How I became a Webflow Developer in 1 month and landed my first client.

Hello everyone,

Here's the link to the Webflow Learning Roadmap I created for anyone who wants to skip the story and head straight to the learning phase.

So here's my story so far.

I realized early on that climbing the corporate ladder wasn't for me.

With graduation just two months away and a very high rent from my Paris landlord looming, I found myself in a difficult situation financially. I didn't like the idea of joining a 9-5, nor did I want to apply for jobs demanding 5 years of experience for an entry-level role. (Seriously, what's up with that, HR?)

My journey into self-employment has always been about seeking control over my time and doing what energizes me while remaining open to future career changes. I can work on something for 10 hours straight, but it's gotta be something I enjoy doing, right?

I read about no-code tools earlier this year and I attended The No-code Summit 2023 in Paris because I was curious. This was a real eye-opener for me. It was inspiring to see people of all backgrounds, both technical and non-technical, collaborating to launch successful startups. I noticed that their shared approach was using no-code MVPs to jumpstart their ideas. This strategy was something I wish I had discovered earlier. And although I haven't launched any SaaS or products yet I knew I wanted to learn this skill so I could do it too.

I always felt handcuffed by my lack of tech skills. Enter Bubble and Webflow, with me ultimately choosing Webflow for their snappy, rather engaging tutorials.

And thanks to my engineering school days, where I picked up a bit of design know-how and HTML/CSS basics, I got the hang of Webflow pretty quickly. After diving headfirst into their content, I pieced together a portfolio site in about 2 weeks. It wasn't near perfect or even good in my eyes, but it was enough to impress a client who believed I was the right fit for their Webflow project. (after reaching out to probably 20+ people). This let me know that I was heading in the right direction after all and that I've finally honed a skill that's useful to people.

It's been 4 months since then, I'm doing okay financially and I'm improving my skills. I work from home or sometimes I go to a co-working space If I'm feeling adventurous. I also have the freedom to work on my side projects that will one day leave my laptop screen and be on the internet.

Key Learnings:

1. Identify and pursue something you actually enjoy. What may work for me, may not work for you.
2. Experiment with new tools/things if you feel stuck. For a long time, I was afraid to try out anything new and I thought I had to stick to what I previously chose to pursue.
3. Embrace continuous learning, recognizing the benefits of consistent effort and growth.

Follow me on Twitter where I'll be sharing more of my #buildinpublic journey.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you'd like to know more!