If You Seek, You Will Find [video]

I'm not a minimalist, but I do like to keep things really simple when it comes to my work, my business. When I first started — 26 years ago now — seems like a lifetime ago, but I had no clue about business. I just had a passion.

I loved web design.

And thought, you know what? I think I can get somebody to pay me for building a website.

I can't even remember how I got my first client, but it was cool as hell to know that I could create something for a business, and it worked for them — and get a load of joy from it.

As the years progressed, the joy kind of went out of it. It was more about How can I be better? Just do more. The grind mentality was there, and then I got burnt out. I didn't want to see another website for the rest of my life.

I was so done with the Internet

And looking at my computer just, oh, sent shivers down my spine. I was so burnt out. I was so overwhelmed. That was 8 years ago now.

It was when I realized that if I could just find the joy in what I do, that that could bring me back. Because let's face it, if you work for yourself and then you stop working — where does the money come from? It makes it very difficult. So, it was either work out how I could get my business back, or go and work for somebody else. And to be honest — the latter?

I would rather have my teeth pulled.

So, I had to rework my business.

Now, luckily, I was still getting paid while I went through my period of burnout, because of the way that I had set up my pricing, but it wasn't about that — to come back, I needed happiness. I needed to be able to be creative. I mean, that's what I am — I'm a designer. I'm a photographer. I'm a creative person.

And when I thought about what is it that brings me the joy in what I do, it certainly wasn't being a manager of sorts. It was doing the designing. But also seeing the happiness on my client's faces — the WOW! factor — when I revealed their new website to them.

That was so exciting.

That was a rush for me, probably more than it was for them. That's what it was all about. The excitement, the happiness. Just joy. And an eagerness for those clients to show their website off to friends and family and then the world, well, whoever it was that was going find their website. ??

To get that back, I really had to think about what brought me the joy and how to get that as quickly as possible.

So I redefined everything that I was doing.

I took all the stuff that made things difficult, like meetings and mock-ups, and a load of stuff that drags out a project. I got rid of them all — completely streamlined what I was doing, and I started creating the best websites that I'd ever done.

It's like you could see that they were made with so much love.

I’m not really sure why I'm sharing this today, it just popped into my head. But maybe one of you listening, you're going through something similar. Maybe this message will help you. I don't know, but I just wanted to share that keeping things simple, so that what brings you happiness in what you do to make a living, is sustainable. It will keep on going.

I've added a new element to my business recently, and that is teaching web design — how to create a website that converts visitors into paying customers in a very short amount of time. This is perfect for somebody that maybe doesn't want to have the expense of hiring a web designer, (though I like to think that I'm very affordable.)

My course is available at?mywebsiteinweekend.com.

Well, there's a waitlist right now.

The course really takes you through a super simple formula, the one that I use in my business to design websites that convert. So —?mywebsiteinweekend.com, if you want to be able to build a beautiful website… that converts.