[pandadoodle]

Now although I don't see there is a recession going on, and my friends who work in sales would agree that if anything people are spending more, bank lending has never really effected me directly or indirectly until this week.

Before going on I must stress I have not applied for a loan or anything!

I got a client that has been in business for the past 50+ years its a family business handed down, I was due to start work this month for them but got an email this week saying that the funds they had set aside for the project have to be withdrawn for expansion of the business as the bank will not lend them any money. So the project has been set back till mid next year.

Gutted but it happens. Now another customer of mine has been refused a loan from the bank so that job is dead in the water, now I'm not relying heavily on these jobs to pay the bills as I have other work coming in but it does mean that at the moment due to the lack of lending its going to cause me to miss my target this month!

First time lack of lending has effect me anyone else in a similar boat?

[Design Fan]

I don't work as a free lancer but I have seen a
serious drop in IT openings since 2008. It is
still a pretty bad market.

[Sogo7]

You know it's bad when you start seeing web hosts advertising easy web site builders on TV. Here'a Youtube link for those that have escaped it so far..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN_PgCrok7g On the plus side when things pick up there will be shed loads of folk wanting extra features and makeovers that only the likes of us can provide.

Between now and then is of course a more pressing problem, do we suffer the slings and arrows of outragous fortune taking P/T jobs cleaning toilets to make ends meet or take arms against this sea of troubles and don darker headwear to keep the wolves from the door?

This post has been edited by Sogo7: 20 October 2011 - 11:23 PM

[MikeChipshop]

Things are bad. Not quite as bad as the media and government make out but nothing breeds social control quite like fear.

However we, as web developers sit in a very priviliged position in that we provide a service that works out cheaper for businesses while helping them grow. This is probably why I, and others in this industry , haven't Ben quite so badly affected.

Fingers crossed it stays that way.

[Sinero Web Design]

These SEO marketing people are destroying the industry with their link wheels and link farms , I have people form India contacting all my clients saying they can boost ranks and increase traffic sales etc and its causing problems , most of them are sent from gmail accounts with no links to even a business website.

In addition to this you have companies such as 1AND1 and YELL selling self built websites that are very poor for big money and they have the power to advertise on TV which is another issue.

[rallport]

Sinero Web Design, on 01 February 2012 - 11:56 AM, said:

These SEO marketing people are destroying the industry with their link wheels and link farms , I have people form India contacting all my clients saying they can boost ranks and increase traffic sales etc and its causing problems , most of them are sent from gmail accounts with no links to even a business website.

In addition to this you have companies such as 1AND1 and YELL selling self built websites that are very poor for big money and they have the power to advertise on TV which is another issue.

I really wouldn't worry one bit at all the said sites - I've seen the effect and exactly what you get for your money from both of them first hand from clients. Some total horror stories - kind of what I expected from bigger companies offering a discounted product to lots of people though.

For the 1&1 in paricular, people can;t really moan as it's exactly on par with what I;d expect to see for the cost - it;s just that the slick tv advert doesn't show you this part at all

/ for own sanity stops speaking to voice opinion on subject

[solarisedesign]

I think, as freelancers in an internet-enabled industry, we're in a decent enough position. Even though people may be tightening their belts in the short-term, the internet economy is only set to grow over the next few years. More and more people will start using the internet for business purposes instead of having to take on the overheads of e.g. renting out office space, storage etc. Also, due to the prevalence of third party services, even things like the cost of data-hosting, distribution etc. are coming down.

All this means that online, business will always find a way, even when in the "real world", people may struggle a little more. Not to say that it isn't tough sometimes, but I'm far more optimistic about the online economy than the offline economy.