Gone are the days when working for an established multi-national corporation was the only thing an ambitious professional aspired to do. Ambitious it was and it came at a heavy price – it required great patience, for the journey to the top was a long one filled with long hours of working and competition aplenty. Of course there was job security, but work-life balance was quite the balancing act. The budding entrepreneurs of today demand full control over their lives and time, and they are willing to work to get it!
For all these reasons and more, today’s millennial is reconsidering the traditional career path. The quick pace of technological advances and improvement in infrastructure have presented a plethora of opportunities for the millennial to explore. When this exploration is not dictated, nor comes with an expiry date, the individual becomes truly free to create.
And what’s more creative than developing and designing your own website?
Here are some things to think about when building a website as a brand new entrepreneur:
- Your purpose. What do you want to achieve with your website? Are you looking to generate leads, sell products or services, or build a community?
As an entrepreneur, you need to have a clear purpose for your website. What are you trying to achieve? Are you trying to sell products or services? Are you trying to build a community? Once you know your purpose, you can start to build a website that will help you achieve your goals.
- Your audience. Who are you trying to reach with your website? What are their needs and interests?
It’s important to understand your audience when you’re building a website. Who are you trying to reach? What are their needs and interests? Once you know your audience, you can start to create content that will appeal to them.
- Your content. What kind of content will you create? Blog posts, articles, videos, infographics?
The content you create for your website is one of the most important factors in its success. You need to create content that is relevant to your audience and that will help you achieve your goals.
- Your design. What kind of design will you use? Will it be simple and minimalist, or more complex and visually appealing?
The design of your website is also important. You want to create a design that is visually appealing and that will help you achieve your goals.
- Your promotion. How will you get people to visit your website? Will you use social media, search engine optimization, or other marketing strategies?
Once you’ve created your website, you need to promote it. You need to get people to visit your website and to see your content. You can use social media, search engine optimization, and other marketing strategies to promote your website. More on that later.
Building Your Own Website
All businesses, especially the smaller startups need this – to discover and unlock their own potential and to compete with other similar businesses. It is quite possibly the biggest cost these days of starting up your own business or working for yourself (other than the obvious computer, and internet connection, but most people have that covered – those things are almost basic life needs at this point). For some this investment to pay someone a few hundred (or thousands) bucks for many years was prohibiting them from entering the entrepreneur space but these days there is no excuse.
Thanks to the near limitless internet resources on the topic you can easily build a sufficient website for yourself or your small business – in fact if you are looking for a business to run there’s never been a better time to build websites for people, as Robert Mening outlined in his piece on how to become a web developer, he takes you through what it is, the basics, and even how to book your first client!
The Best Way to Learn HTML
As you may have gathered, creating a website for yourself can be easier than you think:
- It’s low cost to get started (all you invest is time learning the basics of HTML, CSS, and JS from sites like Smashing Magazine, CSS-Tricks, and Codrops)
- There are tons of frameworks, Themes, and Libraries out there to utilize once you learn the basics.
- Domains and Hosting are more accessible than ever.
- There are many free website builders out there that require no coding or learning at all to get started.
Focusing On Your Passion
How to find and do work you love | Scott Dinsmore | TEDxGoldenGatePark (2D)
Maybe you don’t want to design websites for people, you just want to do it once, for yourself – but you know you do not want another boss in your future ever again. Before you get your brand new website setup (it doesn’t have to be perfect, no one’s first website ever is – and if you build it yourself you can always upgrade it later once you get enough business!) spend a lot of time thinking about what it is that you like doing – and make sure that whatever that something is, it will have the capability of paying your bills once you dive in. That’s where it’s important to make sure you have a solid business plan so that you can enjoy working for yourself!
Tips for Running a Successful Website
10 startup websites that make a great first impression
So you’ve nailed down your passion, you’ve brushed up on your web design, development, and SEO – your small business website is garnering a few hits a day – things are looking up! Don’t let your guard down just yet – any good entrepreneur is always scoping out the competition. If you happen to pride yourself on your new found web design skills then you’ll also know that any good web designer is always scoping out competitors websites for good feature ideas to implement in their own site to take it to the next level!
You never know when you will strike a nerve with your users, or who knows, you might even evolve your business with enough good ideas, or find a new passion, or even start another business (who said you can only have just one?). Whatever it takes to keep you engaged in your business, and keep it growing, is the key to success when working for yourself.
The Art of Working for Yourself
Building a website is a big undertaking, but it can be a very rewarding experience. By taking the time to think about your purpose, audience, content, design, and promotion, you can create a website that will help you achieve your goals.
Here are some additional tips for entrepreneurs:
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to access the internet, so it’s important to make sure your website is designed to be viewed on these devices.
- Use high-quality images and videos. Images and videos can help to break up your text and make your website more visually appealing. But make sure you use high-quality images that are relevant to your content.
- Keep your website updated. Make sure you add new content to your website on a regular basis. This will help to keep visitors coming back and will also help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Track your website’s analytics. Use a tool like Google Analytics to track how people are finding and using your website. This information can help you to improve your website’s design, content, and promotion.
We hope that these tips have helped guide you in your path for working for yourself!
What is your biggest challenge when chasing your dreams of working for yourself? Has the modern tech space made it easier to do your own thing, or has it become more difficult to figure out where to start? Let us know in the comments below and thanks for reading!
