# Internet work



## dacosta_rafael (Jul 27, 2011)

Are companies willing to pay for internet work in Portugal, programming, etc.?

I would like to venture into Portugal. Has anyone had experience in web development/ marketing as a business?


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## notlongnow (May 21, 2009)

dacosta_rafael said:


> Are companies willing to pay for internet work in Portugal, programming, etc.?
> 
> I would like to venture into Portugal. Has anyone had experience in web development/ marketing as a business?


Not sure you'll find much work from Portuguese companies, and if you do, the ability to speak Portuguese will be very important. However, you are in a profession you can do from anywhere, whether that means finding freelance clients in the US or UK and working from home, or finding work via freelance sites like Elance, Rentacoder, oDesk etc.

The trouble with the online freelance boards is that you are competing with people in India and the Philippines who will work for $5 per hour, but if you can do something to set yourself apart you can, with perseverance, still be successful using them. 

As an example, i sometimes use oDesk in order to get simple freelance tasks done FOR me, and 90% of the applicants I reject instantly as they have failed to read the job spec properly or don't have a good grasp of English. Once you build up a reputation, there are clients out there (me included) who will pay more for a better standard of service.

In terms of web design, there are plenty of companies here in the Algarve offering services (I do a bit of web development myself too, but by working from here for clients in England).

Despite all of these providers, there does seem to be something of an uptapped market for simple sites and email hosting for small businesses - most of the businesses you see here advertise with gmail or sapo.pt email addresses. The problem is, people around these parts don't have a lot of money right now, so keeping food on the table is more of a priority to them than having a proper website and email address.....


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