How to open a web studio from scratch - recommendations for doing business

Every year the popularity of online business is growing, more and more entrepreneurs are trying to try their hand at this area. Large and small companies actively conduct business through the Internet, creating their own web cards, pages, and sites. Sales of services and goods on the Internet are at the peak of development; users have learned to find the right product not in real life, but online. For an entrepreneur, creating a website, online store or blog is a direct way to increase brand awareness, increase sales and further development of the enterprise.

A business plan for a web studio is a relevant area in demand nowadays. Creating the basis of a website, a unique page style, promoting a resource, filling it with relevant content, developing logos - all this can be done by one studio, taking a complex order for the development of a resource. This area is considered promising and profitable, and the low barrier to entry into business makes it even more tempting. But there are some peculiarities that need to be studied before opening.

Web services market overview

At the moment, the situation in the Internet services market has reached its peak; if previously companies were opening almost every day, now the flow of young companies has decreased. Competition comes from large studios that have existed for many years.

The web design market is already oversaturated with new developments and promotion methods; it is moving in the opposite direction - towards minimalism in business. You no longer need unusual tools for work, complex website layouts, stuffed with various effects. Business owners want simplicity, ease of use and rapid development of the resource. If previously not everyone understood how online business works, now the situation has changed - there is a requirement for maximum conversion.

The huge competition for 2020 is due to several reasons:

About 5-7 years ago, business owners sought to develop and show their offers on the Internet, but now they have taken their place and no longer need services. The flow of new clients is no longer huge, which makes the struggle between web studios more fierce.
Prices for services have increased; previously, promotion was handled by a freelancer of average quality, but now more knowledge and skills are required. Internet promotion has become an expensive pleasure, almost completely replacing the media.
The struggle between large, experienced studios has reached its peak. It is difficult for new companies to break through and become popular; to do this, they have to reduce prices, provide additional services, and fight for a place in the sun.

The entire Internet services market is divided into classes depending on experience, skills and cost. It is quite difficult to move from one to another. Almost half of large projects are taken over by experienced web studios; newcomers to the business have to be content with the middle price segment, whose customers are subject to strict rules, deadlines and pay little money. There is also a constant struggle with freelancers who try to take over projects.

It is better to open your own studio immediately with experience in working with expensive projects, because, as mentioned, it is very difficult to move from one segment to another. It is better to have experienced staff who can solve any assigned tasks in a short time.

2020 Web Design Trends

When opening a business, it is important to follow trends abroad and in Russia. You need to offer not only high-quality services, but also fashionably designed ones. Customers expect to receive a ready-made website made in accordance with all trends that make it more convenient and relevant.

When developing websites in 2020, you need to adhere to:

Minimalism in design.
Design of buttons and navigation designed for mobile devices.
No to big illustrations, familiar tricks, yes to micro-interaction. Small animations, smooth transitions and animation of pictures, musical accompaniment when you press a certain button, and so on.
Using natural, organic forms in design. Avoiding geometry.
Huge typography - everything important should be big.
Chatbots will continue to evolve.

Web studio resume

It is better to open a studio of the middle and upper class, having experience in management positions, in Internet promotion.

The list of services provided will include a standard set:

Development of a business card website, online store, corporate blog, etc.
Creation of one-page websites and landing pages.
Creation of a unique web design.
SEO promotion.
Setting up contextual advertising.
SMM, targeting.
Website audit.
Providing technical support.

The work strategy will be mixed, the basis will be developers, SEO specialists, a marketer and a designer. The remaining functions will be transferred to freelancers and outsourcing companies.

Marketing and advertising

Standard methods of promoting a web studio are not suitable. Offline in this business works extremely poorly due to the fact that the target audience itself is focused on the Internet and is looking for partners there.

The main efforts should be directed specifically to online. The following directions are planned:

Development of a corporate business card website and its SEO promotion.
Launching contextual advertising in regions of interest (Moscow and your region).
Launch of a corporate blog dedicated to the development and promotion of websites.
Active work with social networks. The most promising are Facebook and Linkedin, the Telegram channel.
Publications by specialists on topical issues in online publications and blogs that specialize in website development and Internet marketing are valued.
Effective networking: participation in specialized conferences, webinars as a listener and speaker.

It is important to acquire the status of a specialist in your industry, then you can quickly reach the level where clients are already looking for your attention, and not vice versa. This is important in any field, especially on the Internet.

And it is advisable to start from some position: for example, with several customers with whom you have worked before.

Most of the online promotion work will be done in-house, but you will need a small budget for SEO and the launch of contextual advertising. In total it will cost about 100 thousand rubles. The same amount will be required for advertising monthly.

Do I need to rent an office?

Everyone who is thinking about putting together a team and opening a web studio has at least once tried their hand at creating a website, design, promotion, and copywriting. All these components depend on each other and form a bundle of services for successful promotion.

