$760/ Day as a Web Designer & Mom of Two - Kelly’s Story
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The secret to having time to spend with your young children isn't a hack on how to complete the household chores 20 minutes faster so that you can squeeze in a few more moments together before bedtime.
It's also definitely not cutting down your hours part-time at work like so many other women have done and then finding yourself with just as as much work as before, just with less pay and more stress.
The secret is truly finding a job that naturally allows you to be home and work on flexible hours, an hour of tasks here in the evening and a few hours there during nap time.
What no one tells you about that coveted job however is it's probably not going to come from your current employer unfortunately.
That's actually what Kelly, past Square Secrets Business™ student from Potting Shed realized.
Kelly had worked in PR and marketing in London but with her first on the way she knew that leaving the house at the crack of dawn, eating dinner at her desk at work and then coming back on the train from the city at 9 p.m. was no longer going to be an option for her.
Thankfully Kelly found the holy grail of jobs that works with family life and which pays well and that was teaching herself to be a website designer for fellow small businesses.
So Kelly is one of many new moms and past students of mine who have gone through my Square Secrets™ and my Square Secret Business™ courses and I'm so excited for you to hear her story.
But first - let’s take a peek at her gorge site!!
Alright Kelly share with me what were you doing before you became a website designer?
So before I was a website designer I was in advertising - I used to be an account director for creative agencies so we were doing big campaigns like TV websites and I was handling the client liaison and selling the ideas not actually being the creative person.
I used to work very very long hours - I had dinner in my office all the time and I used to commute in so I'd get up at six to get to the office for nine and then some days I wouldn't be home until 10 at night, it was like that for months and months and months you know projects and weekends.
Then at 38 I had a little girl and I was working in an agency in London Bridge and I thought I don't know how I'm going to do these hours with this thing growing inside me!
So I need to either go back to it part-time but that doesn't really exist in that world or come up with an alternative side hustle or something and that's when it all started.
I think you've heard of a few different side hustles so tell me about all the experiments and what you learned.
I had a children's tent company where we used to go to weddings and set up play areas for children with these little teepee tents (cute!!) that we set up, but that involved really unsociable hours at weekends or going to pick it up at one in the morning when the party finished - so not that great if you've got a child in the mix.
I did a website for that business so that was actually what opened up the world of web design for me. Not knowing at the time that that might be something I look at later but looking back that was where it kind of started for me.
I also studied to be a reiki healer for horses!
But when I got pregnant I didn't realize that you can't actually do reiki on animals when you're pregnant because they can feel that you're pregnant because you’re letting off some sort of hormone so they they won't let you do it.
I also had a horse box company building horse boxes on the side but it was very expensive to get a demo together and get that out in the market.
I had a clothing company as well, because I've traveled a lot over the years a friend & I decided to come up with a online clothing store where we’d sell clothes from small businesses that we'd found on our travels that we then wanted to import over to the UK and Canada. The sorts of clothes that you just wouldn't get on high street.
You know all those little things that you wear when you go to parties and people are like “oh where's that from?” and you're like “oh I picked it up in India” or something like that! So we decided to piece all these little businesses together and we did that for quite a few years and it was it was really good fun.
You definitely have no shortage of ideas and effort and motivation! That's fantastic. So you built the website for your company - can you tell me how you learned the skills & how you picked the platform?
So yeah I built the website and I was kind of thinking we need to pay somebody because you know I've been around I know how websites are built and it's usually code and quite difficult.
Then when I started looking around it was a time when those platforms were becoming more accessible and people were kind of DIYing websites so I thought I can give it a go I've got some time on my hands so I started just looking around at which website platform might be the best to use and I I suppose I just went with Squarespace because I wasn't sure which for a DIY website which would be the better one.
Then I found a company called Station Seven who sold templates so I bought a template and then worked off that for the first website.
When it was done I was thinking oh that it actually didn’t look too bad! We had some branding photos done for the company and when it was all put together I was like I didn't even know you could kind of pull a website together this easily!
