smutek.netI am super excited to announce that I launched my new site today! I thought it would be a good idea to make a post about my plans. Who I seek to serve, what I plan to do, why I am doing it, and where I’ve found inspiration.
Who I want to serve.
The audience I seek to serve is small business owners who would like help with their web presence. I specialize in WordPress and I offer a variety of services related to that platform. I’m especially interested in working with professionals in the wedding industry. Photographers, DJ’s, caterers, event planners, officiates, etc.
What I plan to do.
My goal is to provide value to, and build relationships with anyone who is running a business and who has a web presence. I’ll be posting weekly blog posts, on Friday afternoons, with various WordPress and web design related tips and tricks. I plan to cover everything from basic day to day stuff, like this weeks post, to super geeky coding tutorials.
I have a large list of ideas for posts but if you have an idea for something you’d like me to cover please hit my contact form and send a suggestion.
Why I am doing this.
I’ve been working as a professional designer since 2003. My background is in print design and I used to do lot of posters, logos, brochures, small websites and just about everything else under the sun. I love technology and I’ve always been an avid self teacher, so eventually I moved from print design to web design. You can read more in my about section, but the main point is that I was laid off from my job doing WordPress work back in August of 2013 and I’ve been self employed ever since.
Self employment is… different.
The first year and a half was a big change of pace for me and a lot to wrap my head around. I’ve always worked for someone else, working for myself has been a huge change. One thing that became apparent was that I needed to focus my efforts.
My old site.
My previous site was designed with one thing in mind; to land me a job as a web designer. I built the site in December of 2013 and by February of 2013 I had landed a job as a junior front end developer at a small agency in Towson. Mission accomplished! My previous site was great, but it didn’t reflect my current goals. Once I worked out what my current goals actually are, I designed new branding and started work on this site.
My new site.
This site, and my new branding, represents my focus and commitment to web design and web development. It also represents my commitment to share the things that I know and the things that I am learning, with others. Please have a look around and let me know your thoughts. If you see anything that doesn’t look quite right please be sure to let me know as well, either in the comments or via email.
Inspiration
Inspiration comes in a lot of forms. I just want to give a shout out to some people in the creative community who have inspired me in a business sense.
Curtis McHale
First and foremost is Curtis McHale. Curtis’s tagline is “Helping you answer the hard questions about your business”. His posts and the interaction I’ve had with him have been a huge motivation for me to get my butt in gear and focus on my business.
Sean McCabe and Ben Toalson
Sean and Ben are the hosts of the seanwes podcast. It’s a podcast focused on helping people earn a living by pursuing their passion. Sounds cliche, but it’s a must-listen. It’s like, self-help meets business advice and I am inspired by every episode that I listen to.
Also…
I also want to mention:
Chris Lema, whose blog has been an inspiration to me since I started on my own.
Matt Medieros, whose Matt Report podcast provides consistent, ongoing value.
Gary Vaynerchuk, whose level of hustle is amazing.
All the people that I listed above do great work. They are all successful entrepreneurs, and they’ve all provided value and inspiration to me.
I hope to do the same.
I’m super excited for this launch, and for what the future holds!