It’s been a while since I last posted. Life, as it does, got busy. Since then, I’ve graduated from Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), survived a global pandemic, started my own marketing business, and even moved across the world. Through all this change, I’ve learned a lot about myself and uncovered opportunities I never anticipated. Growing up, it seems, is all about discovering those layers — and I’ve been peeling them back one at a time.
Let’s rewind a bit to 2018. That’s when I left my full-time management job to focus on completing my degree at Ryerson. One of my standout experiences there was working with a non-profit in Toronto. They needed a marketing plan, and I had the chance to build my first e-commerce website (one that wasn’t just a blog!). That project changed things for me — I found myself captivated by WordPress and the world of web design. The experience showed me how customizable and powerful WordPress could be, and I knew this was something I wanted to explore further.
By 2019, I’d graduated and decided to take the leap and start my own marketing business. My focus was clear: website design and development, specifically on WordPress. It started small, but over time, I built up a loyal client base and eventually had enough regular clients to take the business full-time. WordPress made this growth possible — it gave me the flexibility to work with different businesses, each with unique needs, while still delivering solid, customized sites. WordPress has been more than just a platform; it’s been a toolkit for bringing my clients’ visions to life.
Then came COVID. Like so many people, my partner and I found ourselves re-evaluating what we wanted out of life. After many conversations and months of planning, we decided to take the leap and move to Japan, a place with personal significance for both of us. In 2021, we packed our bags, our dog, and a lot of hopes, and settled into a new life in Hakone, a serene mountain town known for its hot springs and natural beauty. It was brave, I realize now, to start fresh, especially as a foreigner in a country where I still have a lot to learn.
Life in Hakone has been both peaceful and challenging. While my partner is Japanese, my own language skills are still a work in progress, which makes daily life — and local connections — a bit harder to navigate. Professionally, working remotely has its own set of obstacles. All my clients are based in North America, which means I’m constantly adjusting to timezone differences. Late-night meetings and early mornings have become the norm. Luckily, WordPress is a remote-friendly platform. I can develop, optimize, and even manage client updates across continents with ease. This flexibility has been a lifeline, keeping my business running smoothly even with the challenges of time zones and language barriers.
Amid the change, I’ve found ways to stay connected to things I love. I joined the Tokyo Canadians, a hockey team in Tokyo, and each week I make the trek into the city to play. Being on the ice with a group of fellow ex-pats and locals has grounded me and given me a small piece of home here in Japan.
Looking back, this journey has been a series of discoveries, both personal and professional. WordPress has allowed me to build a career from anywhere, teaching me not only design and development but also patience, resilience, and the importance of versatility. Living in Japan has taken me out of my comfort zone, but it’s also shown me how adaptable I can be with the right tools in hand.
Thanks for following along I’ll do my best to keep sharing the highlights and lessons from this journey. Here’s to more growth, more late-night meetings, and, hopefully, a bit more hockey.
A wise person once told me to pursue your hobbies in your spare time to balance your work life. The young professional that I was at the time thought “when would I even find the time to pursue a hobby?” Well almost a decade later, his words have remained with me and they are becoming more true the more I think about it.
Now there are two types of snowboarders in my mind, park rats and powder junkies. Although there was a time where I would have wanted to associate myself as being a park rat, I see less benefit now in throwing myself of a 50 foot kicker spinning like a ballerina looking for the tutu that fell off. No, I much prefer seeking a line in an untouched place on a mountain (preferably a bowl) and carving deep lines into a place no one has touched, or has overlooked. The closest feeling to surfing on snow that you can ever have.
Snowboarding on powder is a workout. It requires an intense amount of endurance and patience to find the perfect spot to drop in. Yes it often requires a hike to find that spot you are looking for, but the hike is often rewarded with a line of perfection.
Upon completion of high school, I decided to enter the work force, and eventually move to the west coast of Canada. I landed in Whistler, B.C., which is where I met my wife. I eventually worked my way up in the town to find a real estate management job. This was my first job in an office and I learned to hate answering my phone. Every time I picked up the phone, 90% of the time there was someone yelling at me. I found out pretty quickly that I liked the business world, but real estate management was not for me. So to develop my skill set and increase my knowledge, it was back to school and Toronto.