It was basic when I look back now but at the time I was happy with it!
But I didn't think oh this is my new career until later on when a couple of people asked me how I did my site - like my hairdresser & the doula that looked after one of my little girls when she was young.
Another friend’s a Pilates instructor and needed a site too and it just started to evolve very organically!
Slowly I started thinking oh actually I’m kind of getting a paycheck out of this, maybe this is something that I can look into!
At first I wasn't looking for something sort of to go gung-ho with because I’d just had a baby and I thought it's quite nice to do on the side and a bit of cash for me to go and have coffee and a cake down the road with with the baby.
then I started putting my prices up, which is when I think it hit me that oh I need to maybe think about this being a serious thing and not just a hobby job!
So what did you do exactly to turn it from a hobby job into a serious thing? Were there any investments that you made or steps that you took to turn it into a real business?
So I did my own website and then I was like because I've come from an advertising background I know what goes into a website commercially you know like in terms of the copywriting strategically so the first investment for me was to get a copywriter and some brand photography done to up level my own website.
I took ages to do my own website! I can wing out clients sites in a few weeks but my own site took ages of tinkering around. I actually used a graphic designer to do all my rebranding and it was quite minimalistic. I wanted a better feel because all I had before was a logo which I think I'd originally spent about 70 quid on.
And then I invested probably about two thousand pounds ($2,400 USD) with a copywriter to sit with them & go through my brand strategy, not just what I was going to say on the website so that I was clear on my story.
It was also the process that led to me figuring out my niche.
I realized that I needed to be targeting people like me because there are so many that I met when I was in my village or on the school drop-off and I have the same conversations with the mums.
They’re all saying, I've had this career all my life I can't do it with children in the mix. I'm trying to find something new.
And I could completely empathize because because I've been in the same situation so I think naturally those people gravitated to me because they feel like I get them.
And then the word gets round!
I remember I think you said at some point that it took you a while to figure out the niche and it was kind of staring you in the face but you didn't realize it for a really long time. Can you talk about the process of figuring that out?
When I was just going through the process of doing a website for my hairdresser and my Pilates instructor I was just taking whatever I could and it wasn't until later on that I niched.
I think it takes you a long time to realize that you can have a niche because at the beginning you just want to take everything because you're still not that confident so you just take on whatever ever gets thrown at you.
But once you've got your confidence in building a website and how to talk to the people that you want to get through the door I think at that point is where you realize that these are the people that you need to attract.
I still do stuff that maybe isn't my niche but I won't ever promote that stuff because I don't want similar projects coming in but I do need to still put some beans on the table you know for dinner!
So I can't be too fussy all the time!
So a lot of people think about trying to serve moms who are starting businesses are worried that they don't have any money and therefore this is not a good niche. Can you talk about whether you’ve found that to be the case?
I would say yes , like me at the beginning, when you're starting out the thought of putting three or four thousand pounds for a website is really daunting.
At the beginning, I discounted my prices for projects I really wanted to take on - for example an interior design website for a friend.
But now I'm finding because I've upped my prices (probably from double from what my friend paid) I find that I get people that are maybe three or four years into their business. They’re still working Moms but they're they've maybe not had a website or they've tried to get someone to cobble a website for them together but now they're earning a bit of money they can see the value in investing.
I also changed my offer a bit.
When I was just doing the websites I was getting some really horrendous branding graphics to work with!
I was like I don't know how to make you a good website with those elements!
So then I decided that I wasn’t going to take anyone on unless they're a rebrand and a website because my portfolio is going to look like a complete dog's dinner if I don’t insist in quality branding!
I have like just a client down the road who's a jewelry designer and she's only been going maybe a year but she's invested in starting right, by having a rebrand and a full custom website.
So it does vary, and I think it also depends on the industry
I think that it’s true though when people start off they often start with a template, something really really cheap or maybe with no site at all, just social media. Then when their business starts making some money then getting a really good website is the thing that they want to spend their money on and they're really excited to do it!
