At the end of November, I went on a Business Breakaway. Two days dedicated to working on my business and planning for the year ahead.
The event was brilliantly organised, led by skilled coaches and mentors and, crucially for this working parent, far enough away that my focus couldn’t be pulled back by home life.
One thing that came up again and again was this: the more strands your business has, the harder it is to run well.
I’m not talking about different website services; custom builds, templates, hosting or maintenance. They’re all variations on the same theme.
I’m talking about running two distinct sides of a business.
For me, that looks like:
-
Building websites for clients, where I want to project confidence, reliability and calm.
-
Mentoring website designers, where I talk honestly about the harder stuff — tricky clients, projects that wobble, and moments where things don’t quite click.
Those two conversations don’t sit comfortably in the same space.
What it really comes down to is strategy.
While I usually recommend having one website where possible, in my case it made more sense to have two; one for website clients, and one for designers and developers.
Yes, it’s double the work. But it also means I can speak clearly and directly to each audience without muddying the waters. It’s why my podcast is just for designers and developers, and something I never mention to my website clients.
While I was on the breakaway, I spoke to one of the coaches — a former website designer who retrained in coaching. He said to me:
“Holly, if you’re finding this hard, it’s because it is hard. Mentoring website designers is tougher than general coaching because designers are contending with very specific challenges.”
And he’s right.
Because this isn’t just about growth for growth’s sake.
It’s about growing in a way that’s meaningful. Not just increasing capacity, but improving experience too.
Web designers aren’t exactly known for delivering outstanding client experience. But often, that’s because they’re not having a great experience themselves.
-
Work feels feast or famine
-
Clients think they can DIY it with free tools
-
Past bad experiences get projected onto new projects
-
Content takes forever to arrive
-
Cash flow becomes unpredictable
These things come up time and again.
It’s exactly why I created Sparks Group Mentoring.
Sparks is a space for website designers and developers who want support through the difficult bits and space to celebrate the wins. All while steadily growing their business and their income.
A place to build clarity, confidence and consistency, so growth feels intentional rather than chaotic, and you’re not figuring everything out alone.
If you’re ready for support that helps your business grow without making everything feel harder, Sparks is beginning on 7th January 2026.
