Starting a New Career as a Squarespace Web Designer: My Story
Starting a Brand New Career as a Squarespace Website Designer
So, I’m starting a brand new career as a Squarespace web designer. And not gonna lie, I feel a little overwhelmed at times all the time. So I thought, why not write my first blog post while I’m at it, and add to the madness? 😅😁
Hi! I’m Janessa.
I’m a restaurant manager-turned-location independent event producer-turned-new Squarespace web designer.
I’m still a newbie web designer. Recently I started thinking about how many things I Google in a day about web design and starting my own business - I’m basically drinking from the Squarespace web design firehose at this point 😅
What kinds of things? Well, things you might also be learning, …things like:
Web design best practices including typography, branding & identity, and color palettes
How to use Squarespace (lol, basic but it’s true)
What integrations or services are priorities for me - and what can wait until I’ve made a couple sales?
Which social media platforms and other marketing methods do I want to focus on?
Should I start blogging again?! (If you’re reading this, the answer I guess is yep! I guess I am gonna do it!)
How to organize my already overloaded Desktop, Google Drive, and bookmarks tab?
SEO best practices (!)
How do I stay authentic and true to myself while building a business?
Etc etc etc!
Sound familiar?
Every day I have about 3000 things on my to-do and to-learn lists, and every day I get distracted by learning new things, doing new things, and continually adding to my list. It’s a lot. (And I love it!)
So I thought I’d share my journey, my learnings, and my thoughts with you. I hope you find it helpful, useful, or at least know you’re not alone in the journey!
So here is blog post #1:
The First Six Weeks of Learning Squarespace Web Design
HOW I STARTED:
I found Squarespace web design through late-night Google searches in January 2023, when I realized my heart just wasn’t in running my corporate events company anymore. But I knew that I still wanted to be my own boss, work from anywhere, and have freedom and flexibility. So down Google rabbit holes I went!
To catch you up on my timeline, the first six weeks went a little like this:
Week 1
Unsure of what I want to do. Start my own event consultancy firm, maybe? Offer event services, travel itineraries, social media and website support maybe. I have passing-to-deep familiarity with all of these, it’s just a matter of where I want to focus my time and energy. And what is most likely to help me achieve my goal of continued freedom, flexibility, and location independence. AND oh yeah, something I enjoy doing, AND being able to work directly with people again. Super easy.
I apply to join a live 7-week digital marketing boot camp offered by Jelly Academy. Only problem is it doesn’t start for a month. And I currently have zero event clients. So what to do in the meantime? 🤔
Week 2
While researching my potential consultancy firm, I stumble upon Squarespace. I find Paige Brunton’s blog. Maybe how you got into Squarespace Web Design too? I return every few days to read more and more. I’m curious beyond measure, and she provides knowledgeable content that keeps showing up in my Google (she’s obviously nailed the SEO game!).
This is the week I decide, Eff it. I’m going to sign up for her classes. It’s a BIG investment. I’m not currently making an income.
BUT. I’m driven to create something for myself, something that involves connection, joy, and growth — personal, professional, and financial — and something I truly enjoy doing.
I start taking Paige Brunton’s course (January 27, 2023), diving into Squarespace for the first time. Simultaneously reading anything and everything I can get my hands on - design, branding, storytelling, copywriting, building your own business, etc.
Books Read During These Six Weeks
Week 3
Learn learn learn. Drink from firehose. Repeat.
Make a few sample websites (not to completion, tbh, I just muck around in there).
Muck around in Canva.
Start building a first draft website (later to discard it, and other versions, before finally starting on the one that I publish.)
I contact a friend who fits in my ‘ideal client’ zone. She’s a holistic health coach and is seeking to build a profitable business where she can work from anywhere. YES girl. 🙌 I offer to redo her website for free, in exchange for the practice and a testimonial. She says yes!
New client website - whoop whoop!
Start slowwwwlllllyyyy telling my people 1:1 I’m making a change.
I feel shy to share since I start a lot of things and don’t finish them (Hi I’m an easily distracted ENFP 🙋♀️), and don’t want people thinking that it’s just another thing that won’t stick.
Because it feels different.
But then I also realize that it doesn’t really matter what they think, because it feels true to me.
Luckily - but not surprisingly - my friends are super nice people and everyone that I have the chance to tell over the next few weeks is supportive.
Week 4
More of the same 👆
By this time I’ve finished Paige Brunton’s Square Secrets and have started powering through Square Secrets Business. Learn, take notes, consume the entire internet, read books, listen to audiobooks, research my brain off. (Also I take the train to Seattle to celebrate Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend.)
Week 5
Work on my friend’s holistic health coaching website. She is lost on how to get started, so I also offer to rebrand her company with a new logo, color palette, and typography. I put the finishing touches on my website.
Week 6
I launch my website! 🥳 Whoop Whoop!!
I read in The Power of Consistency that ‘the confused mind says no’. So when you get analysis paralysis, you feel overwhelmed and shut down. To power through that, simply focus on one action to take. Work toward one goal. When starting a business, that goal is typically to make a sale. And to make a sale as a website designer, you need to have a website!
So keeping that in mind, I stay consistent and work through my doubts and lack of clarity on exactly what I need to do. As someone who can get lost in the details, this is hard for me, and it’s good practice.
I also finish my friend’s holistic health coach website. We go through two rounds of edits. My friend likes it. YAY!!
And that leads us up to today:
Week 7
I feel like time has moved slowly, but typing this all out, I actually do feel accomplished!
I’ve learned a ton, created business accounts across various platforms, started coming up with good SOP (standard operating procedures) that feel aligned with my business goals, and oh yeah, built and published TWO Squarespace websites!
Taking a moment to appreciate the little wins along the way 🤓🥳
Sound familiar?
Maybe you’re becoming a Squarespace designer, or starting a different business and building your own Squarespace site. Here’s something I made to help you get started!
Grab your free Squarespace website launch checklist here ↓
