Wow! What a year. A rapidly-changing online world, the death of Flash, and an economy that had a lot of people too scared to start their own business, let alone pay for a website. What’d it all mean for a geek like me?

To make a long story short: financial struggles, an identity crisis, deconstruction, reconstruction, and at last a renewed purpose.

I gotta tell ya, few things will cause a freelancer to question his way of life more than a hurtin’ bank account and an imminent rent payment. Had the dream finally ended? Had I beaten the dead horse of my 1999 fame for the last time? Did I have any tricks left? Who the heck was I?

As far back as I can remember, my favorite way to learn about things has been to take them apart. This year, I had plenty of time… so I did just that.

And I learned so much.

I learned that my business was designed around my personal needs, not around helping people.

I learned that my website tried squeezing people into categories, when everybody wanted to be unique.

And I learned that people wanted a “web designer” as much as they wanted a kick in the pants. What they needed was an easier life.

At that point, I decided to stop being a “web designer” and became someone who made peoples’ lives easier. I stopped being a money-grubber and started being a people-helper. I shifted my focus towards “maintaining relationships” and away from “trying to get every penny I can from clients because they’ll be gone in a month.” (Side note: that’s a really lousy way to do business. If you want to kill your business, run it like that.)

So far, it’s been awesome. My clients are happier, they send me more business, and I enjoy the projects I do a whole lot more. Once it stops being about survival and becomes about creating support, life has a whole new meaning.