What is the best type and most effective type of UX Journey map that you have seen?

I think you've really answered your question pretty well! The common options are: 1) Deferred compensation. Find someone that will agree to take a note in lieu of payment, with an enticing arrangement to pay them for their work when you get revenue. 2) Partial cash, partial equity. Equity doesn't have to mean a share in the company today. It could take the form of options (with vesting over time), or vesting that is dependent on certain milestones (perhaps revenue) being met. 3) All equity - Again with the vesting possibilities in #2 above. Unless you have no other choice, you might want to avoid anything related to equity due to complexity, legal expense, and other reasons. A good option might be to see if you can find a good but inexperienced UX designer who needs to build a portfolio, and would see this as an opportunity to get a case study and build credibility, in exchange for a reduced compensation rate. Lastly, consider hiring a UX designer on a site like Odesk. Many offer services at low hourly rates, and some of them are probably really good.

Steve Blank has already covered this in depth in his book 4 Steps to the Epiphany, as well as a video here: http://startupweekend.wistia.com/medias/tao3s8hf7l My approach is based on his outline, with a twist. 1) I try and conduct the interviews at the customers office or place of work, at minimum on their devide (computer, mobile phone) so I can ask to see how they work. 2) I never try and sell them on a the solution, but work hard to truly understand if/where the problem is. 3) Always provide guidance to the conversation, but ask open ended questions. 4) Ask questions like "What do you do 3 minutes before, and after, you do that action (or use our product)? Other tips would be - Write down the words they use. Metaphors and taxonomies are VERY important to ensuring your product is approachable. - Use 3 simple slides: Problem, Current Solutions, Proposed Solution Hope that helps.

If you consider yourself one of the best (which I assume you do, given that you're looking for high-paying clients), you should look into TopTal https://www.toptal.com/talent/apply TopTal is a freelance site similar to UpWork, Freelancer, Odesk, etc...the difference is, TopTal ONLY hires the top 3% (so bring your A++ Game) and they only allow the top companies to hire their freelancers, so you don't have to worry about competing lowball bids to get work. Supply is low, demand is high, and you could literally pick up full time work immediately after being approved. The application process is pretty intense but if you get through it it's worth it. They are rabidly looking for UI & UX designers. If you're not already using Upwork, I would get on there too. Some of the companies on there are looking for quality over price and willing to pay more for good work, but the demand is much lower.

We have been collecting usage data on the home button from about 750 websites we manage across North America in an effort to try to determine if it is necessary or not. While each website is different, and much of the data is statistically insignificant, we have started to operate with a few assumptions. 1.) Most users, particularly younger users, recognize the logo as a way to get to the home page. 2.) Websites without home buttons seem to get a comparable amount of traffic to the home page as those that do not. We don't see a significant difference between having a home button or not. 3.) Websites without a home button often will see an increase in direct traffic from returning users during a session indicating that users who do not know the logo is a route to the home page will instead clear the address bar back to the root domain to get back home. Based on our research, we have decided to omit the home button in most instances. Although when it is present, it is often used, most users seem to understand how to get to the home page regardless of the inclusion of a home button. With the complexity of modern websites, we are usually pressed for space in the header and can better use the real estate that would be dedicated to the home button for other UI elements. That said, if the audience for our website skews older, we will still include the home button. Our research has indicated older users are less familiar with the concept of the logo being a home button.

The best way is to lean how to ask great questions and to physically spend time with your users watching them work. I don't have all the killer questions, but my favourite to help understand product roadmap opportunities is "What do you do 3 minutes before, and after you use our product?". That helps me understand where the opportunity lies to build a solid solution end-to-end. Also, finding a set of users that feel comfortable having you hangout and work with them, taking notes and asking questions is invaluable. Just to understand their environment, the way they organize their work, and how they might communicate around the problems your solution is/could help with is incredible. Every time I'm at an event and someone ask me what I do, I always ask them if I can "show them" and if they say yes, I have them find / download / signup and explore our app. Then I ask them questions about how they might see someone using it, who they think might be the best customer, etc. It's not about not knowing, it's about continuously learning and testing different perspectives. As for tools I use: www.usertesting.com / especially new mobile tests!