I actually did some freelance work in this area in the late ’90s while I was still in college, but much has changed since then. This weblog has served as a good testing ground for the technical side of some of those changes, though I still have some growing to do before I have the confidence you (quite correctly) describe as being so important.

To tell you the truth, there is a *lot* of good information in the links you gave. I recommend subscribing to Signal VS Noise. Brought to you by 37signals, they often have great, practical advice for people in this business.

Personal advice? I’d basically be repeating a lot of others, Keith of Asterisk* in particular (another great repository of advice and information). Always ask for half up front. If you have a client who can’t afford your price (and if your price is perfectly reasonable), it’s probably not worth it to go ahead with that client. There are several reasons for this which have been explained at length… overall, it cheapens web design in general, word-of-mouth referrals from that client might expect the lower price from you, and such clients don’t tend to have as much follow-through as more serious clients who know the value of good web design.

Build up a lot of practice and confidence as well. Do you plan to offer web application development services? Make sure you know you can do it. Are you able to work with the custom systems of other companies? Be sure your portfolio site says clearly what services you offer. Of course, that all implies that you should build a portfolio.

Also, there is setting the price. This can be one of the most difficult parts, as you want to hit a sweet spot that is both affordable for your clients and reasonable for you to work. One way to do this is figure up about how long a project will take in terms of hours, then give them an estimate based on that. This can be refined as the project evolves, but also make sure you have everything that needs to be done pretty well nailed down before you start, lest you go into severe feature creep. Don’t be afraid to tell your client the price, as I said above. And, of course, the link you have on determining a client’s budget has good advice on this.

That’s most of the advice I have for you. Good luck to you!