If I give you £1000 rightnow, how will you feel? Don’t run to the comment section yet to write how you will feel – I already know because I will also have the same feeling. What if I show you how to make £1000 or even more than that over and over again  – how will you feel? Much better, happier and more excited? You see, its better to teach a man how to fish than to give him fish because when you give him fish – he will be excited for a moment in time and the fish will disappear just like any other good thing in life but if you teach him how to fish – he can go to the stream on  his own over and over again to catch not just one fish but more and he might get lucky one day to catch a fish with gold coin in its belly. Wait! the tittle of this post isn’t about fish – you clicked on this post to read and learn about how to become a well paid website designer not a fisherman, lol. Chill bruh, I got you. Skill! Skill!! Skill!!! That’s what skill does.  Skill allows you move from the mercy of someone or something to becoming someone who can do their own thing. I believe so much in getting practical skills and I believe once a man ( or woman ) gets a skill – he gets power because you can turn that skill into money over and over and over again.

The short minded person will always opt in for handouts but the person with a vision and a mission in life will always want to know how he can also be in the position to give handouts and not always at the receiving end of it. Being a website designer used to be a thing for only geeks and programmers but with the advent of Content Management Systems and DIY web services, almost every dick n harry can call them self a website designer. I remember back in 2013 when I got into the game – my friend was lying down on his bed and he said something that changed my life. He said “This white blackberry bold 5 I have, I bought it from the money gotten from a website job I did for a client”.

That was back in 2013 and the phone costed around N150,000, it was also 1 day before my convocation. I did the math quickly in my head, no one in their right senses will earn N150K and blow it on one thing, he must have charged over N200k for the website. This guy was already making  the salary of an employee in a good firm who has to work 5days a week in an office, he was getting their salary from the comfort of his bed in Uni. What made me very “angry or jealous” was the fact that this guy comes from a well-to-do family where immediately he’s done with school, his dad and brothers will line him up for a good job.

So he has both advantages, he had practical skills he can turn to money any day and he’s from a family where getting a good job isn’t a problem. To cut the long story short, I told him “Alex, please teach me web design and development so I can make money like you. You know the kind of family am from, its all man for himself and I am about to graduate without any practical skill, I need this knowledge.“

Being a good friend, he gave me a flash drive with tutorials on PHP, HTML, JAVASCRIPT and some other programming language. [ad name=”HTML”]   I was excited about this. Once I got home the next day after my convocation, I started going through the videos but it wasn’t so long before i discovered that I do not like code and I also do not have a lot of time to spend learning it. I just rounded up Uni, I should be earning and not spending months learning.

This realization drove me to getting other videos, blog posts and resources that teaches people how to design websites without touching a line of code. I got a grip of all that very quickly by learning to design with CMSs such as WordPress, I started building websites, decided to learn graphics as well, I started getting clients all over the world and getting paid in dollars and pounds even though I was based in Nigeria working from my GrandMother’s dining table and in 2015 I decided to move to London to sponsor myself in getting a Masters degree and also live here.

Anyone who knows London knows that its one of the most expensive cities in the world to school and live but I was able to make this move because I made A LOT of money back in Nigeria since I was being paid in pounds and dollars instead of Naira and because I have skills – I will be able to make it out here as well, its the same thing just a different environment. Thats the quick story about how I got into the game. Now, let me give you some game. Whether you already have the skills or you don’t – these are the 3 ways to get into the game, learn fast and become a well paid website designer.

(1) Grab your life by the Coochie.

I believe without no doubt in my heart that until a man decides in his heart he wants something, he will never get it or find the means to get it. Before you can become a well paid website designer – you need to gain the skill in the first place. By gaining the skill – I mean gaining the skill and being very confident that if the clients come, you will be able to deliver good work. I get a lot of messages from people who are “website designers” and I ask them to send me their portfolio or work they’ve done.

Some cannot send me any link and when I get a link – the website is 8 times out of 10 not looking good and If I was a client – I wouldn’t use their service after seeing their work. Its important to see what is out there, see works you like and works that wow you and emulate the factors and things in the design that wowed you, stop living in your own bubble. So, if you are newbie who wants to learn.

