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I mastered one skill first.

Diversified later.

…and I’d do the same all over again.

The Craft

After high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path.

A couple great college courses revealed my love of design.

I was all in on graphic design and branding for the next 5 years.

Specialized in brand identity design and went deeper into brand strategy.

I loved the process of boiling an entire company down into a single logo and visual style.

Landed a number of excellent clients over the years and got paid to do what I love.

The Expansion

While diving deep into branding and identities over the years…

More and more clients asked me to help with other areas of their businesses.

This led to…

Naming, copywriting, art direction, marketing, sales, operations, coaching, workshops, and building and leading creative teams.

For the next decade or so, I consistently challenged myself with each new client and job position.

• Developed curricula and designed lesson plans for an ESL company.

• Did content and community management for a blockchain startup.

• Currently working on the operations team for a public company.

I’ve been getting paid to do what I love at every stage of my 20-year career.

With brand design remaining the backbone.

Why Didn’t I Diversify At First?

Would I have been better off trying to learn so many things in the beginning?

I doubt it.

How could I learn to juggle before knowing how to throw and catch a single ball?

I mastered brand identity design by NOT splitting my focus. 

This allowed me to provide better output, work faster, help more people, and raise my rates.

My career path is the way it is because I learned design and branding first.

Shiny Object Syndrome Is Real

I’ve struggled with this my whole life.

Trying to act on too many ideas at once… starting countless projects that never got finished.

Even today, it’s taken me a long time to figure out what I want in a solo business.

As time goes faster with each passing year, I’ve learned to say no more often than not.

I must be careful what gets my attention.

Everyone’s Journey Is Different

I’m happy about where I am and how I got here…

In my experience…

Mastering one skill I was passionate about set the stage for a diversified and impactful career.

What’s your experience with finding focus?

🤖 Robert

P.S. Actually, if I were to do it all over again, I’d learn sales way earlier. I still need to get better at selling myself 😅

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