One giant leap…
Today marks the biggest step of my career, a giant leap into the unknown but I couldn’t be more excited about it. I’m leaving a big corporate business with a regular income to work for my own company full time. I’m really looking forward to it, the prospect of doing something I love and the flexibility that comes from working from home.
The trading style of Summerley Digital started when a friend asked me to build a website for him. He’d seen what I’d developed for my Diary Of A Detour blog and we worked closely together to design and build Travelling Toasties. After it was launched he then asked me to build one for Sussex Woodburners, another local startup business.
This led to further enquiries and although it was hard work juggling my Systems Analyst day job with evenings and weekends building websites I really enjoyed it. Although I’ve operated under my own limited company for over three years it was always for a single corporate client until now.
Imminent HMRC changes for IR35 mean that I would effectively be forced to become an employee, which is not how I want to operate. This was the catalyst which made me decide to take the plunge and work for myself full time. I’ve worked hard to develop the business and have attracted new clients whose projects will keep me busy for the foreseeable future, alongside writing assignments for a US medical website.
Personal service and business support
Summerley Digital gives me a chance to return to the technical side of computing that has been missing in my life for the past 20 years or so, since I moved from programming into analysis. It also allows me to be creative, both in the designs for each website and the content I write.
I can also offer clients the level of personal service that is missing in many corporate settings. Where possible, I want to take the hassle out of building their online presence so that they can concentrate on their core business. I will support them with marketing ideas, analytics and other added extras which will help them grow.
I won’t be able to do it all on my own though. I’ve assembled a small but hugely talented and experienced team whom I can call upon when needed. You can meet them in the About Us page and I will introduce them properly over the forthcoming weeks, but they are experts in their field. They have many years’ experience in various skills such as graphic design, marketing, writing and social media management.
Digital nomad
I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be really hard work. However, as I’ve been working seven days a week for over a year then I would rather be doing it without the long commute, and doing something that really inspires me. The beauty of doing what I do is that I can do it anywhere.I can be equally productive in my home office or my sister’s beach hut, a real digital nomad!
My family responsiblities mean that spending time closer to home rather than over 40 miles away in an office will make a huge difference to how well I can support them.
Although it’s lovely to work with clients face-to-face, with the benefit of screen sharing and video calls I can support businesses anywhere in the world. Having recently built my first multilingual site for a client in Norway it proved how effective these tools can be.
If you’d like to work with me then drop me a line at ali@summerleydigital.com or give me a call on 07885 619785.