You can start a business by simply gathering a team of freelancers and trying your own strengths. But in the future you will still have to rent space - an equipped studio with a staff will bring more benefits than development at home. It will also be possible to meet with clients and discuss orders.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of this plan include:

A stable starting position on the first clients, since the creator of the web studio has solid experience in this field and can assemble a team of proven professionals.
Transferring some of the tasks to employees to freelance, which has a positive effect on profitability.
Inexpensive space in an office building, minimal costs for these purposes.

The disadvantages include:

Possible reputational risks due to more complex control of remote employees.

Step-by-step opening plan

A web studio, like any other business, requires a well-thought-out business plan, according to which a gradual opening will take place. A web studio business plan contains many different points: business registration, employee selection, studio advertising, office rental, start-up investments.

Business registration

For this enterprise, a registration form as an individual entrepreneur or a limited liability company is suitable. For IP you will need:

Statement.
Passport, its copy.
TIN.
Payment of state duty.

Documents for LLC registration:

Statement of creation.
Charter, constituent documents.
Pastor and TIN of all founders.
Payment of state duty.

An individual entrepreneur is suitable for its simple registration and easier form of reporting, but to work with government officials you will need an LLC form. To work, you also need to choose a form of taxation - the simplified tax system with 15% is suitable, since in this area there are large expenses for paying employees.

You will not need to obtain any permits to operate or install a cash register.

The following OKVED codes are suitable for the web studio:

20 – software development and consulting.
60 – activities related to information technology.
40 – advertising activities.

It is necessary to open a bank account in the name of the company where payment for orders will be received.

Electronic bank account

To open a bank account for a company, you must provide the following documents:

A copy of the LLC charter.
Extract from Rosstat.
Registration documents.

After the account is opened, notify the INFS and the Social Insurance Fund about this within one week.

Please note the opening of systems for accepting various electronic payments: Yandex, Qiwi, WebMoney, PayPal.

Necessary equipment

To organize a workplace you will need to invest; the most expensive purchase will be laptops with licensed software.

You will also need:

Office furniture (tables, chairs).
Network hardware.
Equipment for employees (microwave, kettle, cooler).

The amount required for equipment will be 250,000-300,000 rubles, it all depends on the cost of the laptops and their configuration.

Staff selection

When thinking about how to open your own web studio, it is important to remember that in this business, employees are the foundation on which everything will rest. Without specialists in the field of development, there will be no promotion for the studio itself.

The staff will need to hire:

SEO specialist.
Two developers (Back-end and Front-end).
Web designer.

An entrepreneur can take over the functions of SEO promotion, reducing initial personnel costs.

Freelance employees will be required to perform the remaining functions: copywriter (preferably several), content manager, SMM manager, contextual advertising specialist.

On average, such recruitment requires a monthly payment of 220,000 rubles.

The website is the business card of the company

The face of the web studio will be the website you created - it should contain all the information about the company, services, and useful articles. It is best to choose a minimalistic design, but with its own features - small animations, pop-up windows, harmoniously arranged blocks of text. When visiting your website, the client must understand what quality of services you will provide him.

Experiment with your logo and slogan – they should be memorable and show your personality.

The posted list of services provided must be documented and visually confirmed. Attach examples of your work and indicate the sites you work with. Place all created projects in a separate block - a portfolio, so that the client can get acquainted with them without spending a long time searching. Allow clients to leave feedback on the work performed and suggestions. Listen to the opinions of customers, because by improving the quality of services, you will achieve greater popularity.

How to register an individual entrepreneur:

Go to the tax website https://service.nalog.ru/gosreg/
You will need to log in or register on the portal.
For further work you will need:
- A qualified certificate issued by a Certification Center accredited by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications (list of CAs).
Software component for working with electronic signatures (Crypto PRO EDS browser plug-in version 2.0).
Determine codes for your activities according to OKVED 2 (see classification from class J, from numbers 62 onwards).
We fill out form P21001 for registration of individual entrepreneurs.
We submit an application for registration of individual entrepreneurs using the portal.
We pay a state fee (800 rubles) for registering an individual entrepreneur.

If you are not yet registered on the government services portal or the tax office website or there is no way to obtain and set up an electronic signature, it is easier to go to the tax office at your place of residence or to a multifunctional center, of which there are many now. Take with you:

Passport and a copy of the passport (first page and registration page).
Application on Form P21001.
Certificate and copy of TIN.
Receipt of payment of the fee for individual entrepreneurs (800 rubles).
Application for transition to a simplified taxation system (form No. 26.2-1), sample here. If you want to understand the details of how to choose the right tax system, I recommend this video.

Typically, registering an individual entrepreneur takes from 3 to 7 days.

Step-by-step video instructions on how to register an individual entrepreneur:

Accounting

You will also need a current account for individual entrepreneurs. Offers from major banks for small businesses can be viewed on this page. For bookkeeping, you can try the My Business service. This way you can significantly save on an accountant.

