Lots of new beginnings
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Hello, and welcome to issue #1 of my very first-ever newsletter!
First, I'd like to thank you for being among the very first few to subscribe! It means a lot to me that you're interested in reading more about what I do.
Some reflections before we begin
2022 was a year of closures and new beginnings for me. I started Data Rocks in October 2019, oblivious to all that was waiting for a new business just around the corner in 2020. Well, that happened, and the past three years have been filled with learnings for me. I learned a bunch of stuff unrelated to data viz - marketing, accounting, web design, management, taxes... Although I had some opportunity to learn new tools and techniques related to information design, for a little while in 2020, data viz almost became secondary in my mind. Not good.
I was mainly in survival mode since all my initial plans seemed to have evaporated into thin air as soon as I began. Stability was a significant concern in uncertain times. I parked all my crazy ideas and dedicated this early beginning to establishing myself by doing more of what I'm already good at, building Business Intelligence solutions using either Tableau or Power BI and helping companies achieve more with their data, providing consulting advice and running the odd workshop to set early projects in the right track from the get-go.
I also helped Alex Waleczek to run the Auckland Tableau User Group virtually for about two years. We also ran a few New Zealand Tableau User Groups in collaboration with Jeff Komen and gathered people from all over the country, plus others from the APAC region. Learning Tableau was a turning point in my career and opened many doors for me. I'll forever be grateful to the DataFam - the loving name of the community around the tool. Running the TUGs was a fantastic opportunity, and I had a lot of fun.
I also had the amazing opportunity to work with the X is Y team and do something I love but had little chance of doing until then: teaching data viz.
I was initially hired to stand in as a Data Visualiser while they assembled a team, but the relationship evolved, and I had the pleasure of helping all of their initial team of Data Visualisers to settle into their roles, learning the tools and the good practices of data visualisation. I had a lot of fun running weekly challenges to help them solidify their knowledge of Power BI and achieve more with the tool. I'm very proud of this work, and it is awesome to see how far they've gone from there.
To close 2022, me and my partner moved cities! It was a big move, but with the normalisation of remote work, we decided it'd be best for us to change scenery and move to a smaller city. Much smaller. Much calmer. House prices played a huge role in the decision as well. We, a late 30s couple with outstanding jobs, have effectively been priced out of Auckland. The housing market is broken, and we now live in New Plymouth. :)
All in all, I managed to stay afloat. I learned a bunch of new things about starting my own business. I honed many of the skills I already had and got the chance to teach them to others. Not a bad beginning at all - even though it wasn't what I had expected or how I thought it would be.
The beginning:
So, what's in for 2023?
I have plans! It's been a while since I was able to sit quietly and make plans, but I did it!
I love learning. It is the nerdiest thing you'll read, but learning is a hobby to me. When I'm bored, I go and find something new to learn. This year, I want to go deeper into Information Design. As much as I love Tableau and learned to be really good with Power BI, there's only so much you can achieve with BI tools. Illustration offers a different way to tackle visual communication, and it is something I haven't had the opportunity to do much of yet.
If you've been following me on LinkedIn or Behance, you may have seen my Data Viz Self-Portrait. This piece of work started as a desire to explore what would happen if I were to tell people about myself using strictly shapes and colours.
I went analog for this one since the focus wasn't on learning a tool but on the technique itself. There's nothing quite like ditching all the technology and diving into the principles with good old ink and paper. It was a fascinating experience that rekindled my love for modern art, drawing, inking and painting. I learned so much about composition, movement, colour mixing, and representational art in the span of 8 weeks. It was pure data viz bliss.
I could talk about it all day, so I'll probably write about the whole thing in more depth in my blog.
Speaking of which, blogging is also a plan for 2023, alongside the newsletter and social media posts (mainly LinkedIn).
Back in 2019, before the pandemic, I reached out to Robert Crocker, whom I had met in New Zealand a few years before, and he sold me on the importance of blogging if you're freelancing. I have wanted to start my own blog ever since, and I have a whole backlog of ideas. 2023 is the year I'll write.
I'll start slowly and ramp up the content as I go - writing in a blog, newsletter or social media are new skills I have to learn. So bear with me as I share my process, things I learned while working with clients, and book reviews with you.
Yes, my Data Viz Bookshelf will be my starting point. I don't want to write plain generic book reviews, though - I'll try my best to share with you a bit about the books in the field that matter to me. I'll write about how they impacted my work and why I recommend them. I hope you enjoy it.
I'll, of course, continue doing the work I do that makes clients happy - consulting, workshops and developing outstanding data viz. So if you have some data and would like to communicate or consume it visually, please do get in touch!
What to expect:
If you're still with me after all of that, thanks!!!
This newsletter will be sent to you roughly by the end of the first week of each month. It will be much shorter than this and include a summary of what I have been up to in the previous month. I'll also include other things I find interesting and worth sharing with you, like podcasts, articles, and other resources.
I hope you enjoy embarking on this journey with me.
What have you been up to recently, and what are your plans for 2023? I'd love to know!
Let me know your thoughts! Get in touch through LinkedIn, Twitter or my website.
Let's keep on rocking!
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