![Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/lifestyle-selfie-professional-2-683x1024.jpg)
About Nicholas Robb
Hi, I'm Nicholas Robb, an award-winning designer turned solopreneur. I help designers become solopreneurs and build a lifestyle business which gives them a life with wealth, freedom and purpose. I write about solopreneurship, and helping creatives build a 6 fig lifestyle business.
![Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/vlcsnap-2022-04-10-17h24m32s596-1024x576.png)
How I designed my life
Like many, I mostly define myself by what I do day to day. I call myself a designer. To some, this is just a job title, but for me it encompasses my approach to life: always creating, always learning, always with intention. I believe you are what you do, but this is open to change over time. So here's what I'm focussing on just now...
Here's how I choose to spend my life just now...
![Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0129-768x512.jpg)
Design Hero
Design Hero started as a one person business and grew into a multi award winning micro agency. I help entrepreneurs across the globe launch succesful startups that make a positive impact on the world. I run Design Hero as a lifestyle business, which feeds my lifestyle and allows me freedom to explore other things.
![Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/speaking-bbc-bitesize-2-768x832.jpg)
Education
Recently I've been involved in education, talking with teachers and aiding in curriculum at schools, guest speaking for the BBC and other media. I also coach other creatives on how to build a 6 figure lifestyle business using the methods, tools and systems I use in Design Hero.
![PXL 20230804 125055767](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/PXL_20230804_125055767-768x1020.jpg)
Building things
My wife and I love a project. This year we are renovating the house, building my garden office, cultivating a beautiful garden space.
Table of Contents
Over 3 years I was fired from my job, turned my freelance sidehustle into a 6 figure agency, Doubled my income every year,
and reduced my workload to 4 hours a day.
I mostly did it by reading, implementing and copying other people much smarter than me.
Over 3 years I was fired from my job, turned my freelance sidehustle into a 6 figure agency, Doubled my income every year,
and reduced my workload to 4 hours a day.
I mostly did it by reading, implementing and copying other people much smarter than me.
Solopreneur [noun]
an alternative to the traditional 9 to 5 or venture-backed entrepreneur
An entrepreneur who works alone, “solo,” running their business single-handedly. They might have contractors for hire, yet have full responsibility for the running of their business.
About Page
From fired to 6 fig freelancer
series of sucky jobs
DH matched my wage
Getting fired
DH income doubled year on year
So Design Hero was ticking along.
So enough is enough.
Now
![Nicholas Robb, Founder of Design Hero, solopreneur and author of Life by Design](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/sample-2840-683x1024.jpg)
Public Speaking
I talk about growing a solo business
- freelancing
- work-life balance
- lifestyle design
- automation
- systemization
- design
- Web development
- solopreneurship
- solo businesses
- digital marketing
- personal branding
- business growth
- killer offers
- audience monetization
- niche
Your outputs are only as good as your inputs.
I'm always reading...
On my List
What’s our problem – Tim Urban
Love People, Use Things
Psychocybernetics
Buy Back your Time
Flow
break the twitch – anthony ongaro
Write useful books – fitzpatrick
good to great – jim collins
the flinch – julien smith
lost connections – johann hari
do the work – steven pressfield
willpower – roy baumeister
Sell like crazy- Sabri suby
24 assets – Dent
oversubscribed – Dent
The magic of thinking big David Schwartz
Write Useful Books: A modern approach to designing and refining recommendable nonfiction
Write to sell – Andy Maslen
What’s Our Problem?
storytelling edge
Zero to sold
The minimalist entreprenuer
The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing
Good ‘uns
🟢 Build a Second Brain
🟢 Exactly what to say
🟢 The happiest man on earth
🟢 The Obstacle is the way – Ryan Holiday
🟢 A guide to the good life : the ancient art of stoic joy
🟢 Key person of influence – Daniel Priestley
🟢 Hell yeah or hell no – Derek Siverts
🟢 Anything you want – Derek Siverts
🟢 Clear Thinking
🟢 Ikigai – Garcia & Miralles
🟢 Surrounded by bad bosses
🟢 How to Live – Derek Siverts
🟢 Pricing creativity – Blair Enns
🟢 The paradox of choice Barry Schwartz
🟢 Free time
🟢 Negotiation strategies for reasonable people
🟢 Company of One – Paul Jarvis
🟢 The One Thing
🟢 The 4 hour workweek – Tim Ferris
🟢 The subtle art of not giving a fuck
🟢The million dollar one person business
🟢 The art of saying no – damon zahariades
🟢 Win without pitching
These will change your life.
💎 A little Happier – Derren Brown
💎 4000 Weeks – Oliver Burkeman
💎 Deep work – Cal Newport
💎 Hyper Focus – Chris bailey
💎 Surrounded by Idiots
💎 The Daily Stoic
💎 Atomic Habits – James Clear
💎 Do Pause
💎 The 80/20 Principle: More with Less – Richard Koch
💎 $100m offers – Hormozi
💎 $100m leads – Hormozi
💎 The compound effect – Darren Hardy
💎 Bootcamp for the brain – derren Brown
💎 Mistakes were made but not by me – Elliot Aronson
💎 Feel-Good Productivity – Ali Abdaal
💎 The Art of Focus – Dan Koe
My writing...
Life by Design — Ongoing
Simple systems and strategies you can use right now to redesign your life, and build a profitable lifestyle business that puts freedom first.
The Stoic Solopreneur — in progress
Daily snacksize strategies for wealth, freedom and purpose as a solopreneur. Compiled from over 15 years of building a multi award winning micro design agency for startups,
1 Min Marketing Wins — deceased
A Collection of deep-dive marketing case studies and examples to help small business owners supercharge their success online. No longer writing as my audience shifted to solopreneurs.
![writing architecture in virtual environments](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/writing-architecture-in-virtual-environments-768x982.jpg)
How Architecture shapes narrative in Virtual Environments — published
A study of how architecture can to be used to shape an evocative narrative within a digital space through the medium of videogames.
![writing one million martian migrants](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/writing-one-million-martian-migrants-768x982.jpg)
Sustainable society: a case study on Mars — published
This book is about an investigation how a closed loop society on Mars might function, in response to predictions about the world in the future
![writing sustainable societies on mars](https://lifebydesign.online/wp-content/uploads/writing-sustainable-societies-on-mars-768x982.jpg)
One Million Martian Migrants — published
A follow up to "sustainable societies": A graphic novel which tested my speed sketching ability by speculating on a Martian settlement with 1 million inhabitants.