Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Lewis.
Julian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
A few years ago, while playing professional basketball in Spain, I had an amazing idea for a mobile app. I started reaching out to different developers and they were giving me some ridiculously high quotes. I was fresh out of college, and the season had just started, so I didn’t have much money yet. After a while, I decided to turn my idea into a website first to see how it performs there, and if all goes well, I would turn it into an app. Well, during that process of building my first website, I fell in love with it! It was almost like I became addicted to the never-ending, problem-solving web development process I went through while building my first site. From there, I took a few online coding classes, built a few free websites for people I knew, and the rest is history. Now, I build custom websites for those in need and manage existing websites as well. It’s safe to say I’ve improved a ton in a short amount of time. To give you an idea, my first website took me six months to create. Now, I get most sites done within a few weeks!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road at all. When I first began, I couldn’t read any line of code, I had no idea how plugins worked, and I had no idea about different techniques used in web development. I was clueless, to say the least. But my hunger & curiosity drove me and kept me on track to improving daily. Early on, my biggest concern was how to remember all of this code that I was learning in the online courses. But I quickly learned that not too many developers out there have every possible code memorized, but they have some go-to’s locked in their memory that is often used. This was the approach I’ve taken since then, and it’s helped me tremendously! The other thing I struggled with was being consistent with my learning process. As mentioned, I’m a professional basketball player, so most things that I do take a backseat to that. Most of my time is spent playing basketball. Building websites, and especially learning how to build them on your own, can sometimes be a long & tedious process. It would often get tough to find the right amount of time to dedicate to both basketball and web development, but I’ve found the perfect balance now.
Please tell us about JL Divelopment.
So, I’m a freelance Web Developer that goes by the name JL Divelopment in the web world. I create custom websites for small businesses, religious organizations, and anyone else on the market for a new website. Although I’m fairly new to the game, my reputation has been how creative I can get with sites. I like to use my imagination and design things that have not been seen before (or are rare). The thing that made me the proudest in my web development journey is building & maintaining the website for my dad’s church, House of Purpose. Nothing beats that! I think my ability to build a personal relationship with clients sets me apart from other developers. I like to dig deep into their business, get to know them personally, and breakdown their future goals. That helps me get more of an idea of how to go about building their website.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I have way too many good memories from my childhood to choose a favorite. But the one that always pops in my mind is just going to my Granny’s house after church on Sunday’s. She lived in Phoenix, IL, which was about 10 minutes away from my church so our entire family (parents, siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles, etc.) would go over there after service and just enjoy ourselves together. My cousins and I would be outside or in the back room playing games, the adults would be in the living room watching the NBA games that came on that day, all while some of the best food was being cooked in the kitchen. Those were some good times! It brought our family together and made us all super close. I’ll never forget Sunday’s at my Granny’s house.
Pricing:
- Custom Websites: $250+ (one-time fee)
- Web Content Management: $7+ (monthly fee)
Contact Info:
- Website: jldivelopment.com
- Email: julian@jldivelopment.com
- Instagram: @JuLewis23
- Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006443684632&ref=bookmarks
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