365 days since going freelance and starting my own business with my brother, Jordan, we’re only just getting started. We set out to create a boutique studio providing high-end web design, web-development, photo and video and we’ve done just that with eighty®.
Our first month saw us scramble up our website, which I still think looks pretty excellent. Although the site is STILL not finished (you’ll see ‘full site coming soon’) we managed to bag ourselves a couple of awards from Awwwards regardless, which I am still very proud of.
But that first month was also a tough one. I was reluctantly jumping from a familiar role that I loved and had spent years refining as part of an agency structure to go and work for myself. A different way of working is an understatement.
I had been hands on in many differerent aspects of agency life in the past but was now living up to the mantle of ‘CEO Of Fucking Everything’. I quickly found though that running a business is equally as rewarding as it is challenging. There’s always something new to tackle when you’re in charge of sales, accounts, marketing and general admin before you’ve even started doing your ‘actual’ job.
In the first couple of months we hit the ground running with some big e-commerce design & builds and that gradually started to fill the calendar alongside video and photography bookings. Although positive, I did what (probably) most startups do, which is take on too much at once in hindsight but I believe that’s part of the process of finding your feet.
Needless to say this levelled out and I began sharing parts of my story (not as consistently as I would like) which I found had a positive impact. A few months in I also found myself breaking out of my comfort zone and attending talks and workshops that I previously wouldn’t have had the confidence to do and was deadset on self improvement and really smashing my work.
I’ve had the opporunity to work on some amazing projects over web, photo, video and consultation, which is something I’m very happy with. There has been such a broad range of requirements and I’ve made sure to try and push myself with each project I’ve taken on. I also know I’ve still a ways to go and it’s all about progress. I’m thankful to the brands who have trusted me so far to bring their projects to life 👊.
A good few months in and by this point I had my own office so I could work more efficiently (👀) and began connecting and collaborating with other businesses and creatives, which has been one of my favourite parts of the journey so far.
I’ve probably made it quite obvious how much I love my space and it’s definitely something I’m proud of. Moving forward to today and a key focus from this point is to keep building on momentum and see where the future takes us while making sure we stay true to being specialists at what we do and continuing to smash it.
We began making plans for the future of the eighty® brand and we feel like we’re really only just getting started with it all. I’m extremely grateful to be in the position I’m in and I’m still excited to keep pushing and see what the future brings for us and for myself in regards to personal development. It’s been some journey so far! Stay tuned for year 2 📺
Thank you