KSU's Continuing Education Web Design & Development graduate uses knowledge to grow business

As a longtime entrepreneur, David Drake knew the one area of knowledge he was lacking could help grow his business. “I was a very good designer, but didn’t know how to post on websites,” Drake said. “For less than the cost of paying someone to build a website, I could pay for myself to attend class and learn it quicker.”

Drake discovered the Web Design & Development certificate program at KSU’s College of Continuing and Professional Education from an online search. He then attended the college’s Open House event to explore more. There he was assured that the eight-month course would indeed teach the “latest and greatest” design and development technology platforms.

“There was no reason for me not to do this,” Drake said. “I love education and technology. The fact that the instructors were not pure academia also appealed to me. They were actually subject matter experts actively working in the profession they teach. The return on investment was huge.”

Drake’s previously launched business, reOneSpot.com, is an integrated enterprise cloud solution for real estate agents that streamlines and automates the entire house buying process. By familiarizing himself with HTML coding and the current Adobe Creative Suite, which includes Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Illustrator, Drake was successfully able to apply several vital components of the class to his business. The class helped him with overall marketing efforts that included keeping his website current and updated, creating dynamic and attractive email campaigns and SEO and Google analytics.

“Everything we are doing now is online and in the cloud,” Drake said. “If you’re not familiar with how this stuff works, you’re at the will of other people. The latest trend is that everything must be mobile first. The design must translate between all platforms’ application interfaces.”

Drake cited that the skills he learned in class were readily transferable to what the job market is seeking. The greatest incentive of the class is the opportunity it presents students to build their own website – which serves as the final project of the course.

“It’s imperative to develop the ability to create a few websites of your own,” Drake said. “The market is going to want to see what you’ve done.”

Wired as an entrepreneur, Drake intends on using his newfound skills to continue building his business with the intent of selling – then starting the process all over again. Always practicing the mantra of investing in himself, Drake plans to continue his education by enrolling in a project management agile certified practitioner (PMI-ACP) program.

For more information on the Web Design and Development Certificate or other technology related offerings, visit ccpe.kennesaw.edu or call 470-578-6765