Profiles

Programs for Profits

Web Designer Logs on and Cashes In

By Dee Ann Campbell

Stephanie Pakrul of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada never thought her computer hobby would turn into a business, but after creating several sites for free and taking a few programming classes, this 17-year-old, self-proclaimed "geek" has turned her love of computers into a profitable consulting business.

"I’ve always been an artist and a musician," says Stephanie. "Computers snuck into my life many years ago. I picked them up very quickly and I have been on the Internet since ‘95," she says.

Not satisfied with just surfing the Net, Stephanie became curious about how it all worked, and quickly discovered the love/hate relationship designers have with current Web technology.

"After taking a multimedia class that touched on Web design, I became frustrated with the lack of control and formatting that WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors give you, but also learned that I loved this new way of combining technical stuff and art. So I learned HTML and did my first real sites (a couple of music/movie fan sites) with a text editor and started implementing things like Java/JavaScript and getting proficient with graphics programs.

"After those sites, my sister told me that Ice Sports wanted someone to create a Website for their new local arena, so I went in to talk to the guy in charge and he gave me the job. Then I got a contract doing the site for the Bank of Montreal’s North American Cash Management department.

"I made $10 an hour (Canadian dollars) for the Ice Sports job and $15 an hour for the bank," she says.

Soon, Stephanie found out about another company that could use her talents. "My boyfriend told me that the company he works for was fed up with their underworked and overpaid designer. I submitted a proposal to become their graphic designer and they hired me! I have been working for them consistently part-time ever since. I just recently designed an online address book for them."

With all these professional sites under her belt, Stephanie officially started her business.

"After these three jobs, I decided to actually start a business doing Web design, so I registered as Web Solutions. I did some contract work for Sprint PCS in the spring and I just recently did a site for a local keynote speaker and workshop presenter," says Stephanie.

Stephanie charges different amounts, depending on what is needed.

"I generally charge (in U.S. dollars) $15 an hour for simple stuff like straight HTML coding and search engine submission, $20 to $30 an hour for graphic/Web design, and around $30 an hour for heavy programming and graphic design work." Since Stephanie has learned how to program in Visual Basic, SQL, and ASP, she is versatile and prepared to tackle different types of projects.

If you are interested in starting a business like Stephanie’s, she has this advice: "Never turn your brain off. Learn to do a bit of everything."