What does the owner of Pixel Executive, the leader of Elementor’s Manchester community, and the frontman of a swing and soul band have in common? Simply put: everything. Stirling Austin is the ambitious owner of all the aforementioned titles.
As a dedicated professional with a wide variety of experiences under his belt, Stirling strives to aid all members of his community. By applying his sharp eye for business and adaptable approach to life, Stirling is helping bring the Manchester community to the next level. Let’s meet this month’s Elementor Community Leader!
Name: Stirling Austin
Profession: Owner, Pixel Executive
Which community do you lead? Elementor Manchester
Drawn To the Elementor Community
There are plenty of reasons to join an Elementor Community. For some, it’s the opportunity to learn new technical skills. For others, it’s a chance to build relationships with other like-minded professionals. For Stirling, it was a little bit of both.
This Community Leader wanted to connect with and help other Elementor enthusiasts — including beginners, experts, colleagues, and competitors. Stirling doesn’t see their differences when it comes to collaboration, only their potential: “When you share the knowledge that you have gained with others then it becomes a richer experience for all involved,” he explained.
Stirling carries those cooperative principles through to his leadership style. He cites assistance from colleagues and panelists Sue Fernandes and Joe Bamber, as especially helpful for building a welcoming community.
Together, the three have created a knowledgeable community that retains a sense of teamwork and warmth. The professionals strive to send a clear invitation to ‘old friends’ and curious newcomers alike.
As with many of our events in the past year, new meetup guidance during COVID-19 shook protocol up a bit. However, Stirling hasn’t missed a beat. This Community Leader continues to prioritize member familiarity in the meetings. There’s always personal interaction present to support members’ professional pursuits.
Additionally, there’s even a small silver lining to the current situation: people from around the world are joining the now online meetings. Mr. Austin doesn’t plan on slowing this down, explaining that “…when [they] get back to meeting in Manchester at a physical location, [they] hope to stream the meeting online at the same time”.
Never a Dull Moment
When asked about his daily routine, Stirling answered simply: “My daily routine is always varied…there are many hats to wear.” His variety of professional roles — developing businesses and building websites to name a few — works well with his outlook.
This flexible approach can be an incredible asset. Instead of focusing on specific hourly benchmarks, Stirling prioritizes giving the appropriate focus and commitment to each project. He also makes sure he gives equal attention to both early and late-stage projects.
As for what part of the work he particularly relishes, Stirling calls a tie: “I really enjoy building projects from nothing (whether it’s a new business or a website) and being persistently focused on achieving altruistic goals.” He finds this strategy produces both holistic businesses and a sense of fulfillment.
However, the Elementor Leader balances his dedication with a healthy respect for his mental well-being. He isn’t afraid to step back from his computer a few times a day, even fully disconnecting from technology when the need arises.
When Stirling hits a creative roadblock, he’ll sometimes work it out through a different creative medium: music. With the help of his guitars hanging proudly on his wall, he’ll “take [his] mind offline” and turn to a jazz standard for a parallel structure to his online projects.
“Websites contain blocks, images and text, a structure, a flow, and a story,” Stirling explained. “Songs are similar, but with words, verses, choruses, and imagery that convey a storyline and meaning.” Immersing himself in a different form of art can even be a source of inspiration for his web work.
Helping People Find Their Place
Stirling views his role as a Community Leader through the lens of collaboration and involvement. He aims to ensure that all participants walk away from meetups having learned something new or solved a problem.
Even here, Mr. Austin relies on the group he’s built to help him assist others. When necessary, he often knows just the right colleague to help a participant resolve a particular roadblock.
Elementor fans of all stripes are welcomed into the fold. While the meetups thrive on community interaction, Stirling is also aware that his attendees’ technical experience can vary. As such, he often provides breakout sessions divided by skill level so everyone can focus on their current abilities.
Stirling has created a group that’s open to anyone who’d like to join. However, he does have one potential new member in mind: fellow self-starter and entrepreneur Richard Branson.
Our interviewee expressed how he felt inspired by Branson’s ambition and technological expertise. Branson’s private island, which Stirling cites as a perfect place for future Elementor meetups, doesn’t hurt either. “I’ve invited him,” he said. “[I’m] just waiting for a reply.”
Looking at the Bigger Picture
A well-rounded professional, Stirling has two distinct memories that he holds in high regard: the day he sold his first business, and the day he performed with his “Swing & Soul Band” in front of a 1,000-person crowd.
While these two experiences might not seem similar at first glance, they have some significant traits in common. Stirling recounts the sense of recognition for his hard work in selling his business alongside the connection with his band’s audience.
Both events came together with the very first site he built for his band, www.stirlingaustin.com:
The page has since been transformed with a redesign. However, the engaging design remains a milestone in an impressive web lineage.
His first business sale and large crowd performance became memorable for similar reasons. Each helped Stirling connect with others who appreciated his contributions. This leader has made a name for himself by bridging his professional skills with his personal passions.
Working with Elementor
When it comes to Elementor, Stirling appreciates the opportunity to create sophisticated designs. However, the advanced features are not necessarily his favorite part of the software. Mr. Austin is especially interested in one of the more simple solutions: the ability to copy and paste content, inclusive of its styles, combined with global settings.
He views the elegant feature as an enormous time-saver for the workflow process. As a polyglot who speaks English, French, and Hebrew, Stirling is particularly appreciative of this fact while working in his specialty of updating multilingual websites.
Looking to the future of Elementor, Stirling expresses interest in creating a speech-activated designer function to ease the burden of scrolling on his protesting thumb. Such a feature also has the potential to increase accessibility for web designers.
For a blue-sky look, Stirling stated a simple yet ambitious goal if he were made the CEO of Elementor for the day. He would place physical regional business teams in specific markets to use local knowledge to its full potential. Stirling is optimistic that such a move would increase revenue and reach new creative minds.
Stirling Austin in Another Life
Finally, the questions turned to hypotheticals. When posed with the question of what he’d be doing if he weren’t a web creator, Stirling already had a portfolio to reference. Careers are rarely straightforward, and professionals today might expect a more unpredictable employment path. Stirling Austin is no exception.
A fresh image and an innovative approach are inseparable from his work. Stirling jokes that he’s reinvented himself “more than Madonna”, but there’s a lot of truth in that. Developing computer distribution businesses, establishing a French recruitment agency, creating a professional band — Mr. Austin is a trailblazer who’s unafraid of change.
This Elementor Community Leader has elected to apply his wide variety of skills to situations where they’ll be most effective. Combined with his strong creative sensibilities, this approach has resulted in a less-than-traditional career trajectory.
However, Stirling finds no issue with it. On the contrary, he embraces the eclectic lifestyle. “Variety is the spice of life!” he told us.
Long Live the Renaissance Man
Stirling Austin’s role in his Elementor Community reflects his identity in the rest of his life: that of a multi-skilled professional taking advantage of opportunities to create an incredible result with the people around him. We’re inspired by his dedication and unwavering drive.
If you feel the same way, consider joining him by becoming an Elementor leader!
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