Letting Go Of My Brand (and my domain)

As I started my engineering career, I knew it was important for me to build my brand. If I wanted to get a good job, people needed to know who I am and what value I bring (outside of just being able to do my job).

The first step to building my brand was writing a blog. Easy enough, I love writing. But the blog alone wasn’t enough. I also needed to create a portfolio — a website showcasing my work.

And so I got started. I designed and built a simple website. I bought a domain name. I deployed my site and put my brand out into the world.

Once I had a job, I lost my motivation to maintain my portfolio. But when I suddenly found myself back in the market, I knew it was time for a redesign. At that time I also moved my blog from being on medium to being self-hosted on my portfolio website.

About 10 months ago, I decided that I didn’t love my portfolio website as it was. I decided to only have my blog visible as I worked on redesigning the site. It stayed that way for a long time, and I just didn’t feel motivated to work on a redesign. So I just kept posting blogs.

Eventually I stopped blogging. And when I started blogging again (although not at a regular cadence), I started posting my blogs here on Medium rather than on my personal website.

A few weeks ago I got an email that my domain name registration was up for renewal. My initial plan was to renew it, but after thinking about it for a few days, I decided to let the registration lapse. I didn’t want my own domain name anymore. I wasn’t using it enough for it to be worth it.

This was a surprisingly easy decision for me. I initially built my portfolio to build my brand and get my name out there. But I don’t need to build a brand right now. I’m not doing any personal projects or projects outside of work, so I don’t need to showcase those. I’m not blogging regularly, and when I do blog, I know people can see it on Medium (either by following me or by clicking the link I post on LinkedIn). I’m not a brand, I’m just Sarah — and that’s enough.

I don’t need to be a brand. I don’t need to showcase what I bring to the table. My work history speaks for itself, and if there’s anything else you need to know about why I’m good at my job and why I love what I do, just ask.