I’m PerOla Hammar. Born and raised in Tibro, Sweden, now living in Shanghai where I’ve spent the past 20 years. My wife is from Shanghai, we have two kids, and life here has become home for us.

If I had to sum up my career in one word, it would probably be “zigzag.” I’ve worked in furniture, purchasing, importing, exporting, and trading. I’ve run businesses that looked good on paper but never felt right. More often than not, I chose things because I thought that’s what people expected of me. I used to believe that web development and creative projects were things “kids do,” and that I needed to grow up and run more “serious” businesses.

The truth is, I was wrong.

What always pulled me back, even when I tried to ignore it, was creativity. Building websites, designing things, writing, creating 3D renderings. Those were the moments when I could sit for hours and forget time. It took me until 44 to finally accept that this is not just a hobby, it’s my career, and it’s worth taking seriously.

My Work

These days I run Middle Earth Consulting AB, which is a bit of an umbrella for everything I do. Under it, I’ve built a few different brands:

CapsisMedia, where I focus on web development and digital marketing.

ImportDirekt, helping companies with sourcing and trade between Sweden and China.

Vizorender, which creates 3D renderings, mostly for furniture and interior design.

Along the way I’ve also dabbled in music, NFTs, podcasts, e-commerce stores, and blogging. Some things took off, some didn’t, but all of it has taught me something new.

Why I Write

Writing has always been in the background for me. I had a personal blog once, but over time it turned into more of a CV site. Practical, but boring. I missed having a place where I could just write freely about my work, my mistakes, my thoughts, and my life.

That’s why I’m back on Medium.

Here I want to write honestly about freelancing, web development, and life as a Swede who’s built his career in China. I want to share the lessons from all those zigzags, from switching careers, from trying to meet other people’s expectations, and finally, from realizing that passion matters more than respectability.

Why Read Me

If you’re looking for a perfect “how I made it big” story, that’s not me. My story is full of detours, failures, and second tries. But if you want honesty from someone who has learned by doing, by messing up, and by starting again, then you might find something useful in what I write.

At 44, I’m finally focusing on what I love instead of what looks good to others. It took me a while, but better late than never.