Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Zabierek.
Hi Matt, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I work as a UI/UX designer and web developer. Most of my work involves designing, building, and managing custom websites for entrepreneurs and small to mid-size businesses. My journey to web design is unusual. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and have lived in Charleston, SC, since September 2021. After studying journalism and psychology at the University of Connecticut, I started my career working as a reporter at a newspaper in Connecticut for four years. My time in journalism was fun and rewarding, and I’m proud of the investigative work my colleagues and I produced. But as I got further into my career, I wondered whether I saw myself working in journalism for the next 10, 20, or 30 years. I didn’t want to reach a point of feeling unhappy or stuck down the road. At this crossroads, I knew I would rather transition careers while I was still young and my life was flexible, even if it’d feel uncomfortable and destabilizing. I’ll always have a soft spot for local journalism, but ultimately, I wanted a career that would provide more flexibility, pay, and work-life balance in the long term.
Amid the chaos of 2020, I decided to leave journalism and find another career path that would fit better in the long term. I left my job in October 2020 with no other work lined up and no clear idea of what I wanted to do next. I knew I needed to take some steps back before figuring out what was next, so I spent a few months thinking about what I wanted in a new career. 2020 took a mental toll on many people in my profession, and this time also gave me a necessary reset. I brainstormed everything from becoming a pilot to returning to grad school to becoming a therapist. Web design came to mind after I asked myself what I’ve enjoyed doing in the past for free. In high school, I got a lot of fulfillment from creating a sports blog website, which planted a seed of interest in building websites.
I gave web design a try by taking a couple of online courses, which I very much enjoyed, and I quickly realized web design could give me what I wanted in a career — creative fulfillment, flexibility, work-life balance, and financial stability. So, with zero prior experience and skills, in early 2021, I made it my new dream to one day make a living as a full-time web designer and developer. I wasn’t good when I started, and I can’t say I was born with any special knack for design or development. However, I spent nearly all my free time taking online courses and working on practice projects, trying to improve and soak up as much as possible. After 4 months, I started getting hired for my first client projects, which felt like a huge milestone.
Over the past three years, I’ve continued to build my freelance business while taking online classes in my spare time to further my professional development. During this time, I also worked part-time and contract jobs in journalism and marketing to support myself as my business grew. And now I’m proud to say that web design/development has grown into my full-time career. This has been a big goal of mine for the past three years, and it’s incredibly fulfilling to see my work and patience pay off. Running my own business has always been a dream of mine. 2024 has been off to a great start, and I’m very excited to see what’s in store for Matt Zabierek Design in the future.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Choosing self-employment is making a big bet on yourself. It can feel very gratifying, but there are a lot of hard days to get there. I’ve come to realize that success requires a lot of heart and resiliency more than anything. When I gave up my career in journalism with nothing lined up, some of my colleagues, friends, and family didn’t understand or wholly endorse my plan. They saw me jumping into a bleak job market with little to no parachute or clear plan. So, it was difficult for people to relate to my choices. But I was confident I could do what it would take to reinvent myself professionally. You have to decide early on that the only opinion of you that matters is your own. And ultimately, as long as you have your hustle and spirit (and some savings), you’ll be okay.
When I began this journey, I was starting with no skills and no experience, meaning I had to master two completely new trades (design and development) before getting paid for my work. And once I started getting client projects, I knew I needed to continue to work in my spare time to grow my abilities. So, on top of actually doing the work, I had to learn how to do the work, market myself to clients, and learn all the ins and outs of running my own business. While it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, the path I chose has been long and steep. Balancing my time between working to pay today’s bills and working for tomorrow’s future has always been a challenge and a source of stress.
Going from a career where I excelled to starting from scratch as an amateur was humbling. Being a freelancer can also be very isolating, so it was easy to feel overwhelmed and get down on myself. There have been plenty of moments of doubt and feeling lost — times when it felt like I wasn’t where I should be or defeated by the time and work it would take. The last three years have been uncomfortable, but stepping out of my comfort zone without the security of a full-time job has pushed me to grow and know myself better. Looking back at the path I took, there are many things I could have done to plan my transition methodically or make it smoother. But I’ve come to embrace that I wouldn’t have gotten where I am if I hadn’t taken a step back and exited my comfort zone. Sometimes, you learn to swim by pushing yourself into the deep end.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in designing and building websites for clients using design software called Figma and a web-building platform called Webflow. My design style is clean and clear. In some ways, my approach to design is inspired by my background in journalism. I’m used to helping audiences easily extract information while presenting it in an impactful way they can connect with.
I value providing a good user experience with each website. When a user visits a business’s website, I look at the experience like they’re walking into a storefront and being greeted and assisted by an associate. A well-designed website can create an immediate, positive impression, and a good user experience can compel the customer to take action. One of the things that sets me apart from my peers is my versatility. A client recently called me a “Matt of all trades,” which I thought was funny and took as a compliment. In addition to design and development, I assist clients with writing content, creating branding, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
I can use my storytelling background to help clients present and sell their business’s story and offerings, which many entrepreneurs appreciate because they don’t have the budget to hire more freelancers. In my industry, everyone tends to pick one niche and stay in their lane. But coming from journalism, I’m used to wearing multiple hats — interviewing sources, writing the story, taking the photos, editing some video clips, recording a podcast about it, post it all to social media. So, I enjoy contributing to website projects in different ways, and I bring a healthy curiosity and can-do attitude to my job that clients value.
What matters most to you?
Throughout my life and freelance journey, there have been a lot of people who have inspired me in some way. My mom inspires me to be diligent and work hard. My late dad told me to pursue a career in writing as a teenager, even though I wasn’t a good writer then. I’ve been inspired by friends to take risks and believe in myself. My peers and colleagues have inspired me to try designing and building things I’ve never made before. From this, one thing that matters to me the most is being able to pay that inspiration forward to others. Life can be hard on all of us. And each of us has done or is doing something that another person can look at and be encouraged by, no matter how small. There is a lot of power in the shared experiences that connect all of us; those experiences are like currency that we can gift to other people who need encouragement. We should pay forward the inspiration we’ve received in our lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: mattzabierekdesign.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/mattzabierekdesign
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/matthewzabierek
