June 27, 2005
Web enabler | A chat with Ted Markow, owner of Aero-Dynamic Web Services in Brunswick.
By Richard Smart
Founded: December 2003
Employees: One
Startup costs: $4,000
Revenues, 2004: $10,000
Projected revenues, 2005: $30,000
Contact: 729-6375
20 Peary Dr., Brunswick
www.aero-dynamic-web.com
What's it like being a Web designer?
Well, it's interesting. I mainly design and develop websites for small- and medium-sized businesses. I'm working in a home-based office, [so] I'm able to keep my overhead pretty low, and it allows me to keep my service at a pretty competitive rate.
I enjoy the creative aspect of it, more so than I ever [did] while I was a programmer. I can go from the client's conception to the finished product and be part of that whole process, and that's a really exciting thing for me.
How did you get into the business?
I was in IT as a program analyst. The last couple years that I was in it, I was a mainframe programmer, and I realized that I was becoming obsolete staying in that field, and that the Internet was becoming the next generation. It's already taken over so much of our daily lives and our business lives. I realized [the Web] was the way to go, so I decided that I needed to kind of hop tracks.
How did you finance the launch of your business?
Out of savings. I didn't have a whole lot of [personal] debts to begin with, so I didn't have to take any loans out. I do intend on upgrading. I'm going to upgrade my Macintosh and I'll probably have to upgrade some of my software. I haven't priced that out yet, but I may have to take a loan out.
How does your design approach set you apart from your competition?
I think that a lot of designers try to do too much, and you see a lot of the "gee whiz" stuff out there. They try to cram that in, just for the "wow" effect. There's something to that, but I think taking it too far can have an opposite effect where it makes a page slow to load, difficult to use and more prone to break down.
Generally I start out with a simple design, a clean design. I really try to leave plenty of white space. I find, since I am partially sighted ˆ my right eye has problems ˆ that if I see too much detail at once it can be very confusing.
What's your biggest challenge as a Web designer?
My biggest challenge is marketing myself. Unfortunately, the field has been oversold. It's pretty simple to get a website, there's a lot of competition out there, but there's a lot of amateur competition as well. I think my challenge is to market myself as a professional, somebody who has experience doing analysis, finding out what people want and also in building sites correctly and with the idea of future focus on new technologies and accessibility.
What kind of marketing have you done?
Most of my marketing has been primarily through networking and word of mouth. I've joined the Brunswick Downtown Association. My website is out there and I've generated some interest from clients. I've concentrated most of my marketing locally [but] now I'm trying to expand at least regionally and in southern Maine.
What are your plans for growth?
I want to develop myself, and my business, into more of a niche as far as accessibility for a vast range of people. I'm continually seeing websites that are not accessible to people who have vision problems, hearing problems or cognitive problems. There are even flashing websites that are bad for people with epilepsy.
My goal is to stay ahead of the curve a little bit and keep myself up on the new technologies that are out there now and are coming out. The other thing is just to get more clients.
What's it like to work from home?
I like working from home ˆ it's the ideal commute. I just fall out of bed, basically. I haven't worked in my pajamas yet, but maybe that's to come. I do have to make the coffee, so it's kind of rough. I have to go downstairs.
Employees: One
Startup costs: $4,000
Revenues, 2004: $10,000
Projected revenues, 2005: $30,000
Contact: 729-6375
20 Peary Dr., Brunswick
www.aero-dynamic-web.com
What's it like being a Web designer?
Well, it's interesting. I mainly design and develop websites for small- and medium-sized businesses. I'm working in a home-based office, [so] I'm able to keep my overhead pretty low, and it allows me to keep my service at a pretty competitive rate.
I enjoy the creative aspect of it, more so than I ever [did] while I was a programmer. I can go from the client's conception to the finished product and be part of that whole process, and that's a really exciting thing for me.
How did you get into the business?
I was in IT as a program analyst. The last couple years that I was in it, I was a mainframe programmer, and I realized that I was becoming obsolete staying in that field, and that the Internet was becoming the next generation. It's already taken over so much of our daily lives and our business lives. I realized [the Web] was the way to go, so I decided that I needed to kind of hop tracks.
How did you finance the launch of your business?
Out of savings. I didn't have a whole lot of [personal] debts to begin with, so I didn't have to take any loans out. I do intend on upgrading. I'm going to upgrade my Macintosh and I'll probably have to upgrade some of my software. I haven't priced that out yet, but I may have to take a loan out.
How does your design approach set you apart from your competition?
I think that a lot of designers try to do too much, and you see a lot of the "gee whiz" stuff out there. They try to cram that in, just for the "wow" effect. There's something to that, but I think taking it too far can have an opposite effect where it makes a page slow to load, difficult to use and more prone to break down.
Generally I start out with a simple design, a clean design. I really try to leave plenty of white space. I find, since I am partially sighted ˆ my right eye has problems ˆ that if I see too much detail at once it can be very confusing.
What's your biggest challenge as a Web designer?
My biggest challenge is marketing myself. Unfortunately, the field has been oversold. It's pretty simple to get a website, there's a lot of competition out there, but there's a lot of amateur competition as well. I think my challenge is to market myself as a professional, somebody who has experience doing analysis, finding out what people want and also in building sites correctly and with the idea of future focus on new technologies and accessibility.
What kind of marketing have you done?
Most of my marketing has been primarily through networking and word of mouth. I've joined the Brunswick Downtown Association. My website is out there and I've generated some interest from clients. I've concentrated most of my marketing locally [but] now I'm trying to expand at least regionally and in southern Maine.
What are your plans for growth?
I want to develop myself, and my business, into more of a niche as far as accessibility for a vast range of people. I'm continually seeing websites that are not accessible to people who have vision problems, hearing problems or cognitive problems. There are even flashing websites that are bad for people with epilepsy.
My goal is to stay ahead of the curve a little bit and keep myself up on the new technologies that are out there now and are coming out. The other thing is just to get more clients.
What's it like to work from home?
I like working from home ˆ it's the ideal commute. I just fall out of bed, basically. I haven't worked in my pajamas yet, but maybe that's to come. I do have to make the coffee, so it's kind of rough. I have to go downstairs.
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