Web/graphic designer looking to WFH

[tillymonster]

Hi ladies,

I'm a web/graphic designer who's been doing it for over 10 years now. I have worked with all sorts of companies from large to small, the latest being Apple. Yes, Apple!

You'd think that with that kind of name dropping I'd have a freelance gig by now but this is NOT the case. I'm pretty burnt out and truth be told, the industry is FAR from family friendly so I've been having issues landing a job where I wouldn't have to put DD in daycare.

My question is for other mamas here who are successfully working at home and how you did it + tips/suggestions/rants. I'm fluent in web 2.0 and looking into HTML5 but haven't actually designed/coded in it yet. If you are looking for someone like, let me send you my resume! TIA!

[tillymonster]

Boo no responses on this at all eh? I was hoping to see some other developer mamas making it as a WFH. Ahh well, I'll just keep stalking the WFHM well threads... 

[Galatea]

This is a slow forum.  Don't take it personally!

[dogmom327]

PM'd you :)  I'm looking for someone.

[Kristine233]

Well first of all, welcome! Second, we aren't allowed to advertise our services here or offer our services. Part of forum policy. So most of us are pretty careful about that and how we answer threads. So don't take it personally, this forum is a little slower than most too.

I've been a work at home designer for many years. I just freelance and have my own site. I really don't advertise, people just find me via Google and word of mouth. I think the important thing is to know your target market and know your style. Once you have that established it makes the rest come easier. I'm not afraid to turn people away if I don't think they fit my style or I'm not comfortable with something. I think it makes me a stronger designer and my clients appreciate that. I used to do it full time but since the economy went down quite a bit I am more just part-time again. My main market is Work At Home Parents and most don't have a large budget to throw into these services right now. Someone doing design for larger companies or a different target market might have a different experience.

[tillymonster]

Thank you for your post Kristine. I am definately not trying to advertise although it does sound like it. I am mostly seeing if I can generate some advice and a possible project or two from the WAHM. I didn't look that closely into the policy and perhaps should reword the OP.

I am going to PM you... thanks for the helpful post!

[intange]

Hi, have you thought about freelancing sites, like odesk, elance, rentacoder, freelancer, guru etc? I think you would land some pretty good projects there. I find my work at home jobs on odesk, and It is a bless to me. I tried elance, It looks good too though I never really looking for jobs there because already busy, and never tried other sites but I'm sure they are good sources too. Good luck!

[tillymonster]

Yes I am on oDesk and have been on Freelancer.com for awhile. Would you mind telling me how you got started and how you landed a job? I have tried to bid on a few things and sadly always get declined... ;(

[shell024]

Hey there,

A few thoughts popped into mind as I read your OP.

Who are your peeps? As in your target market; Who are the people you BEST serve?

What kind of web/design do you rock at? What do you currently do to market yourself? I know you mentioned in your replies that you are on some freelancing websites, do you also have your own site? You can PM it to me if you do. =)