121: New Squarespace Website for California's Regional Association LACFDA

Type of Project: New Website Build - Two Week Web Design
Client Site: lacfda.org
Platform: Squarespace 7.1
Niche: Non-Profit/Association
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

Recently, I had the opportunity to create a website for a non-profit organization out in California. It's not very often that I get a request from an organization of this nature. So, when the President of the Los Angeles County Funeral Directors' Association contacted me to rebrand their existing website, I was intrigued. Ms. Jenna Moerk is a fountain of sunshine, has an amazingly sweet personality and was a total delight to work with during this two week project. It certainly is one of my larger projects with lots of detailed pages.

Jenna wanted me to design a fresh, clean and uplifting site which exudes the coastal California flair. And yes, that means, you will see a lot of palm trees on the site! It includes an extensive Member Directory, Resources page, password protected Members page as well as a way for members and vendors to purchase tickets for an upcoming event.

I often pick up a nugget of insight or wisdom from my clients. And this project was not an exception. One of the things that Jenna told me during our off-boarding call when I handed over the finished website was a reminder that (I am paraphrasing): "Life is too short. Don't wait for an opportunity to do what you love.”

This project was a Two Week Web Design Project and built on Squarespace 7.1

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I learn so much from my clients and in this project my client reminded me to “not wait for an opportunity to do what you love”!

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Kind Words from Jenna:

"Sophia has the best eye for design. We love the creative ideas she created for our website - from the look to functionality, we are extremely happy. I strongly recommend her services."
⏤ Jenna Moerk, President, LACFDA.org

Your Turn:

What inspiring moment you can recall while working with your clients? Let me know in the comments.

Cheers to you and your abundant creativity,
🦄🦄🦄 Sophia

119: New Artist Website on Squarespace Brings Happy Tears to My Client

When a client sheds happy tears when they see the website you’ve created for them, then you know you’ve got a job well-done.

Recently, I was fortunate to experience such a moment with my client, Debra Hille. She is a fine artist based in Tennessee, over the border from us here in North Carolina (hello, neighbor!). She creates personal sanctuaries through art and values peace, beauty, and meaningful engagement. For the last ten years, she has worked in healthcare by offering patients a positive diversion by making art. She also oversaw the selection, purchase, and installation of original art in multiple hospital and healthcare settings, channeling more than $100,000 in art purchases directly from local artists. She has also curated and installed art shows in hospitals that brought staff and visitors joy and respite. Now, she is back in the studio crafting the next chapter of her artistic journey.

Debra found me via Squarespace Marketplace and shared that she wanted to move her site from Wix to Squarespace. She loved the idea of a Website In A Day. guided her with all the prep materials she needed to send me over. And on our design day, I set about to create here website. Below is the result.

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Magical moments with clients makes my web design work so rich and satisfying!

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Kind Words from Debra:

"Sophia was a pleasure to work with, professional, prepared, patient, and friendly. A winning combination. She provided a welcome package on design collaboration and a step-by-step document, so I knew what I needed to do and provide for her. I must admit I became emotional on the first view of the website design. It was just right!

After completing the website, some issues connecting my third-party domain to Squarespace arose. But, again, Sophia was right there to troubleshoot and make it all work.

I look forward to working with Sophia again and recommend her without hesitation."

⏤ Debra Hille

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If I had known 3 years ago what I know now, I could have short cut my progress towards becoming a successful web Designer. I could have saved myself from heartache and progressed my business faster and seen these benefits earlier. And I am sharing these insights with you in a brand new free training, so if you are freelance web designer or making your plans for starting your freelance web design business (and quit your 9 to 5), then come to my free training where I share the 3 Essentials to Earning $10K+ Months. Sign up here.

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Your Turn:

Have you experienced a magical moment when working with your clients and showing them their newly designed website? Let me know in the comments.

Cheers to you and your abundant creativity,
🦄🦄🦄 Sophia

118: 7 Perks of Being A Successful Freelance Web Designer

I love being a web designer. I have a design business which allows me to help people with an online presence that they love and that helps them grow their business or spread their message.

I started my self-employed work in 2016 when I was focussing mainly on email marketing with ConvertKit. Then in 2018 that I began building websites professionally. At that time, I tried a lot of different things to get booked. And it was not easy. I had the skills and I knew I could do excellent work. But I didn’t know how to convey that to my potential clients.

