Over the years as I travel around the country, one of the most popular questions I am asked is whether I know of anyone looking for help with their website. Internet marketing consultants ask me, developers and designers ask me, and search engine optimization consultants ask me. There's plenty of work out there, you just have to know where to look.My startup processes business cards and over the past two months we've processed several thousand cards. We visit every website listed on each card to verify the address. Over 80% of the websites I've reviewed are in serious need of help. The categories range from travel to technology to law to marketing and everything in between. Many of these websites look and act like they were created in the mid-90's. Some of these websites wouldn't even count as "brochure" websites.

So many of these websites could use an upgrade; both on the design side but more importantly on the functionality side. With the given economy, it is a shock that so many small businesses aren't using the Web more effectively. Even just the simple addition of a regularly-updated blog could make a huge difference for a small business. The reason I like when small business owners blog is because it gives them an outlet to show they are an expert in their industry. Naturally there are other side benefits but the real power is in the knowledge transfer.

If you are a Web consultant in any discipline currently seeking work, this is the time to pick an industry and start to reach out to every single company that isn't using the web effectively. Pick one company and recreate their Internet presence and use that as your show piece. Get out to the events in that industry, learn everything you can about how the industry works and what's important to a customer.

Years ago companies spent money on a website because they felt like they had to be online. Today companies will want to see a strong ROI on any online marketing spend. You may need to get creative with the billing so always be ready to discuss more options than just a straight cash payment.

There's plenty of work to be had, so get out there and start asking!