In 2012, fresh out of university, I did something bold.

Instead of getting a job, I decided to start my own design studio.

I had no business experience. No contracts. No safety net.

Just a free co-working space from my alma mater and a belief that if I did great work, clients would pay.

Six months in, reality hit hard.

A client I trusted disappeared—without paying me.

A five-figure sum. Gone.

For someone just starting out, it was financially devastating.

I had poured everything into this, and I was left with nothing.

At that moment, I had two choices:

1. Give up. Take the loss, admit I failed, and go get a “real” job.

2. Learn from it. Figure out how to protect myself and never let this happen again.

I chose option 2.

That failure forced me to develop skills I had never focused on before:

✔ Negotiation – Learning how to secure contracts & upfront payments

✔ Networking – Pushing myself to build real business relationships

✔ Positioning – Understanding how to show my value beyond just “good design”

Then, something unexpected happened.

While recovering from that failure, I got headhunted for a design job—at a bar.

Yes, a bar.

I struck up a conversation with a senior designer from a South African retail agency called Barrows.

That random conversation led to my next big opportunity: designing point-of-sale displays for global brands.

That’s when I realized: opportunities don’t come from job boards. They come from conversations.

Looking back, that business failure was the best thing that ever happened to me.

It forced me to level up. It led me to my first real job.

And years later, it’s why I coach UX designers on getting hired through relationships, not just resumes.

If you’re stuck in job search mode, ask yourself: Are you waiting for opportunities? Or creating them?

DM me “OPPORTUNITY” if you want to learn how to land UX roles the smarter way.