How I rebuilt my business after burnout - and created a sustainable web design model that's good for people and planet
Back in 2018, I experienced huge burnout. My whole life crumbled out from under me. My body shut down.
I headed to Vanuatu, sat in a forest in an eco-village and, for two months, I pondered on how I’d got my life so wrong.
(If you’re curious, I wrote more about this experience in this article here).
When I returned from that trip, I vowed to do business (and life!) differently, never again wanting to put my body, spirit and mind through that kind of pain.
This new way of doing life and business had to be gentle of my nervous system, not require loads of hours behind the screen, flexible but that would still leave me feeling creatively fulfilled, financially supported and like I was making a tiny difference to our precious planet.
And, so that sometime in the future, after I had healed, I could live and work from anywhere in the world.
No big ask, hey? Haha!
It was a long journey of healing (they say it takes 2-3 years to recover from burnout and that was definitely the case for me).
But here I am, five years on with a (close to) fully recovered body and a lifestyle and business that is sustainable.
And yup, I got my wish – for the last 18 months I’ve lived, worked and travelled through eight different countries.
When I zoom out, and look at what I’ve created, I see three big contributors that have helped me to create a business model that is good for the health of people, planet and me!
01.
Big gaps in the marketplace
Fun fact: before I horridly burnt myself out, I created and ran Ignite: Podcasting for Changemakers, a comprehensive program and online community that ran for three years and supported 70+ women to create and launch their podcasts.
As I coached these women, I would encourage them to simply add their podcast to a new page in their website. It should be that easy, right? Nope. These women would come back to me frustrated and overwhelmed, unable to make simple changes to their websites (websites they had paid thousands for!).
I started to see how poorly many websites were designed, making it almost impossible for small business owners to update their websites as their businesses grew and evolved.
What was needed was an option for sustainably designed websites, that would continue to give long-lasting return on investment.
I saw this as a big gap in the marketplace where improvements could be made… and an idea for a new business started to formulate…
02.
A business model that suits the way I like to work
So, now I had an idea for a new business. I was going to be a web designer!
But, here’s the thing – I was still very deeply in burnout recovery mode and couldn’t work more than five hours a day.
I had to earn an income (did I mention I was broke?) and yet, while I loved everything about web design, it wasn’t feasible for me to grow a profitable business doing custom designed website projects, when my work hours were limited… and in a way that was gentle on my nervous system and nurturing to my health.
That’s when I was introduced to the concept of one-week websites.
This model suits the way I work best – in short sharp sprints followed by a period of rest. And it felt like a calm, safe container in which I could explore web design, while also growing my business sustainably.
I decided to scrap the traditional web design business model and go my own way – focusing purely on one-week websites.
As an added bonus, I discovered that my clients also find a lot of calm and safety in this model. Website builds can feel overwhelming for our clients, so having clear steps in place and a container to work within is a super helpful way to get a great outcome and positive customer experience.
03.
Calm, kind design (and it’s many, many benefits)
Because of burnout, my nervous system couldn’t take the overload we sometimes experience from the internet.
Quite organically, because of my own needs, I started designing one-week websites that were gentle on my nervous system.
I quickly discovered (through feedback from my clients and my clients’ clients) that there’s a whole realm of people and businesses out there who appreciate and desire this kind of experience when they are exploring websites, too.
Hence, my philosophy for kind and calm website design was born.
As I’ve explored this further over the years, I’ve realised that creating kind and calm websites has many other benefits:
It benefits our businesses – when you remove distraction it encourages curiosity and naturally leads people on a journey to interact with your business. It leads to less decision fatigue and therefore a higher likelihood that your visitors will take the next step in their journey with your business.
It benefits people – Calm, kind design is design that makes sense, creating a soothing and pleasant experience. Not only that, when we design with kindness in mind, we’re ensuring that all types of people can easily use your website, no matter their ability – making the internet a more inclusive place overall.
It benefits the planet – a kind design philosophy reduces the carbon footprint of our websites and businesses (cool, hey?). I’ll be exploring this topic in more detail next year.
So there you have it – the very succinct (non-messy) version of my journey of rebuilding after burnout.
Curious about my design philosophy and approach? Or considering working together?