Before establishing my own business, I’d received some basic training in website design and had used my skills to create a site I called “Jan’s Helpful Home Page” where I posted household management tips and invited people to send me their challenges, as well as a website for my sister, author Kathy Stinson. I was therefore prepared to design my own business website, but did no research whatsoever into the ins and outs of a website design business, since that wasn’t my focus at the time.

Since then, my business has evolved to the point where a good deal of my work consists of website design, mainly in the area of WordPress theme customization. I therefore thought it might be beneficial for me to read How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Web Site Design Business by Bruce C. Brown and Charlotte Evans. What I discovered was a comprehensive manual outlining the technical and creative skills which a website designer needs to have before they even consider starting their own business.

Of course, even a highly experienced designer may not possess, or even be aware of, the other skills necessary to start and run a business, and the authors fill in that gap by addressing topics relevant to any business, such as competitor research, pricing, bookkeeping, marketing strategies, communicating with clients, and much more.

Also included are suggestions for complementary services which may be offered to website clients to generate additional income. I was pleased to discover that we are already offering many of these, and at the same time gained some new ideas for the future.

The helpful content is accompanied by an abundance of useful worksheets and checklists which appear throughout the book and on the companion CD-ROM, making this a valuable reference book for new and experienced website designers alike.