In short
Since going independent I have built small business websites, automation workflows, AI assisted tools and a few micro-SaaS ideas through BAV Tech Solutions. The technical side came naturally. The steeper learning curve has been sales and marketing, and I am still open to the right permanent role.
I had a good conversation with a recruiter recently and it made me reflect a bit. Taking a career break and then coming back into the job market has been an interesting experience. The market feels different, and I have had to think quite honestly about what I want from work going forward.
I have explored roles, had conversations about returning to my old industry, and stayed open to different opportunities. At the same time, I did not want to just sit around waiting. So I have been building through BAV Tech Solutions.
What that has actually involved
It has kept my skills sharp and kept me active. The work has covered:
- Websites for small businesses, built to bring in enquiries rather than to look clever.
- Automation workflows for the repetitive admin that quietly eats a working week.
- AI assisted tools, which taught me more about architecture and security than about prompting.
- Small micro-SaaS ideas, most of which taught me something even when they went nowhere.
More recently I have been focusing on helping businesses that already have a website but could do with it being updated, modernised, or just made clearer for the people looking at it. That turns out to be a much more common problem than needing something built from nothing.
The bigger learning curve was not technical
Building is the part that comes more naturally to me. The bigger learning curve has been the sales and marketing side. Explaining value, pricing work properly, following up without being a nuisance, and getting comfortable with the fact that being good at the job is not the same as being found.
I am learning, adapting, and getting clearer as I go. Some of that has fed straight back into the client work, because getting found on Google is a problem I now understand from the inside rather than from a textbook.
Still open to the right role
I am still open to the right long-term role, especially something with structure, a team, and work I can properly get stuck into. The independent work has not been a detour from that. It has been the thing keeping me sharp while I look.
Either way, I would rather be building than standing still.