Are you relating to that as a web designer? You know you are talented and you really want to run a successful design business. But perhaps, you are not there yet and sometimes wonder when will your dreams and goals become your reality.

I know that feeling very well. There were times when I wanted to quit and in 2019 I actually applied for a full-time job and got hired. But I declined the offer after they explained I had to show up on weekends and evenings and would qualify for a two week vacation only in the second year. I am so glad I kept at it and now grateful for the fruits of that perseverance.

If I knew what I know now just three years ago in 2019, I know that the journey would have looked much different. And I am sharing these with you in a brand new free training. You can see details and sign up for it here: 3 Essentials to Earning $10K+ months (without working nights and weekends).

Today, I am enjoying the perks of being an independent, self-employed web designer which I am sharing as a reminder for anyone who is on the journey and wanting the same. Keep the faith, keep making efforts and believe you can do it.

1 | Creative Freedom

I have creative freedom to try and experiment on new design elements. Yes, in the end, the design is a collaboration with the client but I get to steer the design conversation more freely than if I had to “design by committee” as one of my clients jokingly referred to a team of decision-makers.

2| Location Freedom

Knowing that I can work from anywhere is a definite perk. I have moved homes 21 times through out my life. So even though I am happily perched on my mountain, I love knowing that I can fly anywhere and still be able to bring in revenue (as long as they have high-speed internet). Plus, no lunch bags to pack nor lengthy commutes. (I used to travel 3 hours each day back and forth from New Jersey to NYC during my United Nations job and am so happy I can work from home)!

3| Wear What I Want

I enjoy wearing colorful clothes. And if I had to wear a uniform with uncomfortable heels (like I had to at the UN) or wear only black (as I had to at an upscale home furnishing boutique - I resigned after one week), or not be allowed to wear braids or have other restrictions of that sort, that would be no fun.

4| Choose What Client Projects I Want to Work On

This was not always the case but now I am happy to say no to projects that will otherwise make me depressed. I am acutely sensitive to animals being used for human use and so I passed on to a fellow web designer a project that had to do with leather items. I also cannot make websites for butcheries or farms (not because I judge others but only because I myself don’t want to be part of an industry that deals with animal meats or skin). When one needs to pay the bills, one may take on projects that don’t inspire but eventually you can make such choices with ease.

5| Freedom to Craft A Workflow That Brings Out My Best

My clients are often surprised to hear that I can get them a Website in Two Weeks or a Website In A Day. I have crated a design workflow that brings out the very best in me. As a Sagittarius, I am able to be hyper-focussed and stay with a project until completion but I need to have a clear end-goal. If a project goes on and on, I get impatient and it doesn’t give me the dopamine hit of project completion. I would not enjoy working at a design agency for this very reason.

6| Quarterly Breaks | 4 Day Work-Week | Afternoon on the Hammock

There is no rule that says you can’t be creative on a hammock! I love hammocks and when the weather is nice in the Appalachian mountains, all one wants to do is to sit outside and listen to the song birds. I remember on nice sunny Autumn days back in NYC, I would sit at the United Nations visitor’s plaza and have my lunch. I enjoyed looking at the blue sky and feeling the sun on my face before I had to go back to the dark basement office. I remember dreaming of being able to work from outside, away from a dark office. Now, I am blessed to experience that dream as a reality. Plus, I have designed my business to have 4 quarterly breaks each year, a 4-day work-week and afternoons on the hammock, weather permitting!

7| No Income Ceiling!

This really is an important one. As an independent web designer, I am constantly learning and improving my skills and increasing the value I bring to the market place because I know that I can influence my income. The better I get, the more valued my services and programs will be.

All of these are possible for you, too.

If I had known 3 years ago what I know now, I could have short cut my progress. I could have saved myself from heartache and progressed my business faster and seen these benefits earlier. I’d like to share some of these insights with you, so come to my free training where I share the 3 Essentials to Earning $10K+ Months. Sign up here.

Your Turn:

What perks of being a self-employed, freelance web designer do you want to create for yourself or currently enjoy? Let me know in the comments.

Cheers to you and your abundant creativity,
🦄🦄🦄 Sophia

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Benefits of being an independent web designer are limitless!

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