This might be the most personal blog post I’ll ever write. In the future, you can expect more informative content, as well as tips, explanations and more. However, I wanted to launch the website with a bit of context and the story behind it. I’ll try to keep it short.
First of all, thank you for finding this website and for reading. Kicking off this project has been a slow process. As many people can relate, starting something of your own often comes with fear, self-doubt, overthinking trade-offs and much more. I tried to overcome this by taking small steps towards the bigger idea I had. I slowly started telling friends and family about it, looking into what already exists out there, and shaping my idea into something that could be both feasible and impactful. I started by running pilots for the three areas of work I’m now launching, to gain confidence and strengthen my knowledge before launching the website and focusing more on this project. Thank you to everyone who was part of this, and to those who connected me with them so I could develop my initial process.
Turning the idea into something tangible took some time. I didn’t realize how much research and time small things could take, from choosing a design for the website to the colors and fonts it should have. After all that work, I came to peace with the fact that things can easily be changed in the future, so I settled for something I liked, with the certainty that it isn’t 100% fixed. The same applied to the name and the logo. I overthought the name quite a lot, and after months of using “Your Person Abroad” as a placeholder, I became really attached to it. I think the name says, on its own, what I want this project to be: the person in your new destination who can really be there for you.
The logo… I can already say this one might be temporary. It’s the result of me playing around with Canva (which I love with all my heart) to create a first draft, which I can edit or change once I know more about logos and graphic design.
And this website… There were two other attempts before we got to this one. Third time’s the charm, as they say, and it combines the things I liked from the two previous versions. I’m not the mastermind behind the website, though. That’s my partner, who may or may not have earned his own email address with my domain, or might do soon!
I know this starts small, and I can’t tell where it will go, but I’m so happy to be taking the step I’ve been thinking about for so, so, sooo long. What I love most about this work is how tangible the results are. I can’t wait to see more smiles and receive more positive messages from the people I’ll be able to support, and I hope this journey allows me to help as many people as possible achieve a big dream of theirs.
To everyone out there with an idea: I hope you overcome the fear and simply do it. Look around at the tools you might already have to start, even if it’s small, and GO FOR IT!
Thanks for reading me, and stay tuned for more!