I also think I think if people have come from a commercial background they understand that actually that still is quite a reasonable price for a website and branding because if you go to an agency you're going to be talking treble!
So, of course, everyone wants to make money but the money wasn't the most important thing for you if I understand well - it was the freedom & flexibility. Has your web design career enabled that?
I would definitely say so!
I had another child after the first one so I've now got a five-year-old and a three-year-old and I started just dabbling in web design when my first daughter came along which was five years ago so it's been a very slow process, because I had a child in between and we had Covid!
I've now managed to build a process where I only work two days a week. So every project that I do is spread across five weeks and I only work with one client at a time.
I find with working with mums they need a little bit of extra time to feed back because if they're trying to work and manage the kids it's a bit hectic so they're often not into this kind of you know quick turnaround two-week website.
And if I'm doing branding as well I also need to pop that time in too.
I go to all of the assemblies, all the school trips and I can be around for essentially anything that the kids need.
I don't need to send them to after school clubs or anything like that.
For me it’s not realistic to say on a Wednesday and Friday I'm going to work and the other days the client's going to feed back etc.
In an ideal world that would be great but I find if I get feedback and I need to react to it I'll just do it in the evening so there's just the fact that I can do that and not be clocking on and off that makes it so flexible & fit so easily with my life.
For me the most important thing is the flexibility and earning more money in less time.
Now I’m working 2 days a week, which is my choice, and earning twice than I was at my advertising day rate.
And that's just me deciding what I want to be paid.
Every school holiday I take off so I just book the projects in where it suits me and I’m quite strict with people booking in. I tell them “this is the window, if you miss it I'm not working that month so you're gonna miss your spot” but if people want to work with you then they’ll respect that.
I’ve tracked my time & worked out that that I'm earning an average of 600 pound a day.
I think with web design as well, it’s very scalable. Once I’ve got both children in school I can just scale it up you know, instead of working with one person across five weeks I could easily be two people across those five weeks because I'll just up a day or two.
Let’s peek Kelly’s beautiful portfolio!! 👇
So obviously the job comes with financial benefits, but what can you do as a family now that you couldn't have done if you didn't have this job?
My husband has quite an unusual job and he works away a lot so when he's back for say a month we can go traveling and spend quality time together. It’s that flexibility that if we've got a month to play with but I've got a project on I just take my laptop with me.
I haven't got to say no whereas if I was working in London that wouldn’t be an option.
What are your best hacks & tips for other Moms wanting to run a web design business with small children?
The biggest thing that I found hard when I was starting out was having meetings set in my diary where I knew the children would be around.
It felt like quite stressful.
So what I started to do was have those original meetings when I knew they wouldn't be around that kind of face initial chat (I try and do face to face as much as I can if clients are local because I think that first meeting is really important - it kind of just gels that relationship from the beginning and just flattens any questions they've got rather than hundreds of emails)
Then I found, it was easier, instead of having meetings to present things over loom rather than trying to slot in meetings.
It works because I'm working late at night whilst the kids are in bed I can just do a Loom presentation and then send it across for them to have in their inbox in the morning and it’s so much less stress than me dashing back from the school run to have a meeting at a certain time.
It's really just trying to work out a schedule that works for you. For me Loom kind of like saved my sanity!
Paige: It’s my fave fave software! Not familiar? Loom records your screen & voice so you can send explainers of anything & everything & it’s so efficient (not an affiliate link, just a fan girl!)
You have to remember it's your business and I think sometimes we can be over pleasers which it's not realistic or sustainable.
So you found my courses at some point can you tell me how you found them and explain the experience of going through them and whether they were beneficial to you?
So I every time I put Squarespace in you popped up! So I thought she obviously knows her stuff!
I think I was just struggling at the time, I was clambering through the processes of starting out with a client and ending with a client and struggling slightly with building the website the best way I could and I think when I saw your courses pop up!
I used to just watch or read some of your blogs & videos - the helpful tips were really great and then again I was like right I definitely need to schedule in time to do a course so then I can kind of finesse things.
