How I Became A Self-Taught UX Designer In 3 Months

This is a story of how I became a UX designer in 3 months. So this is me in 2017. I was going to San Jose State University and I gathered all my friends in this presentation or pitch that I was giving. I wanted to build an app and this app would kill Instagram. Now I was way over my head. And the app didn't end up killing Instagram, obviously. But essentially it was a video-first platform that would allow you to film, edit, and publish your videos on a social media app. And similar apps are like TikTok and Snapchat. Those are kind of video-first social media apps. But see, the problem was that I didn't actually know how to build an app. So the whole point to the presentation was to get people on board to learn how to code with me, and we would build this app together. Together. I'm looking for someone who can commit at least 5 hours a week or more, who are— who's open to learn how to code in Swift. But honestly, I didn't get past designing the first couple screens because my friends and I were just so busy with school that we didn't have enough time or resources to even build a prototype. You know, this was my first introduction to UX design and I didn't even know it. So quick pause here. If you haven't already, it would help me out tremendously if you like the video. It will also show me that you want to see more content like this. Hit that like button. I'll wait. Oh, I got time. Fast forward a couple of years and I graduated San Jose State University. My first job out of college was working at this big tech company called Odoo. I was a business analyst, and then I got another offer to be a compensation consultant, and I was being paid fairly well and I was really excited at first. To be a part of these opportunities. But eventually I started realizing that there was something missing and this feeling would keep growing and growing over time. And I didn't know what it was at first. I just knew that I didn't want to look at Excel sheets all day and analyze data. It just wasn't something that I was passionate about. I got depressed. I felt so lost. I thought, look at me, I should be grateful. I'm getting paid so much and yet I'm feeling I don't want to do this. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. So in this moment of my lost and depressive state, I basically made a prayer to God and asked him to guide me in this journey, to let me know what it is I'm placed on this earth to do. And I know that's like a big question to ask, but I really wanted to do things that I loved and I wanted to be in a place where I felt I had purpose. So shortly after my prayer, I received a call from my friend Noah about a day or so afterwards. He wanted me to help him on a project. Now, at first it was just help me design this app icon. Now, backstory on him, he was actually running an app development agency. He was helping clients bring their app ideas to life. He is like a brother to me, and basically he was helping me, giving me projects to see if I was actually interested in this. Now, it was when I was working with Noah that I realized something about myself, which was I loved UX design. I noticed things that most people wouldn't, whether things were aligned correctly, you know, icons, colors. I noticed that I was such a visual person in that I love the art of designing experiences, digital products. I felt so badass thinking of becoming a digital architect of this world. So much of our lives are in the digital space. We live so much in our phones, on social media apps, on the internet. I was becoming a digital architect and I was really, really fascinated by that. UX design is so awesome. UX design gave me the spirit of creation. And what's funny is that now looking back, God was directing me all this time. It was right under my nose. I felt that this was meant to be. I was meant to do something in the app development space, in particular UX design. So before I continue with this story, if you have a second, please give this video a like. It's going to help this video tremendously and it's going to let me know that you want to see more content like this. So if you haven't already, you know what to do. While working with Noah, I was inspired to start my own company. A company where I would also help bring app ideas to life. And in particular, what I would do in that company was UX design. I would design those apps and then hand them off to developers for them to build it. That's kind of how I saw that engagement being. I knew that I had it in me. So after I created my website, then was, okay, now how do I get clients? And this was a big question to answer. And I tried everything from content marketing to paid marketing. And the thing that actually worked for me was paid marketing. I learned Google Ads. I was going to do whatever it took to get clients and make this work. I searched up a couple of YouTube videos that taught me how to do Google Ads. I set up a marketing campaign. That's how I got my first initial calls and I got my first lead and they found my website and they were asking questions like, how much does an app actually cost to make? And essentially it was these types of conversations that were getting me inches and inches closer to a first sale as a UX designer. The way that I was looking at myself was I, I become a UX designer when someone pays me to do UX design. That's kind of how I see it. So even though