Ensure that you learn from a source where you will be taught how to design HIGH QUALITY WEBSITES because that is the most important thing, if your work is good – it will always open doors for you and you will always be confident in yourself even if you haven’t got any client because you know what you can deliver. If you already consider yourself a Website designer, ask yourself if you were in the shoes of a client if you would work with yourself after seeing the works you’ve done or your portfolio.

If you are newbie who wants to learn web design. Ensure that you learn from a source where you will be taught how to design HIGH QUALITY WEBSITES because that is the most important thing.

Grab your life by the coochie, learn from people who are doing good and can show you how to do good yourself. [ad name=”HTML”]

(2) Be willing to eat shit.

That’s a rather strong point isn’t it? No one wants to eat shit! The analogy is this actually “Learn how to eat shit for sometime so you can eat buffet for the rest of your life”. Because you’ve gotten the skills or you are now skilled doesn’t mean the world owes you clients. You need to grind and be smart. You have to keep yourself abreast of the strategies and routes used by successful and well paid website designers to get clients and customers who will patronize your service. When I started, just like any other newbie – I would tell my family members, people on the street or anyone to be fair that I was a Website designer.

Even though its good to let a lot of people know, its best to spend your time and energy getting the word out to people who are prospects. Shola’s mum that sells bottled water and pepper-soup will likely not patronize you but John’s dad who has just left his job to start his own company might. You also need to place yourself strategically on freelance digital marketplaces if you really want to get that international exposure (I made a shit load of money on digital marketplaces and I also met some of my best clients who I still work with till today).

I remember this like it was yesterday, due to the fact that I was based in Nigeria, some clients I met online didn’t feel comfortable working with me because they’ve read stories about Nigeria and how everybody is a fraudster. Even though I know that’s not true, I accepted the fact that its a stigma and I offered to design these clients websites or graphics for FREE without any down payment and if they were happy with the designs – they could pay me. So its basically me giving them the work and trusting they will pay me even though they can take the work and walk away without paying a dime.

Most jumped on the offer and a large percentage of them paid me after the work was done, most of them have become my best clients. I was willing to eat shit for a while so I could eat buffet for the longest.

Learn how to eat shit for sometime so you can eat buffet for the rest of your life

(3) Learn the re-curing game.

The re-curing game is a life changer. After you’ve grabbed your life by the coochie and gotten the skills, you are aware of the fact that you should be willing to eat shit and how to put yourself out there, you need to top it all up by learning the re-curing income game. One thing about being a freelance website designer is the fact that most of your money comes from client jobs.

A client wants a website,  you get paid to get it done and that is it, but that shouldn’t be it, you still got value to offer and the client actually still needs you but both of you don’t know. You loose potential side money, the client looses extra value he could be getting from you.

What you need to do is learn how to convert your clients into clients that pays you weekly or monthly for a minor service you provide them after you’ve designed their website or done some type of work for them. This service will not be as tedious as designing their website so it will not be a stressful task for you and it will guarantee you steady residual income.

I can write a whole book on different strategies to get clients to commit to this but i’ll keep it short since this blogpost is already becoming too long. The key thing is amplifying the value of what you will be offering. Once you get the client to see the value and potential ROI, it will be an easy sell.

Some quick examples would be to offer on going monthly website update and maintenance, Content creation in terms of articles relating to their service/ product for their blog, Search engine optimization of the website on a monthly basis, social media management, become their go to guy for any graphics design work and website “touchy touchy” works. The list goes on, some might sound basic, but when drafted in a killer proposal and some sauce added to it – it will sound much better than that. I have clients on each of those services and some on all and this brings me steady and consistent monthly side money which allows me to be truly a freelancer with no worries and some extra time to do other things that interests me.

The re-curing game is a good game. I hope you’ve gotten some value from this post. If you have any question, or addition please use the comment box below and I’ll be here in minutes to reply you. I have created a paid online course where I teach you step by step in high quality videos how to become a skilled and well paid Creative designer (Website and Graphics designer) and I open your mind to ways of getting clients with the skills you learn from me, I also show you real life examples and strategies of the re-curing income game and how you can also apply it. The course is called “The Puzzle Hustle” its the most affordable investment you will ever make to something that has so much value and potential to change your life.

I have had people tell me its too affordable for the content in it but my aim is not to make a quick buck but rather to make it affordable and accessible to those who are serious and really need it. Also, you get direct access and mentorship from me. This is the link  The Puzzle Hustle