There were things I was starting to do myself already but even just having some of the the sheets you'd already done, like the content planners and things like that just probably saved me about three months!
I kept trying to get things set up, but you kind of did the job for me! And then I could add to that as I needed.
So I found it really helpful to give me that confidence that I wasn't going wayward with what I was doing!
Also I didn't always know all the options I had on Squarespace, so I'd build a website but then I'd be like oh I didn't know about that little tool there which I learned about in your course and I'm finding now even four or five years in that, for example, if I haven't done an e-commerce website for a while I'll just pop on your course and I'll just walk through that section.
I know you update things too so it’s always up to date & it’s so handy to know it’s there.
Something that we haven’t really spoken about is your marketing strategy. I know you get a lot of referrals, is it just that or are there other things you do?
So I I have a huge marketing strategy in my head which I haven't managed to implement just for time!
I'm finding that when I’m busy with client websites it does take a back foot and I know from experience that actually a marketing role is a one-man job in itself let alone doing all the other stuff yourself!
So for now it’s mainly recommendations but I do have an Instagram presence so I try to put up I use a lot of stories to be honest I find them the quickest and easiest to show that I’m busy and that I’m doing stuff and that is pinging up on people's accounts just to remind them that I’m here and I do websites.
I do have quite a bit of strategy because I think it's really important but I implement it quite slowly.
I think it's important that as well as showcasing who I am and my work, that I offer strategic support asking the questions that probably people are sitting there thinking about like “what is brand strategy?” you know.
So I kind of use a lot of the nuggets that I've written in my website that I just pepper in on my social media account so when they look for me and see my feel and kind of get a feel and vibe about what I’m about.
For me it’s not about the follower count. I think a lot of people push themselves to get the numbers up but they'll come you just have to keep plugging away at your own speed.
Pinterest is my next one to hit but I've just not an opportunity to do that yet, so word of mouth mainly and some Instagram.
So when both children are in school what are the dreams or visions or things that are on the to-do list?
I think once they're at school I'd probably just move it up a day and then you know just slowly increase it as it feels manageable around everything else. I am still very into my work-life balance and I like if I've got essentially enough income coming in I still want to be able to go and have a Pilates class on a Wednesday morning and have that time back.
Then I'll probably increase it to four days and for me I'll be starting to take on two clients at a time so that I can maximize my monthly salary that way and I think probably longer term I've got a couple of people you know freelance that work for me at the moment and I would definitely utilize them more so then I can start to move along with projects a bit speedier.
How did you find those freelancers that you’re working with?
Some were contacts that I've had for other side hustles that I tried. I’ve got people in Canada and Seattle and also friends of friends. I haven't really used sort of the Squarespace contacts bu I find that once you find one person, then they know somebody who does coding or they know somebody who does branding and I think those recommendations are really helpful because you know that those people have worked with them and that they're good!
Someone else who’s helped is Will Myers who’s given me a few contacts which have been really helpful on the coding side.
In every project I try to do a bit of coding and try to learn maybe just one thing - no pressure maybe just to make a button do something, so that I can kind of tick mark that I've learned something on that project even if the client's not requested it and I've not charged for it.
But I found with bigger coding jobs you can spend hours trying to sort something out, and it’s much easier to just go and find someone who can sort it out for you in an hour that's not going to cost the earth. It's not going to eat massively into your profit so it’s totally worth it!
Okay well thank you so much Kelly I truly appreciate you coming and sharing I know people are going to really appreciate this conversation and I really encourage everyone to go look at your absolutely drop-down gorgeous website because it is really amazing!
Wondering how to do the same as Kelly?
Now let me guess your first fear is probably all about okay well if I start this business how am I going to find clients for it?
Am I a mind reader?
Yes yes I am.
I actually created a quiz called which client planning method matches your personality type and you can take it below to learn which marketing strategy will be right for you to bring in a long line of dream clients!
But after that the next question that you probably have is likely okay what do I need to learn what do I need to do to actually become a self-taught web designer?
Now luckily for you I released a video on literally exactly that just the other week so definitely watch this video next!
