Kelly Vaughn has never taken a class in web development.

Shes never attended a coding bootcamp.

Amid a sea of dudes and CompSci majors, shes rare: a self-taught female developer.

A portrait of Kelly Vaughn, a self-taught developer.

Ready to work for yourself? We’ve got 49 greathome business ideas.

Heres how she did it.

An Early Intro to Coding

Vaughn first started experimenting with programming when she was just 11.

No Interest Til Almost 2027?

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Soon after, she began selling custom-designed MySpace themes for $15 each.

Halfway through grad school, Im still coding, and Im getting paid, she says.

So its a job, and I dont hate it.

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Maybe its something I could enjoy doing full time.

But after just nine months, she decided totake the leap to self-employment.

It was October 2015, and she was 24 years old.

During her first month as a freelancer, she tripled her income.

During her first three months, she earned $28,000.

The following year, she grossed $137,000, with just $9,000 of overhead.

If you want to grow, it’s crucial that you separate yourself from the brand, she says.

I could no longer be Kelly Vaughn Creative; I had to have a more established agency name.

I think we are unique in that everyone is very supportive of each other…

Someone will say Send over your portfolio and Ill pass on the names to my client, she explains.

Its a really great resource for people who are just getting started.

The local component was very important, she says.

Even today, a lot of the clients prefer to work with someone whos local.

Even if we never actually meet face-to-face, the option is there.

I was like Cool, how about my work?

Its the overall feeling of accomplishment that matters, she says.

That people trust the Taproom; that were able to help businesses actually grow.

Susan Shain is a freelance writer and digital nomad.

Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.

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