Meet Eli, a designer, entrepreneur, and an amazing Catch user. Eli's been a Catch user for nearly a year and is always on the lookout for new creative inspiration for his work and for the rest of his life.
Tell us about the work you're currently doing.
As a creator I always have several projects going on, but the one I’m most excited about is a new link sharing platform called solo.to. It solves the issue of always changing out the link in your social media bios by creating one unified place for you links, content, and accounts. My role is designer and co-founder, which means that my typical work day could involve anything that has to do with running the business. From creative directing and user flow design to growth strategies and customer support, it’s always different.
What do you love about this work?
I love the work I do because it’s always different. I enjoy creative problem solving which is so much of what web design and development is. Having to overcome challenges often leads to so many moments where you feel a big sense of accomplishment. Another huge reason I love what I do is that design is a never ending pool of inspiration. If I’m ever feeling stale it’s so easy to just go appreciate beauty and design in every aspect of life then reapply it to whatever I’m working on.
There are so many things I love about what I do, but my main motivation for pursing this type of work is to become time rich. I highly value having free time and flexibility so that when I’m not working I can enjoy life as much as possible and pursue other passions.
How did you get where you are today?
In high school I was introduced to photoshop and illustrator and immediately enjoyed being able to create artwork on my computer. As I moved through college and into post grad jobs I would do graphics for the companies I worked for as well as a few freelance clients here and there.
I soon realized that the regular 9 - 5 wasn’t for me and I wanted to create something for myself. I enjoyed being artistic and wanted to move into a more dynamic medium that I could build a sustainable business around so I taught myself how to design and develop websites. I started a web design company called Inspace and have been building websites for customers and my personal projects since 2016.
How do you use Catch?
As I transitioned out of my day job into freelancing & building solo.to I was looking for an easy way to set aside money for taxes. I have found Catch to be the perfect tool for just that. I recently discovered that it’s also great for keeping all my insurance information in one place so I don’t need to carry my cards around.
What's one Catch feature you couldn't live without?
I really enjoy how easy it is to set aside a percentage of my income for taxes. I’m also looking forward to setting up another nest egg for some vacations as my business expands.
What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone starting out in your field?
I think my best advice would be to expect to feel like giving up a lot, but don’t. I think that there are so many trials in freelancing and startups that it’s easy to get discouraged when you see new competitors popping up or you hit snags in your own business. The trick is to have a little bit of tunnel vision to maintain your motivation and optimism while still being aware of everything going on around you.