JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Newsletter / Blog


2015-11-09
Paid for internship


We are offering a paid for internship (1-2 positions) from January 2016. The number of positions available may increase as we manage to increase our sales. It is because of an increase in our sales activities that the need for interns developed in the first place.

A simple little post on just one local Facebook group , which was allowed to stay for a few hours indicated that there is a massive need for paid for internships in our specific industry.

One of the moderators of this local Facebook group then decided to deleted my post because it seemed like I was advertising a course which is not the case. We intend to employ 1-2 interns from January 2016. The internship will be for a period of 3 months.

After the internship you should be able and skilled in establishing your own web design businesses like www.buddywebdesign.co.za , www.sureweb.co.za and www.butterbee.co.za .

There will be a minimum period of employment. We have decided to also offer a parallel online course for those not so lucky to get the internship positions. For our interns the parallel online course will be compulsory.

The framework for this course has been established already. It will be expanded and refined but it can be viewed here:

http://www.buddywebdesign.co.za/cp/21597/marketing-your-website

This "marketing your website guide" is aimed at the typical client of Buddy Web Design.

We will expand on this guide by adding chapters such as :

  • How to start your own web design business
  • Administration and taxation of small businesses in South Africa
  • Marketing and selling your web design services, developing your business
  • Growing your business by employing or outsourcing - Business Coaching

The end product will remain independent web design businesses like www.buddywebdesign.co.za , www.butterbee.co.za and www.sureweb.co.za . There are others as well but we like these 3 examples.

Why would we be looking to actively create competition for ourselves?

To actively create competitors for yourself is not new in this world. It has been done for years in the accounting and law professions. The employer offers a work opportunity with the understanding that this opportunity has a start and end date with the employee gaining a formal qualification , the right to practice as an accountant or an attorney.

The employer has the benefit of cheap labor for anything between 1-5 years. (2 years in the law profession and up to 5 years in the accounting profession.)

Francois Marais signed up for 5 years of hard "exploited" labor when he started his articles at a Chartered Accounting firm in 1993 but got one year of his "sentence" reduced because of obtaining his B-Compt Accounting degree within 4 years of commencing his articles or accounting internship. To this day having an accounting degree plus completed articles is a sought after qualification. When you start your articles with a degree you sign up for 3 years of hard labor.

So if accountants and lawyers are doing it why can web designers not do the same? There are other web designers who do offer paid for or even non paid for internships. We dislike the idea of not paying someone so we will rather offer a free step by step method (an online course) to be completed at a pace determined by the individual himself or herself.

It sounds unrealistic to learn all these skills within 3 months?

The words "design" and "programming" in the world of web design have become redundant or of lessor importance. The highly skilled programming and graphic design skills is provided for already or obtainable at very affordable prices. Our system and advances in technology has created a new kind of web designer, one which traditional web designers fear and loathe.We service a specific section of the web design market, small and medium businesses to be more exact. 

Where will we benefit in the long run?

Our business opportunity revolves around Kwikwap software. Hosting with Kwikwap or renting the software at R150 per month is compulsory when designing your website with the Kwikwap Software.

Buddy Web Design also owns Kwikwap Ezeweb CC a franchise of www.kwikwap.co.za . When you visit the website of www.kwikwap.co.za you will notice under contact us the other License Holders of Kwikwap. These license Holders appoint people as Kwikwap Consultants. A 6,5% monthly royalties is paid by License Holders on the monthly hosting fees. Domain registrations and renewals is also performed by the Kwikwap Head office, the cost of which is recovered from Kwikwap clients. The Kwikwap Head office also offers valued added services to Kwikwap clients of all Franchise holders. That , and the initial License fees, are how the Kwikwap Head Office benefits.

The License holder benefits by receiving R150 per website, dispersing R75 to the Kwikwap Consultant plus 6,5% to the Head Office and keeping the rest.

Kwikwap Ezeweb CC had previously contracted just such agents but the R60 per month per website did not make up for the time needed to provide support and developmental services to the individuals to become independent web designers.

In a sense the paid for internships offered will address this issue. The positions will thus only be offered to individuals who we think will become successful web designers themselves as we are looking to create work opportunities and not looking at enslaving people by locking them in low paying jobs indefinitely or for extended periods of time. The internships are not for people who will be happy to be in such extended abusive relationships.

We need the cheap labor, while applicants need the experience and training offered.No more than 3 months will be needed to teach you all we know and for you to be fully trained to be our competition in the market place. As explained we will continue to benefit by sharing in the monthly revenue from hosting fees.

At R60 per website this means that we can not afford to spend time after this 3 month internship with people who only do one or two websites per month. That is the situation Kwikwap Ezeweb CC found themselves in when they first appointed Kwikwap consultants. Clients of Kwikwap are protected by a client charter meaning they deserve a minimum service so unfortunately License Holders are forced to step in when their "wannabe web design agents" do not deliver. Internships will only be offered to people who display outgoing personality types with the ability to sell and market their services.

Very little programming and graphic design skills are needed with Kwikwap software. Those elements are already available at low rates or on an outsourced bases. That's not the skill you will be extensively trained on with us by doing the internship. Introductions to programing and graphic design, as needed in the Kwikwap environment will be offered. The opportunity to self study and master these skills are available online. Kwikwap consultants, who do not sell but demand that we teach these skills, contract's will be terminated or they will be ignored. A requirement to receive the recurring revenue is that a minimum of 1 website be sold per month by a Kwikwap consultant. There will not be exceptions made as our time is valuable and we have no time for people who view what we do as a possible hobby. That's most definitely not what we are doing here and why the internships are offered.

Why are we really not scared of new competition in our area?

We have been doing this work for the past 8 years and we have clients all over South Africa. We have many satisfied clients who have no reason to leave us. Every business and NGO or club need a website. The market is simply too big for us to become scared of new competition. We offer a twofold product not found in the market place:

"We assist ordinary people to become internet marketers"

"We assist the right kind of people to run their own web design business"

To really realise the value of this and how we do it, you have to join us for the 3 month intern program.