Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Bennis.
Paul, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always felt a great urge to help people however I could. My dad thinks it might have been due to my fascination with superhero media, especially The Power Rangers, that I chose law enforcement as my first career after attending Old Dominion University. I joined the Norfolk Police Department at 21, where I thought I brought a different perspective to police work as someone who, prior to wanting to join, used to be very skeptical or even critical of law enforcement when I was a teenager who loved punk rock. I wanted to “fight the system from the inside” and see if I could help make that system a better place. It turned out to be very different—and so much better—than I imagined, and I can certainly affirm today that nearly all hands in law enforcement are just members of your community doing their best to keep you safe.
A little over a decade ago, I tested into and joined Mensa, the largest and oldest high-IQ society. That led me to realize my strengths may be best suited for analytical thinking, so I decided to become a detective and explore the more cerebral side of law enforcement. It was fast-paced and often unforgiving, but I’ll always cherish the memories I made in that division. I was quickly promoted and, per policy, returned to patrol as a supervisor for a few years before being assigned to Administrative Services, where my intellectual talents really got to shine. I was able to analyze and reshape policy, rid the department of stale habits, improve many procedures, and even introduce my own custom software that reduced manpower hours tenfold in certain areas.
My affinity for computers quickly landed me the role of the sergeant in charge of the Technology Support Unit, where I proudly led a dwindling crew as the agency gradually downsized the team amid significant staffing shortages. The higher I climbed the ranks, the more politics became a part of my daily life which led to me regrettably falling out of love with the job. I took an early retirement opportunity at a drastic cost to save myself from the growing burden that the shrinking crew found more and more impossible to traverse every day. God bless them, and I hope they do well. I still have many friends there who unfortunately haven’t had much good news to share yet.
During my last couple years as I deliberated what I really wanted to do when I really grew up this time, I found the answer was obvious and lying before my eyes the entire time. I picked up the hobby of website development around age 13, first as an amateur video game fanatic making the best of GeoCities and Angelfire at their peak, and soon on to being paid to make websites for small local businesses while still in high school. It was sparse and not very lucrative, but a great side hobby for a kid that age. That side hobby grew into a side business in my off time while not in uniform, and the projects scaled up alongside my skills and experience.
I loved any time the opportunity presented itself to make an out-of-the-box design for a website. The first truly unique one was for my band I was in as a teen, where I designed a nighttime city skyline background with a buildings & sidewalk foreground complemented by an animated .GIF I drew by hand and colorized in Photoshop of a punk rocker walking down the street (making the most of the subtle y-axis scroll transition behind the anchored .GIF). All the meat and potatoes of the website were embedded smartly in the center of the beautiful design, and I knew even then I’d never seen anything like it… that didn’t use Flash, at least. Well, Flash is long gone but my penchant for fun, interactive HTML filled the gap it left over the years for me.
Today, I recognize that some of my clients prefer to have something more recognizable and welcoming than flashy and impressive, and I always aim to serve the individual needs of each customer. Yet, I still publish my own fun hobby projects every now and then, like a very intuitive graphical user interface called Pi Curious, which allows users to find intriguing things within the first 100 trillion digits of pi in a variety of ways. Try it out—your phone number or birthdate is probably somewhere in pi… I promise. As someone devoted to my faith, one of my favorite productions ever is The Holy Beads, which some consider the world’s most user-friendly interactive rosary with a built-in guide. Both web apps are available through my website, PaulBennis.com, and on the Google Play Store with App Store releases in the works.
In addition to my own hobby projects, I love to crank out digital design as gifts for my loved ones. For my wife’s birthday last year, I decided to try to streamline as much of her job for her as I could manage in app form, Proper Gander (available on the Play Store, coming to the App Store soon). I’m also currently working on one related to my dad’s specific health needs that I’m very excited about giving him for Christmas this year. Hope he doesn’t read this article first!
In short, I grew up with a healthy love of helping others and did so for many years as a police officer, but I’ve since shifted to helping businesses operate more efficiently while getting their name out there more effectively. From cop to coder, I’ve always approached most challenges as problems waiting to be solved. The uniform may have changed, but my favorite part of both careers has always been helping people.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Overall, I feel that every time I’ve seen significant challenges, God provided a solution that was best for me in hindsight. I lacked enough discipline as a young man, but found it after feeling lost and seeking a behind-the-scenes look at policing. After sixteen incredibly rewarding years serving my community, I found myself drowning in an impossible workload and bureaucracy. I took a leap of faith, and as a fledgling business owner I was quickly met with the reality of the struggles we face in entrepreneurial endeavors, but I’ve always found a way to make the best of the circumstances.
The biggest struggle was walking away from the career I’d spent so much time building to start over from scratch and pursue a dream at nearly 40 years old, and it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. There were moments when I genuinely questioned whether I was making a mistake starting over in an entirely different profession. Looking back, I can see God’s hand in a lot of those difficult seasons, even when I couldn’t at the time.
Through it all, my wife and kids have been my chief source of encouragement, and they’ve reminded me that success isn’t just measured by career milestones. It’s measured by the life we’re building together.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I create custom digital experiences for businesses, artists, nonprofits, ministries, and just about anyone with a story to tell or a problem to solve. Whether it’s a website, mobile app, business card, logo, or another piece of digital design, I genuinely enjoy turning ideas into something that’s both beautiful and practical. What started as a hobby building websites as a teenager eventually became the career I always seemed destined for.
I’ve been developing websites for decades and only began building mobile apps within the last five years. Fortunately, I love learning new things, so diving into app development felt less like starting over and more like discovering another creative outlet. These days, I probably enjoy building apps more than anything else because they allow me to solve problems in ways that simply aren’t possible on a traditional website.
If we’re talking about sheer volume, I’m probably best known for designing business cards. I’ve created hundreds over the years and still enjoy the challenge of making something memorable within such a small canvas. But the project I’m proudest of is undoubtedly The Holy Beads. Creating what many users have described as one of the most intuitive interactive rosaries available has been incredibly rewarding.
More than anything, I think what sets me apart is that I’m rarely interested in making something that looks like everything else. I love pushing beyond templates and finding creative solutions that feel unique to each client or project, while never losing sight of usability. If a design looks impressive but confuses the person using it, then I don’t think I’ve done my job. The best digital experiences should feel both distinctive and effortless.
How do you think about happiness?
The easiest answer is my kids. Their smiles and laughter are wonderfully contagious, and some of my happiest moments are simply spent being with them. My wife rates right up there with them, of course, especially with all the love and support she unwaveringly shows me… but it’s hard to compete with puppy dog eyes!
Secondly, the satisfaction of a job well done. Whether it be the rank and credentials earned in my previous career, or a well-oiled machine of a web app I just pumped out last month, I believe hard work earns its rewards, and I spend a lot of time enjoying the fruits of my labor.
Finally, helping others. I volunteer at a weekly food pantry, ironically recycling some police skills as a traffic director for an exceptionally busy parking lot-based hunger relief program. I know we all have to do something to help, and since leaving law enforcement I wanted to make sure I was still giving back to my community in meaningful ways.
At this point in my life, I’ve learned that happiness isn’t something you stumble upon. It’s something you build through the people you love, the work you care about, and the opportunities you’re given to help others.
Pricing:
- Website packages begin at $250
- Custom websites are quoted based on project scope
- Mobile apps and custom software are priced individually
- Logo, branding, and graphic design are available à la carte
- Free consultations and project estimates
Contact Info:
- Website: https://paulbennis.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/paul-bennis-designs/
- Other: https://dribbble.com/monumentalbasser
