When I was trying to get things in place to start my freelance writing adventures, I thought it would be a great idea to have a spot on the Internet to store writing samples. That way, I wouldn't have to send a bunch of attachments via e-mail. I could just send interested individuals a link, and they could peruse my writing samples and resume at their leisure. I also thought I might get a little web traffic.
Since I'm trying to keep expenses low, I set my site up as a subdomain for an existing domain my husband and I use. We made the URL http://writing.chris-andrea.com. Everything was live and it didn't cost us a penny that we weren't already paying. I had the URL printed on my business cards and began distributing them to people.
Then I started getting a comment here and there. People wondered who Chris was and what he had to do with my business. I got the oh-so-subtle vibe from people that I was someone without a "real" business, just using someone else's domain. This was particularly true when I attended a business expo in town last week and handed my business card out in mass quantities.
No one came right out and said it, but I started to think my efforts to be frugal could affect my ability to get new business. After all, a domain can be purchased for as little as $9.95 a year. Was it really worth it not to get my own? It would mean the added expense of reprinting my business cards, but they weren't that expensive to begin with and it would be a lesson for me. I would also need to either migrate my content to another site or point the new domain at my old one, which isn't complicated.
It's true that I don't have much money now. I decided to be a freelancer after I quit my communications job. That left me with the month's notice I gave to drum up business and save my pennies. The result is that I have to spend the money I have left extremely carefully. This will become a recurring theme for me as I try to decide which expenses are justified to build my business. However, I think this expense is justified, so I purchased the domain http://www.andreadavisfreelancewriter.com. I shouldn't have to explain that one to anyone.
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I think this is really good use of your money, seriously. I'd suggest setting up an email address on that domain (and forward to gmail or whatever you want) as well before you get new business cards printed up.
Its a hot-button for me, when I see business cards of self-employed people who have a website, but use a hotmail email address or some such.
Good Luck, and Good Job! I'm always far to scared of the instability to take such drastic steps in life. I'm jealous of your courage.
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