the worst that can happen; you get some work through it?

No. You spend so much time farting around trying to create that perfect web site that you miss the golden opportunity you were hoping for.

[coultog]

What's the worst that can happen; you get some work through it?

[Fred Bloggs]

1. Yes.
2. No.

A waste of time in my own experience, I just get lots of requests for free advice from folk who do not want to pay. HTH.

[mobi]

You can create a website. Don't spend too much [money & time] effort on it - as you will not get any visitor

[CheeseSlice]

turdpolisher@hotmail.com

[Svalbaard]

No. Can't see the point.

Never had any great trouble getting work.

[Saddo]

As others have said, getting a real domain name to which you can associate an email address on your CV is a reasonable idea I think. Much better than turdpolisher@hotmail.com in my view.

Doesn't cost a lot, and if you use an outfit like freeparking you get the domain hosted without charge so that email can be received for the domain.