Why I Quit My Job to Create Free Online Courses
Tags: webdev, beginners, programming, tutorial
Published: 2023-10-17 16:36:16

Hey there! I'm Tolya, the founder of [Tolya Pro](https://tolya.pro/), a website offering free courses in web development and freelancing.

You might be wondering what pushed me to write this post. Well, after years in the web development field, I decided to pivot my career to focus on something that I’m truly passionate about — making education accessible and straightforward.

In this post, I'm excited to share my journey to creating Tolya Pro and how it could make a real difference in your learning experience.

## Quitting the 9-5 to Follow My Passion
Before launching Tolya Pro, I had a regular job in web development. Why did I leave? I've always been passionate about educational projects and felt a strong desire to create a user-friendly website to help people learn web development faster.

You might be familiar with some of the issues often found in existing online courses:

- The video course is too lengthy, taking several months to complete.
- The course material is outdated, and the author has no intention of updating it.
- No direct way to ask the course author questions, or if there is, the response time is incredibly slow.
- The course is expensive, with uncertain results.
- The course was created by an expert who skipped over the basics.

So, I thought to myself, why not try to fix these issues? That's why I decided to create a platform where learning is free, simple, and up-to-date for everyone.


## My Journey from Idea to Reality
Turning my idea into an actual educational website wasn't a walk in the park. It was a journey filled with planning, hard work, and various challenges. In this section, I'll take you through the steps that brought this website to life, from the initial ideas to overcoming unexpected obstacles.

### First Steps
The idea for the educational website first came to me in 2014. But it wasn't until April 2023 that I made up my mind to go for it. That's when I started sketching out the site's structure on paper.
![Sketches of website](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4zk8vzwmhvbhjzpt1qvw.jpg)


### Design in Figma
After my sketches were done, I started experimenting with the design in Figma. To get some inspiration, I took screenshots of different components from various websites that I liked. I organized these screenshots by sections in Notion for future use on my own website.

![Design of website in Figma](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/a69tbujbldw58fgdhc2s.png)

### Choice of Technology
My main goal was to focus on creating valuable content as efficiently as possible. To make this happen, I decided to stick with WordPress, a platform I was already familiar with. 

I developed my own WordPress theme from scratch, avoiding the use of page builders like Elementor. This not only optimized the site's loading speed but also made the code easier to maintain and adapt for future needs.
![Screenshot of CMS WordPress](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/pkqoqn5y3iep0drfcqzm.png)


### Content Creation
I've been gathering tons of resources and notes for years, all stored in Notion. This helped me a lot when it was time to start creating content for the site, making it easier to put together useful and relevant material.
![Notion](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/i3qvs94x0qis1rowj23n.png)
Additionally, I have to create all the graphics for the lessons from scratch, which takes a considerable amount of time since I'm not a designer.

![html document structure](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rmwu3d0fo5dj7rfkc038.png)

## Challenges Along the Way
Over the past six months, I've been fully committed to my project. During this time, I tackled more than 300 tasks, with each challenge serving as a stepping stone that brought me closer to my ultimate goal.

## Future Plans
Moving forward, I have big plans for Tolya Pro. The journey has just begun, and there's so much more I want to achieve. Some of my goals include:

- Expanding the range of courses to cover more topics and technologies.
- Introducing interactive exercises and quizzes to make learning even more engaging.
- Collaborating with other industry experts to bring you a variety of perspectives and insights.
- Constantly updating the existing courses to ensure they remain relevant and up-to-date.
- Exploring options for community building, such as forums or Discord channels, where learners can support each other.

With these plans in mind, I'm excited about the road ahead and can't wait to continue this educational journey with all of you!

## Final Thoughts
It's been six months since I overcame my fears and took the plunge to start my own venture. Sure, there's been a ton of work, but trust me, this is just the beginning. Even more exciting things are on the horizon.

Do I regret dropping everything to chase my dream? In a word, no. Sure, doubts creep in now and then, wondering if I'm on the right path or when the "real" results will come. But I'm fueled by optimism and ready to keep pushing forward.

So, if you've got a couple of minutes, I'd love for you to visit [Tolya Pro](https://tolya.pro/) and let me know what you think. Any feedback, good or bad, isn't just appreciated—it's my fuel. It reassures me that I'm on the right path and motivates me to do even better.

**P.S.** I'm just getting started and every bit of support means a lot to me at this stage. If you're interested in what I'm doing, feel free to check out my [Facebook page](https://www.facebook.com/TheTolyaPro/).