I didn't have any experience, even though I didn't really have a portfolio, I knew the moment that someone decided to trust me, to pay me to do a UX design project, that it was then that I would become a UX designer. I spent a little bit over $3,000 on Google Ads, and I was kind of scared at that point because my fear was I would not see this money back. But that was okay because again, and I had my job. And once I got clients in the door and I got them on meetings and on calls, I quickly realized how bad my sales skills were. It was terrible. It was so embarrassing. I just— just play the clip. Hello? Hey, how's it going? Is this Quincy? This is Andres Gonzalez. Is this about the app? Man, that's the best. It's a bad time, dude. It's a bad time. You know, whenever you're ready to continue, I know that, you know, this is kind of a reminder of the importance of kind of being online and being mobile, you know, especially if you're a restaurant. So if you're ready to move forward, there's— the time is now. And I think right now is a really good time to kind of focus in on that. But, you know, I wish you the best. And when you're ready, go ahead and give us a call. Okay, sounds good. Thank you. All right, Quincy. But in the face of embarrassment, I decided I was going to improve. I was not going to let this embarrassment stop me from becoming the UX design entrepreneur that I knew I could be. So essentially, I found this phenomenal YouTube channel called The Futur. It was this YouTube channel that started to change me. Shout out to Chris Dell. So if you don't know what this YouTube channel is, It basically talks about the business of design and how to start your business in design, how to attract the right clients, how to manage bad clients, and how to close deals. And it was completely free and it was amazing. I felt, I felt like this was an actual school. I was learning so much value from this. I was taking notes. And although I graduated, this was my new school that I was taking. Then shortly after, I started reading this book called Never Split the Difference. And this was the ultimate game changer. Literally changed the way that I look at communication, whether it's in business relationships or just in regular relationships. Everybody wants something. You have to be able to understand how to negotiate with everyone you meet. Everything is a negotiation. Me getting you to like this video is a form of negotiation. And so this book completely changed my perspective on how to communicate to people. It's really a communication book. So when I was communicating to possible clients and possible leads, I all of a sudden started getting much, much closer to deals. I felt it in my heart. So although I didn't really have any sales in April or in May, I knew that I was getting closer. I continued learning. I continued getting familiar with tools like Adobe XD. Even though I didn't have any clients, I designed the website. I did all these things that a UX designer would typically do. All, all in the meantime, I also had my job. So I was doing kind of both and it was kind of challenging at first because my job that paid very handsomely was also very demanding. I had to come in early and leave late. It sometimes got in the way of me focusing in on the business. As a result, in about June, I received a performance improvement plan. Now, for those of you that are unsure what that is, basically it's a letter that says if you don't improve in these areas, you'll be let go. And that was a tough thing to handle in my career, was this reality check that, hey, Andres Gonzalez Gonzalez, you need to choose. You need to focus. You can't do both at this time. And so in that moment, with only 3 months of savings, I decided to send my letter of resignation and quit my job. Well, well, this is my last day. And, uh, without any sales, I knew that I would have to sink or swim. And I wouldn't necessarily recommend this strategy because it is inherently risky, but for me it worked because I I knew that everything was on the line for me to become a UX design entrepreneur. I had no other choice. And so it was this type of pressure that enabled me to grow. And about a week after I quit my job, I remember being at my parents' house and I remember holding their hands and just praying, asking God again to guide my steps, to show me the way. And the very next day I closed my first deal. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life. And so this client came in and wanted me to design and help them create a mobile card game. Now, this was something I was not familiar with. So while I was on the call with the client, I had to basically pretend that I could do this thing where deep down inside I didn't really know if I could. I didn't know for sure that I could design this thing, but I knew I had the capability of doing it. So I anchored my confidence to that. Not that I had the skill to do it, but I had the skill to learn to do it. Now, I'm sure there's some of you out there that also want to be UX or product designers, and you're probably thinking, how does one become a UX designer without any experience, without a portfolio? And I'm happy to provide you guys with the next video of how to become a UX designer with no experience, whether it's an entrepreneurial route like myself or whether it's a corporate route where you actually get a job in this. So if you want to see that video, do one thing.