๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐
๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐โ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐.
Here are the 3 biggest challenges I faced and how I overcame them:
1๏ธโฃ ๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐-๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
Many of my audience purchased my product during the pre-sale, which was before production. I didn't want them to wait long, but I also didnโt want to sacrifice production quality by rushing. So, I invited my pre-sale students to 1-on-1 calls if they finished the latest released episodes and offered free one-on-one advice, so they didnโt have to wait until the next episode was released. This also helped me iterate quickly based on actual student feedback.
2๏ธโฃ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐.
Tech companies design differently from what most educational resources teach, and I wanted to teach real-world design, not just theory. To address this, I created an "active learning" experience instead of passive lectures. I also acted out how different stakeholders would react to your design. Through this method, pre-sale students saw significant improvement compared to their Google UX certificate work. WORTH THE STRUGGLE!
3๏ธโฃ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ.
Being my own boss is cool but comes with the responsibility of 100% self-management. I managed this by finding accountability partners and coworking buddies. Staying connected with my students also kept me motivated.
Thanks for all the support! In Q3 2024, I'm focusing on sales and marketing for this product. Expect to hear more about it ๐๐
#UXDesign hashtag#ProductDevelopment hashtag#TechEducation hashtag#AI hashtag#DesignLeadership hashtag#EdTech hashtag#ActiveLearning hashtag#SelfManagement hashtag#Entrepreneurship hashtag#FastTrackUX
Celebrating 1 year of Aliena Design LLC with my head of talent - grandma ๐ต๐ผ!
๐'๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฅน
After one year of hard work,
Iโve finished producing all 30 episodes of my first product, Fast Track UX.
The platform is now fully ready at fasttrackux.com/
This marks the first product not only designed but also ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐๐ by me.
Today is also the ๐จ๐ง๐-๐ฒ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฒ of me working full-time on Aliena Design LLC ๐
In celebration, Iโm offering a ๐๐% ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ for anyone who signs up this week! Use this code: ANNIVERSARY20
This journey has been incredibly difficult but rewarding. I can't do it without you! Iโll share more about it through a series of posts.
After losing my H1B lottery in the US,
I recorded this Seattle (Kirkland) ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ
to say goodbye to the place I've lived for over 2 years.
Hope you enjoy ๐
๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก Framer ๐๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ!
Also discover how I overcame these topics that have challenged me for years:
1. How to tell a compelling ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ in a case study
2. How to AVOID turning your portfolio into an ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐
3. How to create a strong ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ ๐
4. How to make your portfolio ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐
5. How to launch your portfolio on a ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ (e.g., alienacai.me/)
This is my first YouTube video created in my Toronto apartment. I hope it helps fellow designers!
Start your Framer UX Portfolio here: shorturl.at/cZxju
And use code ALIENA to get 25% off basic and mini sites
*All projects, numbers, and figures in this video are fictional and for educational purposes only.*
๐'๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐จ! ๐จ๐ฆ
Life update:
After losing my H1B and having to leave the USA, I've now settled in downtown Toronto.
It's my second time living here since I was 18, and it feels great to be backโ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐&๐ ๐๐๐ .
I look calm in this photo, but behind the scenes, it's been quite a roller coaster this month:
๐๏ธ I furnished my new apartment and set up my home office.
๐ค I took a quick alumni trip to New York and got COVID.
๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ป Iโm now back at my home office, fully recovered, and ready to start a new life!
(You can expect a new YT video on design portfolio tutorials in the coming weeks.)
As I'm new to the city, ๐'๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง๐๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ.
If you're also based in Toronto, hit me up ๐ค
๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป.
Today, Iโm saying goodbye to the United States after 7 years of studying and working here ๐๐บ๐ธ
The people I met and places Iโve visited from here have forever changed my life for the better, and I will always be grateful for that.
There are millions of people coming to the US every year for an American dream.
Itโs hard to believe that a dream can be changed by ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฒ
Being an international person in the United States has made me feel
๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต, ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐.
But it also pushes me to
๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ.
I hate it and love it at the same time.
My partner and I didnโt get an H1B, for 3 years in a row.
Although there were other options for us,
We decided to leave.
This month has been the toughest month of my life:
Figuring out what to do next, applying for new visas, breaking our lease, selling our belongings, signing a new lease in a new country, all whileย working full time.
But on the bright side,
I believe the next chapter will only be better ๐ฅ
Iโll soon announce where I will go next ๐คซ
#h1b
My first webinar, see you tomorrow ๐
Don't forget to turn on notifications.
We will be talking about important topics like how to optimize your portfolio and case studies for getting a design job in this economy ๐
๐ Reflecting on a Journey of Design and Teamwork ๐
As we conclude this series on Aliena Design LLC's first major project, I am filled with gratitude.
A heartfelt thank you to Rasika Vinod, our product designer, who has powerful business insights, is an alignment legend, and also the fastest learner Iโve ever met. No matter what challenge is ahead of her, she figures it out and goes above and beyond.
I also want to thank Oscar Aguilar, another amazing product designer on the Fast Track UX team. Oscar is exceptional at making deep connections during the UX research stage - then turns his new connections into design inspirations and crafts a product that feels personal.
Lahek Gupta, also a product designer on the Fast Track UX team, whose high-fidelity design is so exceptional! Sheโs the mind behind the header section and many others on our landing page: fasttrackux.com/. Thank you for joining us in your evenings.
Finally, Precious okoro, the content designer of this project. Precious knows so much about UX design and can give a professional makeover to every single word on the product.
This marks the first team project at Aliena Design LLC.
I want to congratulate these designers for accomplishing great work!๐
Once again, you can check out our deliverable at fasttrackux.com/
With that being said, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ for supporting this journey.
I'm excited for the next challenges and opportunities that await.
I'm also excited to have you on my future projects โจ
#Reflections #ProjectCompletion #FutureProjects
---
Attaching our first team photo.
โญ๏ธ What I Learned as a First-Time Manager โญ๏ธ
Following my previous post, there are many more things I've learned while managing for the first time on our first project at Aliena Design LLC.
1๏ธโฃ Communicate Clearly - ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ
I still need to work on this. Sometimes, I send messages that are very concise and do not clearly communicate my ideas. But no one reads minds, and itโs good to double-check if everyone understands the process clearly.
2๏ธโฃ Harness Strengths from Each Teammate
Each person has strengths and weaknesses. I need to identify each memberโs strengths and integrate them. We did this by allowing each member to present their individual design - followed by a team session to combine their work. It creates healthy competition followed by productive collaboration. It saved time and also ensured that everyoneโs idea was heard.
3๏ธโฃ Know When to Delegate Tasks, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ญ
There are still many tasks that I cannot easily delegate as a manager. For example, transitioning the domain, cleaning up the final production, and shooting video content. Iโve learned to plan enough time for these tasks and take them into consideration during the planning stage. Being a manager really doesnโt mean you can sit back and just issue commands ๐ Itโs a whole new job with a whole new level of responsibility and uncertainty - but it's worth it in the end because it can create work beyond my personal bandwidth.
Does any of this resonate with your experience?
Product designer / Entrepreneur / Life-Long Learner
Ins: @thealienacai
Linkedin: @alienacai
TikTok: @thealienacai
๐ฎaliena.connect@gmail.com