Thinking of new income sources

Posted in Freelancing Web design on 28 December 2008 | Comments [1]

Christmas has finished and with 2009 looking like it will be be a bad year for the economy in general, I have been considering whether the recession or credit crunch [or whatever it is called] will have an effect on web design business in 2009. I have a few actions/objectives ready to go [partly as a result of a free business advice consultation with Business Link a few weeks ago] and I cover a range of web-related activities … so I am hopeful that I will be able to survive the downturn. However, I have also been considering alternative potential income sources just in case.

During my thoughts on this subject, I stumbled on the dilemma of diversification or specialisation. When developing new sources of income, is it better to spread your activities a bit or concentrate on the areas that represent your core skills? Diversification is an area that can be worrying because there is a real danger that you will ‘spread yourself too thin’ and it’s something I have been concerned about in the past. However, perhaps it is necessary? Here are two ideas that I have been considering.

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Backing up files using an online application

Posted in Freelancing on 20 October 2008 | Comments [4]

As a web designer or freelancer, you know the importance of backing up your work [right?!]. If you are like me, you may back-up to various alternative hard drives on a regular basis. However, I am also considering whether I should be doing more [or doing this more effectively] by using an online application that synchronises files between multiple PCs and, at the same time, provides another back-up option.

Two online applications that seem to provide very convenient back-up and synchronisation solutions are Get Dropbox and SugarSync. However, even though these applications look pretty nice, it’s difficult to tell exactly how they work without signing up/installing software and/or finding feedback from actual users on the web. I’ll be searching for user feedback shortly!