I need an advice

[Acrorsunsut]

Hello!
I'm new here. I've been browsing tons of forums for an idea of what to do. I was laid off from my job about 3 month ago. I've been looking for a job since then, but did not even get a single interview. I worked as a web designer for a publishing company for the last 5 years. Looks like community.mentalhelp.net is an active forum with active members and may be someone has some experience working as a freelance web designer. May be "New Members Post Here" category is not the most appropriate for this question, but I want to try anyways to get some opinions before I go ahead with my life. I'm wondering if it is possible in the current economy to find work for a freelance web designer and make enough to pay for rent and groceries. I was able to find a small project on craigslist and I developed a website for a company. It was a small project and took me only a week to complete. I got paid $800 for 1 week of work which is not bad. Please people give me some ideas. I have 2 kids and my wife is out of work as well. Thank you in advance.

[UnsureLifeJon]

Sorry to hear you lost your job. I live in South Carolina and the unemployment is at 11%, I know many people in a situation very similar as yours.

In this economy jobs are very hard to find. On average, when you apply for a job, 8 other people are competing against you for that position. I believe it is possible to freelance web design, I know someone who is currently working on a site for company. He is in the Canadian Air Force, so his freelancing is an extra job on the side. I am not certain how well that sector is doing. Luckily, you can work from home and it is easy to communicate with clients via email and phone.

In order to become successful, you need to have a solid plan set forth. By solid, I mean written out and well thought out. You should be able to answer these questions inside and out before you go into full time freelance.

-What is your business plan?
-How do you plan to advertise yourself?
-How do you plan to communicate with the clients?
-How much is it going to cost to get this business running?
-What are the demographics you plan to attract?

Besides experience, what level of education do you have? You may want to consider an alternative job until the economy rebounds. I know accounting is booming with the federal oversight that is going to be required in the future.