My new agency website, Stratos, is finally live. It took about eight months from the day I officially started this thing.
That probably sounds strange. I build websites for other people. Shouldn't my own site have been the first thing I did? Maybe.
Before Stratos was official, I spent years freelancing. Building sites, writing copy, managing the technical bits – the whole range. That work built relationships, and those relationships led to referrals. When I decided to structure things more formally as Stratos, those referrals carried over.
So, for the first several months, the honest truth is, I didn't need a website to get clients. Word-of-mouth was working. People I'd built things for told others. It kept me busy enough. Building my own online brochure wasn't the most urgent task.
The other reason is the sheer amount of work involved in client projects. When a business hires me, they're usually looking for more than just code. I handle the whole process for many of them: figuring out what the site needs to say and writing it (copywriting), designing how it should look and feel (web design), actually building it (often with WordPress, sometimes Laravel/TALL stack for bigger things), making sure it runs smoothly and people can find it (SEO, maintenance, sometimes hosting management), and testing everything properly on a staging server before it goes live.
When I'm doing all that – the design, the code, the words, the support – for multiple clients, especially small businesses or tech startups who need that full partnership, my own 'simple' website project kept getting bumped. It's the classic "cobbler's children have no shoes" situation. I was busy making shoes for everyone else.
There was also a bit of wanting to get it right. I didn't want to throw up a quick, sloppy site just to have something. If Stratos is about building solid, effective sites for others, my own site needed to reflect that. Not perfect, maybe – perfect is paralyzing – but good. Clean. Professional. Something that shows I know what I'm doing, whether it's a straightforward build or a more custom job. Getting to that point takes focus, which was mostly directed at client work.
So why build it now? Why finally carve out the time after eight months?
Because Stratos is meant to be more than just "a freelancer." It’s about being a reliable, long-term partner for businesses and even other agencies needing support. It's about helping them grow – that's why the name Stratos, like stratosphere, aiming upward. Even if referrals are strong, you eventually need a clear place online that explains what I do and who I help. A home base that reflects the approach: supportive, straightforward, focused on results.
Having a proper website makes it clearer what Stratos offers and the kind of partnership I aim for. It’s the official flag I'm planting in the ground.
It wasn't simple procrastination. It was a result of priorities, a consequence of being deeply involved in client success, and a desire to make my own space thoughtful, not rushed.
So, here it is. My digital home base. It feels good to finally have my own.
