Do what you love, love what you do
By: Kirsten van Rijn, www.kirpunt.nl
“Choose a job you like and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Unkown
Since I started my own business, this is how I feel about what I do. By turning something negative, a serious back injury, into something positive, choosing the job I really like, I made one of the best decisions of my life.
After completing my Bachelor Business Administration I started working as an Office and Account Manager at Cava Barcelona, where I sold Spanish wine and beer to restaurants and bars in Amsterdam. At that time they were working with a very talented graphic designer and web designer to get the new website live. This was my first introduction with the design process and I already felt I had my own ideas to do it better or at least different.
After coping with a serious back injury I chose to start doing what I thought was best for me. Not the safest decision for my career, but definitely the one that made me happy at that time. And it still does.
I started an additional study, web design, and I started with my own business: Kirpunt Webdesign, a wordplay, which means ‘turning point’.
From the moment I officially started I felt like my plan was working out. It appeared I had a good network, which brought me a lot of work right from the beginning. Of course it helps that a lot of people start working for themselves, and they all need a website. These clients are the most special to me, ‘cause for them it is a very exciting time. When their website goes live that’s the starting point of their new journey. I love it that I can contribute to this moment. I know how exciting but also scary it is to start your own business and I like to take the client by the hand and advise them where I can.
I don’t see myself as a hardcore ‘coder’. The aspects I love the most of my job are the combination of design and coding, communication with my clients, meeting new and inspiring people from all over the world who are following their dreams. Nothing makes me happier than having a satisfied client who is full of positive energy to start their new journey with a website he or she is proud of.
Even though we live in a time where everything is digital, some people still underestimate the importance of having a digital presence. A website that is responsive and user friendly is important. This is the showpiece of your business and often the first thing that people will see of you. If you do not have a modern and professional website you will lose your customers in the blink of a click.
There are some obvious steps when choosing a web designer, like looking at their previous work, are there any hidden/additional costs, can you update content yourself, will the website be responsive, is there support when needed? My other advice when choosing a web designer is to follow your gut feeling. Do you have a good connection? Do you feel he or she will really listen to your needs or do they just want to ‘take over’ your project? If you feel your communication is clear and effective than that’s the one you want to be working with!
“Nada grande se ha hecho en el mundo, sin una grande pasión.”
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Share this article: