Creator Spotlight: Kate Scott
I’m so happy to have Kate Scott on the blog. Kate and I both love reading mysteries so it’s always great to catch up on book recommendations with her and chat about Squarespace.
Hi Kate! Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a Squarespace designer with a passion for helping service providers and online course creators grow their businesses through the power of strategic web design and SEO.
Is there a product you've created that you're particularly proud of? Can you tell us a little about its main benefit or where this tool can be most helpful?
I’m particularly proud of my first Squarespace template, Sparhawk, which took three months to develop. It goes above and beyond most website templates and includes everything you need to build a sales funnel—sales pages, landing pages, etc.
How did your business get started?
I started a book blog over a decade ago. Over the course of seven years, I built it up and taught myself copywriting, web design, HTML, CSS, SEO, social media marketing, and all the other skills I now use as a web designer. Eventually, I decided it was time to move on and start a new business. (Book blogging is fun but not very lucrative!) In 2018, I started an online marketing company, realized it wasn’t the best fit for me, and pivoted to Squarespace design within the space of a year.
How did you come to work with Squarespace?
I used (and loved) Wordpress for a long time but when I started my marketing business, I wanted to try something new that would require less upkeep and allow me to launch faster. Enter Squarespace! My very first client asked me to build her a website and I knew Squarespace would be a perfect fit. I loved the experience of designing on Squarespace so much that it prompted me to quit marketing and relaunch myself as a Squarespace designer!
What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given as a designer/developer?
One thing I’ve heard over and over is don’t compare yourself to anyone else. It’s amazing what can happen when you stop focusing on what other people are doing and find your own magic. You have something totally unique to offer just by being you! Capitalize on it!
Do you have any words of wisdom for those developers and designers looking to get into the passive income world by creating Squarespace resources, such as templates or plugins?
Just do it. The #1 objection I hear to creating passive income products is, “I don’t have time.” When your income is 100% based on how many hours you spend working, it’s scary to cut back and use your time to work on a project that isn’t generating any revenue yet. But you’ll never get there if you don’t start and that short-term sacrifice can have the most incredible long-term impact.
If you had a piece of advice for developers or designers, or something you wish you'd figured out much sooner than you did, what would it be?
Follow your passion. There are so many different ways to be a designer. Find what lights you up and do that. To succeed in business, you have to persevere through a lot of self-doubts, disheartening bank statements, naysayers, frustrations, and setbacks. The best way to overcome all of that is to be so passionate about your work that quitting just isn’t an option.
When you aren't hunkered down at the computer, creating amazing Squarespace tools and resources, how do you like to spend your spare time?
I’m a big reader, so when I’m not working, you can usually find me with my nose in a book (nonfiction and mysteries are my jam) or binge-watching some show or other. (Murder, She Wrote is my current obsession.)
What’s your favorite mystery?
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware.
Any new and exciting things coming up for you that we should be on the lookout for?
I’m developing a course for Squarespace designers on how to scale your business by building and selling Squarespace templates! Opening my template shop changed everything for me and I am so excited to share this knowledge with my Squarespace friends and colleagues!
