Tired of the daily grind of a 9-5 job? Dreaming of a life filled with adventure and flexibility? Or maybe just a slower life filled with freedom and time?
Many of us have been there, longing for a change but unsure of how to make it happen. In today's blog post + podcast, I want to share my personal journey from 9-5 life to the freedom of entrepreneurship (and traveling the world.)
In today’s podcast + article, you’ll learn:
How I started my first business (in web & graphic design)
How I got my first web design clients & quit my 9-5 jobs in waitressing and retail.
Why you DON’T need a degree to start a creative business.
Why web design comes with job security, regardless of the increase in website templates and AI.
How to know if web design is a good fit for you!
Why social media is not the only place to get clients (and alternatives to try!)
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google or Spotify.
ARTICLE
Take a little trip back in time with me to 2012.
I was working as a Pizza Hut waitress and retail worker, paid about £6.59 per hour at the time, and I had a toxic boss who was super nice to my face but talked about me when I wasn’t around.
I’m neurodivergent so I already felt a bit different, despite not being diagnosed yet. I was also a pretty shy teen and I didn’t fit in well with some of the more extroverted staff members. It was at these jobs that I first remember FEELING different and being TREATED differently.
I wanted OUT.
I wanted to be my own boss.
I wanted the freedom to live and work from ANYWHERE in the world.
I wanted to do creative work I loved, NOT mop the floors of the restaurant or straighten coat hangers to pass the time.
I had a blog at the time - it was my side hustle. And one day, someone offered to pay me £150 to design a blog for them. (Very underpriced but at the time it felt like a lot!)
I told my coworker (who was studying graphic design at university) and here’s what she said:
“You can’t charge someone money for that, you’re not qualified.”
And she was right… I didn’t have any kind of degree. I was just a waitress and retail worker. I started thinking… “I’m not experienced enough for this. I don’t have enough money to start a business anyway. How will I even fund this?”
So what did I do?
I accepted the client anyway. I taught myself web and graphic design. I used my savings to buy a better laptop + Adobe programs. I used my credit card for a couple of business tools. I raised my prices over time as I gained more experience.
And guess what?
In time, I was earning enough from web design to quit my 9-5 and get on a flight to Thailand.
(If you want to do the same, sign up for The Profitable & Productive Web Designer Bootcamp before April 15th!)
Web design changed the trajectory of my life.
WHY WEB DESIGN?
I was always a creative - I loved art, drawing, photography, and writing.
I would redesign my blog for fun, just because.
If you’re a creative person and you have a good eye for design, even if it’s not necessarily WEB design, you just really enjoy interior design and choosing color palettes etc… If you haven’t started a business yet, I’d really recommend considering web design.
Even though people can buy website templates nowadays, there are lots of businesses worldwide that:
don’t have the technical skills to do that
don’t have the desire or time to
want a custom designed website that isn’t gonna look the same as 50 others
Because the world is all online now, businesses often lose tens of thousands if they don’t have a website. So web designers are needed and always will be. Did someone say… job security? ;)
HOW I LANDED MY FIRST CLIENTS
Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals - my first client came from a fellow designer.
I used social media - I ran a limited-time offer on logo designs.
My friend Paige didn’t use social media, she used SEO to rank no.1 on google for Squarespace web designer.
There are so many ways to land clients. Choose one, two at most, and give it your all.
COULD WEB DESIGN BE THE THING THAT GIVES YOU THE FREEDOM IT GIVES ME?
You might want to start a web design business so you can be your own boss, work from home (or anywhere in the world), and have full control of your time.
Or maybe you already sell brand design, virtual assistant services, copywriting, etc, and want to add web design to your services. One web project could be about $2500. Imagine if you just take 2 each month? That’s $5K/month. Or one each month is an extra $2.5k. $30k a year in total.
If you’re curious about web design, sign up to my good friend Paige’s FREE Profitable & Productive Web Designer Bootcamp!
About Nesha
Hey there! I’m Nesha, 11-year traveling entrepreneur and host of The Simple Business Show. I teach women how to build a $5-10K/month online service business working just 3 days a week, so they can have the financial and time freedom to live the life they dream of.
Looking for more ways I can help you? Here they are:
1:1 Coaching: Work with me on an intimate level to take your business from where it is to where you want it to go.
Group Coaching Program: The Simple Business Builder: Learn to build a $5-10K/month online business working 3 days a week.
Organize & Automate - Join 1200+ students and learn how to organize your entire online service-based business in just two weeks (on the side of your regular routine!) so you can stop stressing and fall back in love with your business.
Simple Sales School - Learn how to get a consistent flow of clients so you can build the income & financial freedom you desire.
Subscribe & Leave A Review!
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