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Friends are the lifeblood to almost every aspect of life. They are there to pick you up when things go wrong. They are there to give support to your ideas. They are even there to put you in your place when needed. So why is it that people too often have problems working with or for their friends?

These problems tend to grow into a war, but why? Why is it, that you can have a perfectly ‘normal’ friendship, add a touch of partnership or a dash of freelance work and BAM you have yourself a recipe for war?

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Would you just hit the road with no idea where you’re going? Is it your standard operating procedure to get in the car without a destination? Of course not! Pilots likewise wouldn’t get in a plan and fly without a flight plan. So why would you start a business, let alone operate a business without a business plan? You wouldn’t, yet most web design professionals start out without a specific plan.

Flight Plans are not only good for pilots, but they are required. They contain basic and specific information about the trip. Included in it are details like: departure point, destination point, flight route, estimated flight time, backup landing points not to mention pilot and aircraft information. You see it contains everything needed for an at-a-glance look. This is exactly the kind of basic and detailed information your business plan should contain. So we are going to answer the following questions:

1. What is a Business Plan Really?
2. What’s The Purpose of a Business Plan?
3. What Types of Business Plans are There and Which One is Appropriate?
4. What Information Should Your Business Plan Contain?

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How much do I charge? How much is too much? How much is too little? I wonder if they will they pay that? Is my time worth that little? Oh my, if only I had a dollar for every time I read someone asking what the appropriate amount to charge for their services. You see it so often because there isn’t a simple guide on what rates are appropriate. Although I can not choose your pricing for you, by the end of this article you should have a good idea of where to look to set your rates.

Setting the perfect rates is an important part of starting a web design company. If you charge too much you will likely not get much work, however if you charge to little you’ll likely be worked to death. So how do you find the right balance? It is my belief that you do so by an understanding of the main types of charging available and the factors that go into positioning yourself. There are many different ways to charge your clients and we don’t have enough time to adequately cover all of them so we are going to focus on the major three:

• hourly
• by project
• residual/payment plan

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