Today we’d like to introduce you to Judi Knight.
Judi is a serial entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in Psychology. Early in her career in addition to a thriving private practice Judi was product manager for mental health services for a national hospital corporation. In her position, Judi saw a need for automating mental health treatment planning, and obtained three million dollars in SBIR funding from NIAAA for research and development to grow her product.
Ten years later, after her company was acquired, Judi completed the design and development of an Inman Park warehouse she bought for her software company, into condominiums. Judi then purchased and restored the historic Wigwam building in the Old Fourth Ward, for which she received the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Award, and the Atlanta Urban Design Award.
In 2006, Judi discovered WordPress and began using it to market the properties she was developing. Judi was taken with WordPress and its potential and knew that soon, everyone was going to want this. Combining her experiences in psychology; marketing, technology and design, Judi started New Tricks, to help companies take advantage of the power of WordPress along with digital marketing strategies to grow their businesses.
Since that time, New Tricks has created websites for with hundreds of small businesses, non-profits and artists. She also enjoys the co-creative collaboration involved in larger, digital projects for organizations such as Georgia State University and CDC Rollins School of Public Health.
Judi is the organizer of the Atlanta WordPress Meetup Group with over 3,000 members and was the lead organizer of WordCamp Atlanta for five years. She teaches an online Web Design Mastery course for web designers to up their game and is a speaker at WordCamps and Digital Marketing Conferences across the country. Judi has built a loyal following for her weekly newsletter Just a Digital Minute and her blog on her New Tricks website.
In 2008, the same year that Judi started her web design agency, her children left their 5,500 sq. foot loft to go to college and live their own lives. With extra space and a new business, Judi decided to diversify and created a website to rent her three extra bedrooms as the Urban Oasis Bed and Breakfast. For the past nine years, she and her husband Duane, along with their Bassett Hounds, Craig and Otis, keep busy hosting visitors from around the world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I sold my software company in 2001 and had no idea what I was going to do for a living. I let my psychology license go so I could not fall back on it. I didn’t know what I was going to do but I knew I did not want to be a psychotherapist. I did some real estate projects and then when I would be sitting in the coffee shop talking to people about their businesses, other people would overhear and ask me to help them.
That was in 2008 when people were losing their jobs at AJC and Turner Broadcasting and they needed websites. I went ahead and started doing this for a business. I made about 3.00 an hour because I had to learn to do websites professionally. I persevered and became a leader in the WordPress Community. Because of my experience I love helping others to learn the skills to become professional web designers.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with New Tricks Web Design and Urban Oasis Bed and Breakfast – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
At New Tricks, because I jumped in and hosted the first WordPress Meetup in Atlanta, I got asked to organize WordCamp Atlanta. Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress has been to my house which I think is pretty amazing since I started from not knowing what I was going to do for a living.
I think being a psychologist sets me apart as a web designer and business strategist. We use psychology, technology, and design skills to create effective websites for our clients.
My 29-year old son has worked with me for six years, which is pretty cool.
My Bed and Breakfast is not your usual daily kind of B&B. It is a very colorful, retro-modern loft with 30-foot wood ceilings. Our bedrooms are private with bathrooms in the suites since I build our home when I had teenagers and wanted to not hear their music. It also is unusual because it has gardens on three sides and now the Atlanta Beltline runs right behind our backyard.
I have an amazing life.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My 30-year old daughter who lives in Orlando is pregnant with my first grandchild, my most immediate plans are to be there for her when the baby comes.
Pricing:
- Bed and Breakfast rooms range from $145 – 215 per night
- Our Websites with branding and brand story start at 5,000.
Contact Info:
- Address: 130 A Krog Street Atlanta, GA 30307
- Website: http://newtricks.com http://urbanoasisbandb.com
- Phone: 770-714-8618
- Email: judi@newtricks.com
- Instagram: @judiknight @newtricksweb
- Twitter: @judiknight
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Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
