Comments on: SitePoint Web Design Business Kit: Full Review

By: fanta

fanta — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:46:46 +0000

I just got my copy of Third Edition, and must say I’m really disappointed straight away, it’s black and white! I can’t believe it, kit for $250 and it’s not even in colour! Printed on not the best quality paper that will quickly be worn off because of the folder binds. And maybe the knowledge in there is really worth it, but come on, how come you can sell something to designers that is not visually interesting. Yes, i like pictures and colours LOL :) and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Was the 2nd edition also black&white?

In regards to John’s comments though, in this edition they updated advice with social media info, and they ditched the folder with documents – there is only CD now. (so I can’t understand the b&w thing even more now, they reduced number of printed pages probably by half, and couldn’t print in colour :(

By: John

John — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:00:21 +0000

Wow! I’m mightily impressed, awesome job! :)

By: Engulf Tech

Engulf Tech — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:53:35 +0000

Guess What?

I found it! The 2nd Edition, cost!? US$ 10 (including original CD). Wanna see the proof? gimme the page no. and I’ll scan it for you.

;)

This is Pakistan man! That’s how we design $100 website and make money out of it.

GET JEALOUS!

By: John

John — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:45:36 +0000

I seriously doubt you’ll find this one ;)

By: EngulfTech

EngulfTech — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:43:20 +0000

Nice work John!

I am looking for a copy in our local market, we sometimes get used books and magazines at a dirt cheap price

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 19 May 2010 23:04:55 +0000

I was originally going to get this kit a few years ago when I started my little business. It was expensive than as it is now and seeing that I had no money I didn’t get it, besides that my “business” went nowhere. I am strictly freelancing now, which is a hassle because I don’t have the time, money, or resources for that either. Oh well.

By: Review: The Web Design Business Kit | Dootch

Review: The Web Design Business Kit | Dootch — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:41:41 +0000

[...] also might like to check out John O’Nolan’s review of the Web Design Business Kit as [...]

By: Review: The Web Design Business Kit | 6 Figure Freelancing

Review: The Web Design Business Kit | 6 Figure Freelancing — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:42:57 +0000

[...] also might like to check out John O’Nolan’s review of the Web Design Business Kit as [...]

By: An interested customer

An interested customer — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:06:29 +0000

I’m interested but I don’t have enough money. If some one wants to sell his copy as a second-hand product on eBay for me, please let me know! my email address is calande AT aol DOT com

By: Silver Firefly

Silver Firefly — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:38:09 +0000

Okay, you’ve convinced me. :) I’ll get a copy soon.

By: John

John — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:32:06 +0000

I don’t think you’ll regret it mate, it quadrupled my income in the first month of using it, paying for itself many, many times over.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:16:37 +0000

Very true… well I bought the kit last night : ) Can’t wait to get my hands on it!

By: John

John — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:35:39 +0000

Hi Brian, thanks for commenting – technically, yes, *most* of the info is all out there on blogs. But take your hourly rate, multiply it by the number of hours it’ll take you to FIND all the info out there, and I’ll bet you a beer that it adds up to more than the price of the kit :)

By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:41:09 +0000

I’ve got my finger on the trigger… but damn, thats a large chunk of cash for a book. I was hoping for just the book without the CD and documents, but I guess it’s only a package deal, and probably worth it to have the docs as well.

I’ve been freelancing (web design) for 1.5 years now, successfully landing large and small projects consistently. Been relying on referrals and freelance job boards mostly.

BUT I’m itching to take things to the next level. Incorporating my business, building a team, landing larger clients, make a plan and get things on track for the long-term.

Great review. I’m leaning towards going for the kit. But isn’t this info available out there on blogs and in more affordable books?

Awesome blog and nice work on Lyrical Media!

By: Sitepoint - the Ultimate Collection | ViperDl

Sitepoint - the Ultimate Collection | ViperDl — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:17:13 +0000

[...] http://john.onolan.org/sitepoint-web…t-full-review/ [...]

By: John

John — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:00:32 +0000

@Linda – this is the perfect kit for working on expanding your freelance business, there isn’t much specifically about time management in it – but there is a lot about outsourcing, hiring staff, and expanding your business in general :)

@Marcus – glad you liked the review! to be honest the level of detail in my meager writings does the kit no justice, there’s just SO much in there it’s hard to sum it all up into a concisive blog post!

