The Pivot & The Cloud (Part 3)
In Part 2, I left off at the start of 2020. My agency was growing, and I was comfortable in the niche I had carved out. Then, everything changed.
🦠 The Pandemic Impact
When COVID-19 hit, the impact on my client base—mostly MSMEs—was immediate. Projects were cancelled, budgets evaporated, and payment timelines stretched indefinitely.
The financial instability, combined with new personal responsibilities after getting married, forced a hard reality check. The freelance roller coaster was no longer sustainable. I needed stability.
🔒 Closing Shop
I made the tough decision to wind down my agency and enter the job market. It wasn’t easy letting go of the business I built, but it was necessary. I updated my resume and started looking for roles that matched my unique blend of design and dev skills.
🌉 The Bridge Opportunity
In October 2020, I got a break. A company reached out with a freelance project: Emergency Migration.
They had suffered a security breach on their WordPress site and wanted out. They needed to move to a static architecture while keeping their design and SEO rankings intact. It was the perfect use case for my stack.
I rebuilt their site in Webflow, mirroring the original structure pixel-for-pixel, and deployed it on Netlify. The security issues vanished, performance skyrocketed, and the client was thrilled.
🤝 Building Trust
That success led to a second project: building a website from scratch for their sister company, a Cloud Service Provider. Working closely with their content team, we shipped a fast, modern site.
Then came a more complex challenge: building an online ordering system for a popular South Indian restaurant. The requirement? Deep integration with their Clover POS.
I fell back on my research. I knew Ecwid was one of the few platforms with native Clover integration. I implemented it, ensuring orders flowed seamlessly from the web directly to the kitchen printer.
💼 From Freelancer to Senior Dev
The relationship with the Cloud Service Provider was strong. I realized our goals aligned, so I pitched them a proposal: hire me full-time.
They agreed. I joined as a Senior Web Developer. After the uncertainty of the lockdowns, the stability of a full-time paycheck was a massive relief. But more importantly, I was now inside a tech company.
☁️ The Cloud Era: Azure & Logic Apps
Working at a Cloud Provider exposed me to enterprise-grade tools. I started working with Azure Logic Apps, using it to build complex integration workflows and custom ordering solutions for restaurants. It was “Low Code” on steroids—connecting disparate systems without reinventing the wheel.
I didn’t stop there. Over the next 18 months, I aggressively upskilled:
- 💻 Languages: Dabbled in Dart and Crystal.
- ☁️ Cloud: Earned my Azure Fundamentals certification.
- 🏗️ AWS: Enrolled in a comprehensive AWS course.
🚀 The Big Leap
My focus on cloud technologies paid off. I earned my AWS Certified Developer Associate badge, proving I could do more than just build websites—I could engineer cloud-native solutions.
Today, I work at one of India’s top IT services companies. I’ve gone from editing HTML in Notepad to architecting solutions for enterprise clients.
🔮 What’s Next?
The journey doesn’t stop here. I am currently targeting the AWS Solution Architect Associate and Azure Solutions Architect Expert certifications.
Looking back, the path wasn’t a straight line. It went from NGO volunteer -> Freelancer -> Agency Owner -> Cloud Engineer. But every step, every broken layout, and every server migration taught me something valuable.
Thank you for following my journey.
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