Why Web Design is the Move in 2022.
Actually… it might have been the move years ago.
My business started while I was in college.
During my sophomore year of college, at 21 years old, I decided I was going to start my own business.
I was studying accounting at the time, and had a heavy interest in entrepreneurship, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get myself into a financial planning business or a bookkeeping business.
Actually, I wasn’t sure if I even could with the qualifications I had at the time.
So I took a different approach.
I decided to start my business as a freelance video editor.
I never considered myself a creative before this point.
I have always liked to call myself a “self-identified numbers person” and give everyone around me (including myself) the impression that I did not have an ounce of creativity in my body.
There were two problems with this:
1.) It wasn’t true
2.) It was entirely up to me to do something about that.
Once I started making money with video editing, I realized that there was in fact a level of value in having creative skills, and I decided I was going to build up my creativity as much as possible.
That’s why in each year since then, I’ve worked on one skill per year.
2019 was podcasting and audio production…
2020 was writing…
2021 was video/photo focused…
2022 will be Web Design.
Here’s why web design is the next step.
For context, I have no graduated college with a degree in financial planning, and have a full-time job as a banker.
I still run my creative agency on the side, primarily working on podcasts and videos for entrepreneurs.
It feels as though my agency is not scaling at the rate it could or should be.
So I need a new service to offer.
Web design will help with that.
That, however, is not the only reason I have landed on web design.
I landed on web design because a few months back I took an interest in learning how to code.
The problem with learning how to code is you need an actual project to work on, or an actual target to aim for.
Coding can lead you down a path for web design, data science, automation, machine learning, or a whole list of other things.
After speaking briefly with a connection I have with a deep computer science background, I learned that coding isn’t where the value is… It’s what you can build with the code that counts.
This made me reflect and think about what I could see myself building that would provide value to people… and websites was the answer.
It fits in with what I already do in my business, and gives me an aim for building my skills as a coder… I guess.
Here is why I say this…
In the end, this post has almost nothing to do with web design, and everything to do with growth and development.
If you are looking to grow in your career, your marriage, or anything else, there are a few pieces to put together to ensure that you will see success over the course of your lifetime.
First, find a way to make yourself consistent.
I keep myself constantly evolving with my business by dedicating myself to learning a new skill every year, as mentioned above.
If you can make a similar promise to yourself, and stick to it, you almost have no choice but to grow indefinitely over the course of your life.
Second, don’t be afraid to be “business-minded”.
There is nothing wrong with designing your goals around profit.
When you do… a lot of people will give off the impression that you won’t hit your goals because you are “only focused on the money”.
These folks aren’t entirely wrong, but they aren’t going to know whether or not money/profit is the only thing motivating you.
Usually it’s a blend of interest and profit that will create passion.
Finally, keep yourself happy.
In my humble opinion, nothing is worth pursuing if it only creates friction in your life.
There is fulfillment to be found in creativity, and that is why I continue to pursue my freelance career alongside my finance career.
Not only can I make side income from the business, but there is a level of fulfillment that comes from being a more well-rounded individual with real skills in multiple areas.
This advice goes against the advice of “niching down” and/or becoming a master in one area… but that doesn’t make it bad.
There is a value in both. Becoming a master at what you do for a living is probably a good idea, but having hobbies, passion projects, side businesses, or whatever else you want to call them adds a whole other level to your life.
And there’s more than enough time to do all of it.
