It is an open door to another world just waiting to be discovered. We get to explore whatever ideas come to our minds and create without limitations or restrictions. There are no rules. And while I love the opportunity for exploration, exploration in and of itself is not always profitable for business. Sometimes a designer should start with a foundation already laid or work from a map already charted. I am talking about recycling your work.

True artists usually have a disdain for the word “recycle”. They rebel against anything that is not original and view semi-custom work as unimaginative, lazy or cutting corners. But sometimes the art is in the eye of the beholder and client work cannot always be our masterpiece. There are times where recycling your design is just as effective and more profitable than creating everything from scratch.

I am a fan of using work you’ve already created, especially when a client or customer has seen something you’ve done and says “I want that!” Recycling is not cheating, nor is it lazy. It is an effective way of helping clients get what they deserve and want. Ultimately that’s what matters.

What do you think?

I’m not going to lie or apologize.  This website makes me jealous and kicks ass!  That’s what I can say about Groovy Web Design’s site.

The need for web development continues to grow and there are plenty of opportunities to generate a very nice income stream from doing this work.  The problem in the past was that for most graphic designers, you had to know how to splice websites, code them and test them – and for some right brained people, this can be a hellish nightmare!   Then there are the web developers who know how to do all these special skills but may lack the speed to complete the sites quickly or the design skills to make them look great.  These problems equal losing time and money.

Over the last eight years in my design business I had so many requests for websites but I lacked the ability to bring them to completion.  I could “skin” them and get the branding done, but I’d have to outsource to get the coding done.  I researched and tried several different platforms such as GoLive, Dreamweaver, SquareSpace, and TypePad in order to capitalize on these projects.  Then I discovered WordPress.

WordPress is awesome and the easiest to use platform for website management.

It’s simple to install or you can use a hosting company like HostGator who already has it installed and all you have to do is upload the theme (or design template).  WP is also the best platform on the planet and is superior as a CMS system and with SEO, plus your clients can manage their site with ease.  Additionally, you can easily modify the WordPress Premium Themes with some basic CSS and design skills to create awesome websites in as little as an hour.

Now Enter The BUILDER THEME…

iThemes just released the best innovation yet called Builder Theme.  You can now make any type of custom layout on top of WordPress including pages, blog layouts, squeeze pages, e-mail opt-in pages, landing pages, and portfolio pages.  You can create unique pages and CSS for every page on one site!  In short, you can design just about anything you wanted to with some design and basic WP knowledge.  No splicing, no programming, and no waiting.  This means you can make some awesome money for custom sites – quickly.

Am I promoting iThemes?  Yes I am and here’s why…

It’s more than that I am part of the company — I love this product personally and use our stuff with great success!  Some of the other reputable theme companies make great looking stuff, but iThemes products were created for people like me (and maybe you) who want the easiest to use options and flexibility.  And if I was to start freelancing again, I would be making some killer money tomorrow by investing in Builder Theme and offering custom sites.

What can you make by investing in these products?

This is really up to you and I can’t guarantee the results as they will vary on things such as your design and business skills, portfolio, and your ability to market, but here’s a sample of what is possible.

Let’s say you invest in the Builder Theme which cost $127.00 USD for the theme, support, and upgrades for one year.  The average rate a custom designed WP theme from small shops is $1,500 USD.   You would make $1,353!  If I could do all aspects of the job in 5 hours, that’s $270.60 per hour.  This is a small initial investment compared to the revenue you could earn. Heck, Dreamweaver is $399 and you have a way steeper learning curve.

Even if you just purchase a premium theme at $79.95 and make design changes like these sites: OK Patriots, South Canadian Resource Center, Dialogue Church, and Glenstone Chapel, you can easily make $750 – $1,000 with little time involved to create these types of sites.  Go ahead…do the math.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because personally I can’t do this work anymore and I talk with struggling designers all the time.  I see a huge opportunity for graphic designers and web designers to capitalize on (you don’t even have to be a designer to start a freelance web design business) and I just can’t NOT share this idea.  So think about the idea and if you have questions, consider contacting me or signing up at WebDesign.com University for courses in how to make it all happen.  I’m here to help!

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