Office

You don’t have to rent an office for work right away. Try renting meeting rooms in business centers, this will save you a lot. On average, if we talk about renting a full-fledged office, then expect from 400 to 1500 rubles per square meter, depending on the city and distance from the center.

Also look for options with furniture so as not to spend money on it. In a good way, you, as an employer, should provide computers, but you can agree with the guys that at first they will work on their own.

How to promote your business?

The created website will be your way of promotion, fill it with unique content, raise it in search engine rankings, install high-quality contextual advertising.

Set up Yandex.Direct and efficiently promote your site to the top search results. With good ranking, the chance of attracting potential customers will increase.

You can actively use social networks, advertisements in the specialized press, and magazines to promote your business. Working with your own website, you will learn how to do everything that you will offer to the client.

Hire employees in the office or work remotely?

One of the benefits of opening a web studio is ample opportunities to work with staff. You can start developing a business alone, and then hire assistants on your staff - a layout designer, developers, designer, content manager, advertising specialist, and so on.

A combination strategy works well: core employees will be hired to work in the office, and simpler functions will be assigned to remote staff.

After the opening, when the project has already been finalized, you need to assemble a team of people in whom you are confident. This way you can reduce the risk of not submitting your work on time.

Outsource the accounting functions to an outsourcing company; in this case, there is no need for a full-time accountant.

Staff

Employees are the most important component of this project. They are the main costs in the process of work, but they will also bring you profit. The staff will employ 4 people, the founder of the company himself will serve as an SEO specialist.

Payroll will be calculated according to a combined scheme: fixed rate (salary) + bonus.

The bonus will be awarded depending on the specialist’s contribution to a particular project.

Employee working hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 18:00.

Job title	Salary	Prize (guideline)	Of which: personal income tax + unified social tax	Total
Back-end developer	16 000	25 000	12 300	41 000
Front-end developer	14 000	23 000	11 100	37 000
Web Designer	16 000	25 000	12 300	41 000
Total	118 000

In addition, it is expected that some functions will be performed by non-staff employees. Freelancing will involve a contextual advertising specialist, an SMM manager, a content manager and several copywriters. The estimated cost of non-staff employees will be 100 thousand rubles per month.

In total, we will spend 218 thousand rubles per month on personnel.

What difficulties may arise?

All companies in the IT field face a similar set of problems; they are considered the costs of the profession. It is important to know the possible risks and be prepared for them.

Difficulties in justifying prices - many clients sincerely do not understand why services are so expensive. Freelancers offer to create a great website for them for 100 dollars and a few days, but the company demands 1000 and much more time. It is very difficult to prove that a quality product is not made cheaply.

The dependence of a business on employees - professional staff in this business is the basis. Many entrepreneurs are at a loss when a valuable employee leaves them. An experienced director will always be able to quickly find a replacement who will not give in.

Eternal edits and approvals - in fact, creating a website is easier than coming to an agreement with the customer. Particularly nervous performers lose their temper when they see all the new edits and changes in the project. In this case, the lifeline is a detailed order, a clearly defined technical specification and a signed contract.

How much money do you need to open a web studio?

The minimum investment in openings consists of the following items:

Registration of a business – 10,000 rubles.
Payment for hosting – 6,000 rubles.
Cosmetic renovation of the office and purchase of equipment – 350,000 rubles.

In total, the minimum investment in the business will be around 400,000 rubles.

Current expenses for one year will be:

Rent – 300,000 rubles.
Taxes – 120,000 rubles.
Salary – 900,000 rubles.

Annual expenses will be about 1,300,000 rubles.

Project profitability

In order to calculate the profitability of a business, you need to rely on average prices for services:

Creation of a one-page website – 20,000.
Creation of an online store – from 100,000.
Creation and configuration of a portal – from 150,000.
Setting up contextual advertising – 10,000-12,000.

Provided there is a stable flow of clients, you can receive a net profit of 450,000 rubles per year, which will pay for the business in about 1-2 years of operation.

Entrepreneurs, thinking about how to open a web studio, must approach the study of all the nuances of this area responsibly. This business does not tolerate ignorance and causes conflicts with customers due to misunderstandings that arise. A web studio is a promising industry, although it has a large number of competitors, but for successful development you need to be a professional in the field of website creation and promotion. You can start a business small, gradually expanding, recruiting more and more employees. In your work, it is important to make websites as if for yourself, because a satisfied client can recommend your services to their friends and partners.

Studio work plan

Geographically, we are located in Ukraine. Accordingly, we will create a web studio in Ukraine, the main client region is Kyiv. There is a problem here that I am in Zaporozhye. That's why! At the initial stage we will work only via the Internet. Both with customers and with performers. In the future, when there is a stable flow of leads and orders, it will be possible to open an office in Kyiv. At this stage, it will be possible to take on expensive and complex orders, as it will be possible to discuss all the nuances in person in the office. This will have a positive impact on trust and, as a result, on the size of budgets.