Studying Graphic Design

My journey started at university, where I studied graphic design. During that time, I learned the fundamentals of design, but most of my real growth happened after graduation.

My First Job in a Digital Studio

Right after university, I joined a small digital studio. It was an incredible learning experience because I was involved in projects from planning all the way to launch.

During those years, I worked on a wide range of things:

• Collaborating directly with clients

• Designing digital products and apps

• Creating brand identities

• Leading small teams and managing projects

• Developing social media campaigns

• Designing cohesive digital experiences

I stayed there for almost three years, and it was one of the most important learning periods in my career. Working in that environment taught me how real projects work and how to manage both the creative and strategic side of design.

Deciding to Start Freelancing

After about two and a half years, I started feeling that I needed a fresh start.

I realized that I was putting all of my energy into building someone else’s business, and it made me wonder:

What would happen if I invested that same energy into building something of my own?

So I made the decision to leave my studio job and start working independently with my own clients.

One of the most important things I focused on at that time was building my online presence. That decision helped me massively because it allowed clients to discover my work and reach out to me directly.

Moving to the Netherlands

Not long after starting my independent journey, I made another big decision:

I moved from my home country to the Netherlands.

Starting over in a new country without an existing network was definitely challenging. However, because I had already built an online presence, it made things much easier. Clients could still find me and work with me regardless of where I was located.

What Freelancing Taught Me

Freelancing was one of the biggest learning experiences for me.

It taught me how to:

• Manage my own time

• Work with multiple clients at once

• Handle communication and expectations

• Deliver projects from start to finish

But while working with many clients, I started noticing a pattern.

Discovering the Problem

As a web designer and developer, I noticed that many clients struggled with the same challenge:

High-quality websites often require a lot of time and a significant budget, which many businesses simply cannot afford.

This meant that many great businesses were stuck between two options:

• paying a lot for a custom website

• or settling for something lower quality

Creating the Solution

That observation led me to create my own solution.

I started building studio-level website templates — templates that are:

• quick to launch

• easy to customize

• designed with the same quality as a studio project

• built to last

The goal was to help clients get a high-quality website without the long timeline or high cost of a fully custom project.

Why I Started Building a Product Business

There was another realization that pushed me further.

As a freelancer, I was constantly exchanging my time and energy for money. While freelancing can be great, it also means that your income is directly tied to the number of hours you work.

So I started asking myself:

How can I create something that helps my clients, but also doesn’t depend entirely on my time?

That’s when I started focusing on digital products.

By creating products like website templates, I could:

• help more people at once

• create scalable solutions

• separate my income from the exact number of hours I work

This shift is what allows a business to scale.

Instead of trading time for money, you create something that can help people again and again, without requiring the same amount of time each time.