Meet Matt Zabierek

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Matt Zabierek. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Matt, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

My confidence in myself has grown over time from my work ethic. There have been times when I’ve started out pursuing something without any natural talent or reason to be confident, but I succeeded because I put in the time it took to learn and improve.

In high school, I was a so-so writer and English student when I decided to pursue writing as a career. I got as much practice writing as I could during my last few years of high school and that eventually paved the way for me to study journalism in college and work as a print journalist for five years after graduating.

When I began transitioning careers from journalism to web design, I had no experience or skills in web design but improved exponentially through consistent practice over several years. When chasing your goals, there can be a lot that is out of your control, and if you dwell on those things, it’s easy to lose confidence and get overwhelmed. So I’ve always tried to remind myself that I’m in control of my effort, and that feels empowering.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a web designer and web developer who specializes in creating websites with a platform called Webflow. I’ve been a freelance Webflow designer and have run my own freelance business, Matt Zabierek Design, for a little more than 3 years.

Most of my work involves designing, building, and managing custom websites for entrepreneurs and small to midsize businesses. I was a full-time freelancer for about three years before starting a full-time job managing a Webflow website for a startup company, yournavi.com, in the spring of this year. Since starting my new job, I’ve continued to run my freelance business and take on work as my schedule allows. Continuing to freelance has given me a nice outlet to work on different creative projects outside my 9-5, so that’s been fulfilling.

What makes my job exciting is all the things I’m able to do for clients when designing and building websites with Webflow. Webflow stands out as a web builder because it doesn’t have the limitations and headaches of sites like Squarespace and WordPress.

As a designer and developer, this freedom has helped shape my growth because I can innovate and experiment with things like custom animations and advanced integrations to build modern websites. What I like about Webflow the most is it allows me to pull off just about anything a client could want or need for their website. A question I receive a lot from clients is, “Can you do ___ in Webflow?” And the relief and satisfaction they show when I tell them, “I sure can,” is always a highlight.

As a freelancer, I pride myself on delivering and being dependable for clients. A lot of the people I work for are launching their own business, and it’s an honor to be the person entrusted with their most valuable marketing asset. As a business owner myself, I know how important having a high-performing website is, and I try to put as much care into client websites as my own.

I think one of the things that sets me apart from other freelancers is my diverse skill set and range of services — design, development, SEO, branding, and copywriting. Knowledge in each of these areas helps me guide clients through important decisions that pop up. Sometimes what’s best for one thing, say design, can hurt another, say SEO. So having a global understanding of all aspects of a project pays off. Most of my clients don’t have the time or budget to hire different freelancers in each area, so my versatility is an asset.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think the qualities that have gotten me the farthest are a willingness to learn and resourcefulness. The third important quality is empathy (more on a that in a second).

I took a self-learning path into web design and development. I began with no experience and started by taking low-cost online courses and doing practice projects in my spare time. Learning how to both design websites and code felt like a lot at times. But looking back, those early days of learning the basics and being able to soak everything up were some of the most fulfilling days of my journey so far.

As I’ve progressed in my new career, resourcefulness and a willingness to keep learning have remained important. The tools and software I use to build websites are constantly evolving, with new features and capabilities coming out regularly. There’s never any shortage of new things to learn and ways to make yourself more valuable. This constant evolution is not uncommon in many industries with the advancement of AI and other technologies. And the people that can learn and adapt will have a leg up over time.

So I’d encourage anyone who is starting their journey in a new career to always embrace and take advantage of opportunities to learn, whether you’re self-teaching or learning from someone more experienced. And don’t ever lose a healthy sense of curiosity.

Lastly, being able to keep up with learning new technology is important, but the thing I’ve come to realize that robots and AI will never be able to replace is empathy and a human touch.

Currently, someone is able to use AI to complete parts of my job by mapping, designing, and building a website. The AI-generated website won’t be as a good as one that I or any professional would make, but the time and cost savings could be well worth it for someone needing a website.

And yet, I’ve heard of almost no cases of potential clients going this route to launch a website. Why? When you’re trying to accomplish something as important as creating a website for your business, you feel much more assured working with a human who can listen and empathize with your needs and wants.

This is true of many types of work that AI can technically accomplish right now, especially work done as a service for a client. You might be able to do your taxes or plan a wedding with AI, but people aren’t going to stop hiring accountants and wedding planners.

It’s a very human thing to want someone else to see you, understand you, and help you.

A client once told me they wanted their website to be an extension of their personality — friendly, whimsical, and confident. My understanding of her through talking to her allowed me to nail what she wanted in ways AI could almost surely not.

Empathy is irreplaceable, so I try to keep that in mind when working with clients, and I think it’s a good lesson no matter what line of work you are in. Always keep that “human advantage” by slowing down to listen, empathize, and understand.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

My best advice for dealing with work-related anxiety is to stay focused on what you can control. Letting go of things I can’t control and focusing on what I can control has made a huge difference in my stress and anxiety over the past 6-12 months.

The less energy I spend ruminating on things that are out of my hands, the more peaceful my headspace becomes and the more energy I have to put toward the things I can control.

With work, this can be applied in a lot of situations. When a client throws a curveball or does something that frustrates me, I try to shake it off and do what’s best for me — focus on getting the work done, have a constructive conversation with the client, or, in rare cases, stop taking new work from them.

Sometimes doing what’s within my control can mean accepting less work and resisting the urge to people-please when clients come to me with requests.

When you’re starting as a freelancer, you feel pressure to say yes to every opportunity, but I’ve learned over time that I have no one to blame but myself if I do this and become overwhelmed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mattzabierekdesign.com
• Instagram: @mattzabierekdesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewzabierek