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Thread: "Bussiness will spend 99.1 billion dollars a year on Web Development..."

  1. #1
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    The Minister of No Crap

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    I was reading an article called Creative Tension published back in March 30th, 2001 - from Darwin Magazine. In it, they said this:

    According to estimates from research company IDC (a sister company to Darwin's publisher, CXO Media), businesses will spend $99.1 billion a year on Web development by 2004, over a tenfold increase since 1998.
    Now that is all supposedly divided up over 6,000 design firms. Just gives you an idea what the market is out there and how big the competition is for it.

    -scott
    http://scottmanning.com/

  2. #2
    So what does that mean to little 'ol me?

  3. #3
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    Originally posted by SturmTiger
    So what does that mean to little 'ol me?
    It means that there is money to be had!! YOU TO can be a part of the money gobbeling up in this market.

    But I gotta little hesitation in this. These days in the web development field we have to watch out a little more becuase the market is becoming tighter. Large firms have gone down the drain and things are not working out all as planned. Do you guys think that this number will continue to increase or will it decrease as time goes on?

  4. #4
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    The market is not as tight as it looks. One prime example is how google came out of nowhere the past few years to top YAHOO! as the number one search engine. 2Advanced and eStudio do not have all the design jobs locked down. There's just too much for them to handle. That leaves a ton more for the rest of us.

    -scott
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  5. #5

    I'm finding the market to be very tight. Scott, you never mentioned the methods you used to get your first customers in this business. Did you cold call? Did you stay local? I'd like to hear how you broke in, before most of your business was from referrals.

  6. #6
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    Originally posted by SturmTiger

    I'm finding the market to be very tight. Scott, you never mentioned the methods you used to get your first customers in this business. Did you cold call? Did you stay local? I'd like to hear how you broke in, before most of your business was from referrals.
    You're right. I went back to your old thread and replied there.

    -scott
    http://scottmanning.com/

  7. #7
    just 99 billion -- that's all?

    and who are these 6000 firms?

    I see 1,000,000 freelanceers building all those sites for free or next to nothing -- and then the corporations pocketing the 99 billion

    maybe I am just jaded


    Scott

  8. #8
    Senior Member FairyJanis's Avatar
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    the qoute from teh article is a year old. since then the market has slumped and companies have come to relize that they were paying too much to the professionals. that would be us the designers programmers etc... plus so many people have gone into the field that we may start to see a surplus in the field.

    So hold on to your jobs.

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by FairyJanis
    the qoute from teh article is a year old. since then the market has slumped and companies have come to relize that they were paying too much to the professionals. that would be us the designers programmers etc... plus so many people have gone into the field that we may start to see a surplus in the field.

    So hold on to your jobs.
    Actually, that quote was made during the lowest point of the slump. Since then, the economy has been steadily picking up. Depends on how you look at it, I guess. Things are getting better.

    -scott
    http://scottmanning.com/

  10. #10
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    Originally posted by nocrapchurch
    Depends on how you look at it, I guess. Things are getting better.
    I agree, Scott... actually, the only "slump" I've heard has been in the news. Things have been just fine here at home. You just have to be willing to work at it.

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    >>the qoute from teh article is a year old. since then the market has slumped and companies have come to relize that they were paying too much to the professionals. that would be us the designers programmers etc... plus so many people have gone into the field that we may start to see a surplus in the field.



    Just in my circle, I have seen a big thinning out of the ranks in terms of people calling themselves designers and programmers over the last two years or so. Maybe people just couldn't cut it, and are in other professions now. The recession sucked, but if you survived through it, it'll be the best thing that ever happened to you. There may be only half the work there was in 2000, but there are a 1/4 of the peopl working in the industry. I know plenty of people who have more work right now than they have ever had .. the economy is starting to pick up .. companies are cautiously optimistic, and I think are becoming more discerning about who they hire .. so anybody who has been in the biz for a few years plus and can show a decent portfolio is getting a lot of work. Plus, many companies are simply contracting work out, rather than hiring a full time web developer, so freelancers could be the big beneficiaries. That's just my take on it.

    In my opinion, if you can combine web design with at least some back end programming skills, you're golden.

  12. #12
    Modding with Class JabezStone's Avatar
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    Originally posted by milesofstyles
    >>the qoute from teh article is a year old. since then the market has slumped and companies have come to relize that they were paying too much to the professionals. that would be us the designers programmers etc... plus so many people have gone into the field that we may start to see a surplus in the field.



    Just in my circle, I have seen a big thinning out of the ranks in terms of people calling themselves designers and programmers over the last two years or so. Maybe people just couldn't cut it, and are in other professions now. The recession sucked, but if you survived through it, it'll be the best thing that ever happened to you. There may be only half the work there was in 2000, but there are a 1/4 of the peopl working in the industry. I know plenty of people who have more work right now than they have ever had .. the economy is starting to pick up .. companies are cautiously optimistic, and I think are becoming more discerning about who they hire .. so anybody who has been in the biz for a few years plus and can show a decent portfolio is getting a lot of work. Plus, many companies are simply contracting work out, rather than hiring a full time web developer, so freelancers could be the big beneficiaries. That's just my take on it.

    In my opinion, if you can combine web design with at least some back end programming skills, you're golden.
    M.O.S.,
    You hit it right on the head with every comment. I agree whole heartedly with you. Do you freelance, or are you employed full-time?

  13. #13
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    Originally posted by milesofstyles
    In my opinion, if you can combine web design with at least some back end programming skills, you're golden.
    I totally agree. People have come to realize that their site needs to do more than just dance. Flash designers who can't do any backend scripting will never start making real money until they do.

    Good thoughts.

    -scott
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    M.O.S.,
    You hit it right on the head with every comment. I agree whole heartedly with you. Do you freelance, or are you employed full-time?


    I'm 100% freelance, moreso on the web programming side of things, though I will occasionally design if I can't find somebody to sub stuff out to.

    From what I see, there is tons of work on the web programming side of things, and designers who are finding it hard to find sites to design should use it as a backdoor. By this, I mean it is pretty easy to sell somebody on an application, and then say "I can also design the site for that as well." For instance, I was able to sell a company a job database application for their site .. and then, they obviously would need a web site to accompany it. The amount of solutions you can sell companies is nearly infinite after spending just a few months learning php/mysql. Job database? On-line calendar? The list goes on and on. And you are able to charge much more I have found, because there is a much greater barrier of entry to the programming side of things. If someone buys Frontpage, they call themselves a designer, however, it is harder to BS your way around knowing how to program something.

    I started with php/mysql, moved to asp, coldfusion, then some java, etc. When I started out, I picked my spots, thought about who was well-connected in my community, and then approached them to develop a free application. I developed a job database program for a government agency, and that was an absolute windfall in terms of future work. Nothing wrong with doing stuff for free when starting out, just pick your spots and think two steps ahead.

    Heck, I don't even have a web site yet, I'm a prime example of how powerful word of mouth can be. Underpromise and overdeliver. Be professional. Be a part of the community. Help out whenever you can. Trade ideas. Directed at nobody in particular, just some of my thoughts.

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