Building a Web Agency Taught Me More About Life Than Code

When I decided to start Aki Studio, I thought my biggest challenge would be becoming a better developer.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Writing code is important, but it’s only a small part of building a business.

The rest has been learning skills I never expected to need.

1. Finding Clients Is Harder Than Building Websites

If you asked me today what’s more difficult:

Building a website.

Or finding someone who actually needs one.

I’d choose the second without hesitation.

A website can be planned, built, tested, and improved.

Finding people who trust you enough to invest in your work is a completely different challenge.

It means reaching out, starting conversations, hearing “no,” and continuing anyway.

2. Nobody Talks About the Responsibility

People often imagine freelancing or running an agency as freedom.

Working from a nice coffee shop.

Meeting founders.

Choosing your own hours.

Some of that is true.

But before you get there, there’s another side that isn’t talked about enough.

Responsibility.

Stress.

Late nights.

The feeling that every decision matters because there’s no one else to make it for you.

If someone asked me whether they should start freelancing, I’d say yes.

But I’d also tell them to focus on building their skills and portfolio first.

The lifestyle comes later.

3. Coding Was Never the Hard Part

One thing surprised me the most.

Sometimes, the easiest part of a project is writing the code.

The difficult part comes before and after.

Understanding what the client actually needs.

Managing feedback.

Handling changes without losing sight of the original goal.

A successful project isn’t the one with the cleanest code.

It’s the one that solves the client’s problem.

4. Learning How to Be an Adult

The last year hasn’t just been about web development.

It’s been about learning how business works:

How to communicate professionally.

How to organize projects.

How to choose the right tools.

How to manage time.

How to keep moving even when results don’t appear immediately.

In many ways, building an agency has also been my introduction to adult life.

Erasmus Changed My Perspective

Before joining the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program, I thought business belonged to people with years of experience, big offices, and huge teams.

Now I see it differently.

Business doesn’t have to start that way.

Sometimes it starts with one person, one laptop, and the willingness to keep learning.

That realization gave me the confidence to create AKI Studio.

My Biggest Fear

If I’m honest, my biggest fear isn’t writing difficult code.

It’s spending months building something that never finds its audience.

Every founder probably knows that feeling.

The fear that your time, effort, and energy won’t lead anywhere.

But I’ve learned that the only guaranteed way to fail is to stop showing up.

What Success Means to Me

Success isn’t reaching a specific revenue number.

It’s building something people trust.

A business with returning clients.

A reputation that grows through recommendations.

A team one day.

An office.

A company that people mention because of the work it delivers — not because of the marketing behind it.

That’s the vision I’m working toward.

I’m not there yet.

But that’s exactly why I’m writing these articles.

Because I want to document the journey as it happens, not rewrite it after the ending is already known.