Two years ago, I couldn't have imagined writing this blog—let alone building websites, running SEO campaigns, or leading digital strategy for a company.

This is not a success story in the traditional sense. It's a personal reflection on how I rebuilt my career from the ground up—after losing everything I had worked for in an industry I thought would last forever.

A Collapse That Forced Reinvention

I'm from China. For over a decade, I worked in the financial industry. My degree was in insurance, and I had spent 13 years in banks, insurance firms, and wealth management companies. By 2017, I was a VP managing a team of 40 at a thriving branch office.

Then came the policy shift.

That year, China began tightening regulations around wealth management. The entire industry began to crumble. One by one, firms shut down. By 2018, my company was gone. And with it, the career I had invested everything into.

For the next three years, I wandered in uncertainty. I tried to find work. I updated my resume. I applied for jobs—many of them. But I was always turned away. The pandemic didn't help, and neither did the quiet stigma against those of us from a “collapsed” industry.

At some point, I stopped asking “who will hire me?” and started asking “what else can I build?”

I Knew Nothing About the Internet

Before this shift, I didn't know how websites worked. I had never written a line of code. I didn't know what SEO stood for. I had no background in tech, design, or digital marketing. But I had one thing: the willingness to start from zero.

It took me two years to go from complete beginner to SEO director. I now offer website development services through my own platform and lead digital growth efforts at a company.

Here's exactly how I did it—and what I would tell anyone looking to break into this field.

Step 1: Choose a CMS That Works for You

A Content Management System (CMS) is where everything begins. I explored several options:

  • Shopify: Great for launching an online store fast, but less flexible when it comes to customization.
  • Wix/Squarespace: Drag-and-drop friendly, but not scalable for serious projects.
  • WordPress: My final choice—and by far the best for what I needed.

Why WordPress?

  • It powers over 40% of websites worldwide, making it the global standard.
  • It's open-source and extremely customizable.
  • Thanks to tools like Elementor, you can build pages visually—perfect for someone like me who had zero coding background.
  • It has a huge library of themes and plugins that lower the technical barrier.
  • Its SEO capabilities are unmatched.

If you're a complete beginner, this combination of power + accessibility makes WordPress the ideal CMS to start with.

Step 2: Learn from YouTube (But Follow a Full Course)

There are thousands of scattered tutorials out there, but jumping between random videos will only confuse you.

What worked for me was committing to a complete beginner-friendly WordPress course. I found a 90-minute starter tutorial, then followed it with daily practice.

I also recommend checking out the Danny YouTube channel, which features a complete WordPress development series in both Chinese and English.

Using Elementor and pre-built templates, I spent hours each day experimenting. After about a month, I had built my first website. It was basic—but it was 100% mine. And it was a breakthrough moment: I finally understood the core logic of how websites work.

Step 3: Pick a Product and Actually Sell It

This step is crucial.

Too many beginners stay in “learning mode” forever. But unless you sell something real, you won't understand how websites truly work in the real world.

When you become a seller, you begin to think like a user:

  • What makes people trust a page?
  • Why does this layout feel confusing?
  • Where is the friction in the buying process?

Website development is not just about building—it's about telling a story and guiding a journey. That shift in mindset only comes when you try to sell for real.

Step 4: Learn SEO (the Right Way)

After building a few sites, I realized: without traffic, a website is dead.

That's when I turned to SEO. But SEO is a deep rabbit hole. I started by watching multiple YouTube tutorials from different creators, then cross-referenced them with Google's official Search documentation.

Learning SEO was slower than learning WordPress. But it was worth every hour. Why? Because building websites is only step one. Monetizing them through organic traffic is the real game.

Step 5: Share What You Learn on Social Media

This is one of the most underrated growth tactics.

From the start, I created a Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) account and shared one learning point per day—something I had built, discovered, or fixed.

It wasn't about getting likes. It was about:

  • Distilling knowledge
  • Reinforcing memory through teaching
  • Building accountability

Surprisingly, these posts began attracting attention. Some people asked questions. Others asked for help. Eventually, I started getting actual project inquiries.

The more I shared, the faster I grew.

Step 6: Build Your Own Blog as a Knowledge Base

Your personal website is more than a portfolio. It's a digital journal, a place to document your evolution.

I built bdwebtek.com (English) and bdwebtek.cn (Chinese) to store my thoughts, publish tutorials, and refine my ideas in writing. This blog you're reading is part of that journey.

Step 7: Make AI Your Mentor

From the moment I started this journey, ChatGPT became my silent tutor.

Every time I got stuck—whether it was code, copywriting, SEO schema, or marketing ideas—I would turn to it. I never needed to ask anyone for help.

The power of AI isn't just in answers—it's in the confidence to keep going.

Step 8: Stay Curious and Keep Thinking

Websites evolve. SEO evolves. Algorithms have been evolving for over two decades, and with the rise of AI, the pace of change is only accelerating.

What you know today might be obsolete in six months. That's not a threat—it's an opportunity.

Stay curious. Keep testing. Question what you know.

Final Thoughts

This is not a roadmap. It's a reflection.

If you're lost, stuck, or starting over—know this: reinvention is possible. You don't need a coding background. You don't need connections. You need consistency, humility, and the courage to keep learning every single day.

Two years ago, I was an internet outsider. Today, I lead SEO strategy, build websites for clients, and teach others to do the same.

If I can do it, so can you.