By: Marcus Neto

Marcus Neto — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:50:08 +0000

I have been kicking around purchasing this book for about a year now and was worried as I had not really read any reviews of it. Thanks for taking the time to write this detailed review. I am an avid reader of Business Books so I was not sure what if anything I would get out of it. But knowing that you read the same types of books and still learned some things makes it a bit more appealing…

By: Linda Chadbourne

Linda Chadbourne — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:42:39 +0000

Hey John, Would you be able to tell me if there is any info in this or worth the purchase price in regards to Freelancing. I’ve hit a spot in my freelancing career where I’m burning out. I make so much an hour but can’t work billable hours because of all the client management, client contact, etc. Or can you recommend a good book on time management for freelancers?

By: John

John — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:33:26 +0000

@jeannie – thanks for commenting! I actually lonve the ring-binders I can’t think of a better way of doing it, and they look really sexy on my office shelf too :P

@c010depunkk – thanks for commenting as well! glad you liked the tattoo reference, I’ve got a lot of passion for that subject and it’s public perception but I didn’t want to go off on too much of tangent in the middle of the review!

By: c010depunkk

c010depunkk — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:51:02 +0000

Thanks for the article! Finally got around to reading it…

I posted the quote about tattoos on my Tumblr, really loved that!

By: jeanniebeannie

jeanniebeannie — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:36:19 +0000

Hmmm. I bought the SEM Kit several years ago and while I enjoyed the content very much, I’m disappointed to see that all these years later and they are still using binders with round rings on such an otherwise high-quality product that is definitely targeted towards those looking to make a long-term investment. Not too user-friendly or easy on the pages that wrap around the round rings, especially when you’re recommending multiple read-throughs. As great as the kit might be, I won’t be biting until they can provide me something with at least a little usability and posterity.

By: Japh

Japh — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:03:18 +0000

What a review! Fantastic work :) Took me a while to read, cause I’m at work this morning and too many distractions.

I think I’m going to have to invest in a copy of this as soon as possible!

Great work!

By: Craig Moran

Craig Moran — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:38:37 +0000

Actually that might have been on one of your sites I read that, either way great article, very helpful :)

By: Craig Moran

Craig Moran — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:38:02 +0000

Great article, enjoyed reading this.

One tip I remembered while reading the section about appearances and tattoos is that people like dealing with others like themselves. So if your pitching to a CEO, you should be CEO of your web design company, if your doing a site for Joe Blogs you should be an average “Joe Blogs”

Craig

By: David Turner

David Turner — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:25:35 +0000

Excellent article John :) I wish I’d have seen this offer when it was going for half the price!

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:13:23 +0000

Thanks Matt! I’ve added that info into the main post too just so people don’t miss it!

By: Matt Mickiewicz

Matt Mickiewicz — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:03:33 +0000

Thanks for the great review!

Your readers may be interested in knowing that free sample chapters from the kit are available for download in PDF format from:

http://sitepoint.com/kits/freelance2/

That page also provides a list of all the documents that come with the kit. I know hundreds of customers have purchased the product for the sample “Web Design Services Agreement” alone.

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:18:19 +0000

Richard, with this + The Purple Cow you would really be good to go, I can’t recommend it highly enough – the marketing part might not have been to my taste, but just the section on pitching to clients is easily worth the price of the kit x 3!

By: Silver Firefly

Silver Firefly — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:06:52 +0000

I’m still not sure if I should buy the kit. I intend to start freelancing before the year is out, and I have The Principles of Successful Freelancing and The Principles of Project Management. But to me, common sense forms a large part of business – and I have a lot of common sense. So I think I’ll hang back for a bit.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:39:16 +0000

Thanks for the review John I guess I wont be getting it now though. It’s a lot of money and I’m more interested in the Marketing seciton than anything else.

Though the documents would be useful. Any hints on what sort of documents there are?

You are also right about the document CD you suggested I would definatley buy that if they did make it.

By: John

John — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:32:14 +0000

I’ll only ever be selling it if and when the 3rd edition is released :P

By: Linda Chadbourne

Linda Chadbourne — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:11:08 +0000

Nice review John. I want first dibs on it when you decide to sell your copy!

By: Jacob Haug

Jacob Haug — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:57:47 +0000

Wow, thanks for the review. I really want to get back in the freelance game! Can’t wait to get the kit!

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:54:39 +0000

Great Review! Pretty good sum up I’m almost done with the kit as well!