Studio Talk 5・Kirsty Montgomery
Kirsty’s entrepreneurial and creative spirit shines through everything she’s done: from an interesting career in a different creative field, to running her own analog hands-on business (quite literally), to always coming back to her true love: web design. Kirsty is also a great example of someone who combines a part-time job (her safety net) with a growing design business. I really like her down-to-earth five tips, they are realistic and very helpful for designers who are starting out. And she is not the first person to say to remember to have fun! I so agree with that.
Hi, I’m Kirsty! I’m a Squarespace specialist determined to build you a website you are confident maintaining yourself. I create simple-to-manage, strategic & beautiful websites for small businesses.
My goal is not only to create a smart website that reflects your business, but also to empower you to take charge of your site by giving you the tools to keep growing online.
When I hand over a website, my hope is that you feel able to jump in and start creating content to help your business get found online.
After all, what’s the point in having a website if you don’t have a clue how to use it?
1) What is your professional background and how did you get into Squarespace web design?
I am a self-taught website designer, but I have always had an interest and skill in creative ventures. My university degree is in architecture, which I studied for six years and have worked on and off over the last ten years. Although not directly related, much of what I learned at university can be applied to website design, as it’s all about communicating ideas clearly to as many of the right people as possible.
My first experience of website design was way back in high school. I set up a fan site on ‘Geocities’ (anyone remember that?) for my favorite wrestlers, and that familiarised me with code early on. Over the years I have always had some form of blog or website that I’ve tried to customize or tinker with, taking things more seriously when I set up a recipe blog on WordPress during university. This eventually led me to leave architecture for a while to set up my own home baking business (yes, I’ve taken a winding path!). It’s relevant to the story because designing my own website and branding is what brought me back to the design world. I started a web and brand design business called Bake This Happen specifically for bakers, and I also offer tips and advice to new baking business owners. Bake This Happen still exists to sell guides and templates, but I really wanted to expand the types of businesses I could work with.
Which brings us up to date: in 2018 I started Kirsty M Design, where I offer Squarespace website design to small creative businesses. My real joy and focus is creating sites that my clients are comfortable using themselves once we’ve handed over, so Squarespace and the custom tutorial videos I provide are the perfect way to offer that!
2) What was your safety net (e.g. a partner, another job, savings etc.) when you first started out and how did that help you?
My safety net is having a part-time job, which I have been extremely grateful for this year. After closing my baking business I went back into architecture whilst I saved for a house. Now I have my own place and am bringing in more web design clients, I have been able to drop some days at my architecture job. First, I dropped to four days a week and now I’m down to three. I have been really lucky to have an employer who has been understanding and accommodating about me moving into a part-time role and this has definitely given me the confidence to build up my own business. I would love to be able to work full time in my business within the next twelve months, so that is the goal at the moment!
3) How many websites did you design during your first year, and how did your clients find you?
I sort of have two first years, as I have the designs I created under the Bake This Happen name and those I created with Kirsty M Design, so I’ll share a bit about both.
At the start of both of my design businesses, I was either working full- or part-time, so maybe I only created 4-5 sites during that first year. In my bakery design business, I was able to grow a mailing list and work with other people in the baking business advice field (very niche!), and from there I was able to share my services and reach clients. I was new to designing in Squarespace at this stage, so I was really just building up a portfolio. I also had some local contacts from running my own bakery, so I was able to make some connections in my area.
When I changed direction and opened my exclusively website design business, Kirsty M Design, I focused more on local clients and word of mouth in the first year.
4) Do you have a niche market, or a speciality, or are you more of a generalist?
As I’ve talked about above, I started out in a niche market. I think this was a really good place for me to start, especially as I was coming from running my own baking business. It gave me a unique insight to what people needed and wanted from their bakery website and helped me attract clients in the early days. I think as time passed from me closing my baking business I felt less of a connection with bakers and bakery owners, and longed to be more creative and work with a wider variety of people.
Whilst I don’t have a business niche anymore, I do think I am aiming my services at a particular type of business owner. My services are designed to best serve small and medium-sized businesses, who are creative and enthusiastic about connecting with their audience through their website and growing their business that way. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I’m eager for my clients to be confident and empowered to take on the website themselves, so a keenness to be taught some simple strategies is also a key feature of the people I want to work with.
5) What are your five top tips for starting your own business?
Giving tips always feels tricky because I still feel that I’m at the early part of my business and have so much to learn myself! These are some things I wish I would have adopted earlier in my own business:
1. Use a business management tool
… something to manage your contracts and invoices. It may seem like an expense you can’t afford but I promise you won’t regret it. Not only do you impress your clients by looking professional, but it will make your life so much easier, especially at tax return time!
2. Use a planning tool
(There’s a theme emerging!) I’m not sure why it took me so long to get on board with using a tool like Trello (my favorite) or Asana, because I love lists, but it did. However, getting everything planned out in an interface I love has helped me stay on top of my deadlines, my projects, and my own business plans.
3. Start small and create incremental goals.
It’s tempting to want to go all-in when you start your business. I wanted to, but it’s not always practical. If you’re starting whilst working a full or part-time job, take on one project a month, or whatever feels right, and build up from there. Set yourself achievable but challenging income and client goals and then break down the steps to getting there so you don’t overwhelm yourself.
4. Educate yourself, but not too much.
Taking online courses for business and design has been really game-changing for me, but only when I selected the correct courses, and actually followed through on the work. When I first started out I was guilty of consuming too much content or signing up to courses I never completed. Mostly I was avoiding doing the work because I was a bit scared. Find a couple of courses that are relevant to what you need to know, complete them, then implement them.
5. Make sure it’s fun!
As you have read, I have taken quite a journey to get here. I’ve tried to stick with a niche because it’s what you’re ‘meant’ to do, I’ve offered branding, I’ve used WordPress, but ultimately, I love designing websites on Squarespace. It suits my design style and my creative but technical brain. Since I’ve focussed on the thing that I love in the design world, my business has really benefitted.
