The first website I built for a client was done in exchange for a BMW.

The transmission failed six months later, but my design career kept running.

Somewhere during that time, I bought this domain, kadlac.com.

It started as a personal journal with a custom-built CMS. Then, it became my online portfolio to land a full-time job.

Later, it morphed into a portfolio of work to land freelance clients and a home to showcase the side hustles I was working on.

In late 2019, I stumbled upon ​Nat Eliason​, who also had a personal website. He seemed to make it work with many different interests.

He wrote about health, marketing, books, SEO, and building businesses.

It helped to know someone who could navigate a profitable path without being defined by one thing. I admired that.

In 2020, I took Write of Passage and started writing more consistently. I made quite a few new friends outside of my circle.

I redesigned my site that year, stuffing it with more of myself.

My site became even more personal. It became a beacon for attracting other people who shared my interests.

After our company was acquired in 2021, I left my job and have relied on sharing my ideas on kadlac.com and this newsletter.

I'm most proud of it, and I think it's an investment everyone should make.

Today I'm excited to launch a new version of ​kadlac.com​. It was inspired by a 1983 Schwinn Voyageur that I also painted and rebuilt.

Inspiration for creating your visual style can come from anywhere, and if you're struggling, look for the things around you that you love.

(Or take my course on designing smarter.)

I'm thankful to Nat for being an inspiration in showing that personal sites can be more than one thing. And in fact, being many things gives people another reason to come back and stay interested.

For Nat, that has translated into releasing his first book, Crypto Confidential. Go snag it!

Let me know what you think of the site.