I’m building Beyond Expansion in public. That means writing about what I’m building, why I’m building it, what’s working, and what isn’t — before I have clients, before I have proof, while it’s still uncomfortable to admit uncertainty.
Here’s month one.
What I shipped
The website foundation. Which sounds small but took longer than I expected. The decision to use Astro over WordPress or Webflow was deliberate: I want to practice what I preach. A site that loads in under a second, built with semantic HTML, optimized for Core Web Vitals, zero client-side JavaScript unless absolutely necessary.
The brand. I worked through the brand identity myself — the compass mark, the colors, the type system. Deep teal for trust and roots. Terracotta for warmth and the red soil of East Africa. Cream for a documentary, editorial feel that doesn’t scream “tech startup.”
The positioning. The hardest part. “Digital agency for East African small businesses” is accurate but inert. “We help you compete with the foreign-funded giants without the giants’ budget” is what I actually mean.
What I’m still figuring out
Pricing. I have numbers in my head, but saying them out loud on the pricing page feels exposing. I’m putting them there anyway, because hiding pricing is one of the things I explicitly said I wouldn’t do. The price is the price.
Lead generation. I’m launching without case studies, without testimonials, without a portfolio in the traditional sense. What I have is a blog, a clear point of view, and a freebie (the salon owner’s digital audit) that I hope earns enough trust to start conversations.
Why I’m writing about it
Two reasons.
First: building in public is accountable. Writing about what I’m building forces me to be clear about what I’m actually doing, not just what I hope I’m doing.
Second: the clients I want to work with deserve to see how I work before they hire me. If you’re a small business owner considering spending real money on a web system, you should be able to read through my blog and decide whether my thinking is sound before you ever talk to me.
That’s the bet. Month two coming.