We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful KJ Cocke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with KJ below.

KJ, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

The journey to get to start my own business is long and based on skill growth just as much as mindset growth.

To see myself doing anything differently, I first had to shed the ideals I’d grown up with.

For all my life, it was instilled in me that a 9-5 office job with benefits was the only path available post-college. So that’s exactly what I pursued. I worked 10 years in a traditional engineering role until I was bold enough to try to break out. My first steps were both big and small. I was going to disrupt the normal way of living but I was still going to keep a mostly conventional way of making income.

I quietly and diligently built out a van for 9 months, keeping it a secret from my managers and coworkers, until our house was up for rent and my husband and I were 2 weeks away from driving away in the van. With sweaty palms and a pit in my stomach, I handed in my offer, presenting my boss with an ultimatum – this was either my two weeks’ notice or he could keep me on as a part-time remote. The “yes” to the part-time remote option opened the door to the next chapter of my life.

I spent the next 2.5 years traveling the US, living out of my tiny home, and putting in 20-30 hours a week. This was my first taste of location independence and flexibility. I was hooked. When it came time to settle back down in a house, my work wanted me back in the office and had also decided to give me a pay cut despite glowing performance reviews. Seeing the pay ceiling and the restrictions going up around me was suffocating. I handed in my 2 weeks’ notice.

Driven by the desire to be location-independent, I immersed myself in studying UX Design and Website Design. I spent the next 10 months working hard to build this new skill. No more standing on the edge, no more wishing for it. If I wanted to move forward in life without wondering “what if”, I had to stop watching from the edge. I needed to go ALL IN.

As I built beta websites for my portfolio and refined my processes, I also began to surround myself with other female entrepreneurs. It helped to see what they were doing and have a support system to lift me up when that inevitable self-doubt, impostor syndrome, or money fears crept in. I laid out my bare minimum goals based on how many designs, VIP days, and add-ons I thought I could do each month and I was surprised to see that those projects could surpass my engineering salary. It made me break down some limiting money beliefs and see how I could expand my earning potential in years to come to far surpass my old salary ceiling.

When 2024 started I reminded myself I was ALL IN: I filed my DBA, obtained an EIN, opened a business bank account, made the necessary purchases, and set my launch. I felt powerful and motivated by taking the steps to get my business off the ground. I officially launched my business in January 2024. I’ve had a handful of discovery calls, landed some contract coding work, and am actively marketing to bring in a number of clients to create a liveable and successful income. My business is still very much in its infancy, but I can tangibly sense the potential it has and I am SO excited to see what this year and the next years bring.

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.

Like most things, beauty isn’t everything. Yes, business owners and customers LOVE a beautiful website, but your customers will also highly value the ability to navigate your site easily, have quick load times, and easy to read, high-contrast text. What sets me apart from other Squarespace Designers is that I place equal importance on beautiful design and user experience.

At KJ Squared Designs, I bring a unique blend of creativity and functionality to every website design. What sets me apart is my commitment to crafting beautiful websites that not only captivate but also convert by focusing on the User Experience, or UX. From user-centered design to seamless functionality, I will design your website to reflect your brand. My approach is collaborative, placing your vision at the forefront, and then using my expertise in UX/UI design to create that beautiful digital space from your vision that resonates with your audience.

I offer full website designs (or redesigns), VIP days for quick projects, and then add-on packages that include blogs, e-commerce, and scheduling.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

It’s important to me that I reach out to my clients via email even after they have finished their website design or VIP day with me. And when I say reach out, I’m not reaching out to them to sell but to build connection. I genuinely want to see how they and their business are doing. I want to see my clients succeed and thrive in their businesses! I have reminders set up in my CRM so I never forget to drop a note to my past clients 😊

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My business is still young, but so far the best sources for leads have been LinkedIn, friends, and referrals.
Building a network of people who have offerings that support yours is key! For example, in website design, it is helpful to have people you can refer clients to for copywriting, brand design, and client relationship management setup. I don’t offer these 3 services but they do go hand in hand with building a website.

If my network of Brand Designers has a customer whom they’ve just built a brand for and the customer doesn’t have a website yet, they will refer them to me to build their site. I then get a new client and I also know that client is going to have a really great brand design.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KJSquaredDesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kjsquareddesigns/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-kj-cocke/