Don’t do it alone
Posted in Web strategy on: Monday, June 28, 2010 by Paul Boag
Whether we you are a freelancer, owner of a small agency or run a website single handedly, too many of us work alone.
The downside of the digital revolution is isolation. The web allows us to do alone what would have previously taken a team of people. It also frees us from the constraints of geography letting us work from home. However, although these can appear to be benefits they also leave us isolated in our endeavours.
The dangers of isolation
Over time working in isolation (even if you work as part of a greater team) can prove harmful to your mental health, business and website.
In fact even if there are other people working on the project, if they are junior to you then you can still feel isolated.
lifeandlove, Shutterstock
If you don’t find a peer with whom you can share ideas and discuss your business/project you face a number of dangerous…
- Becoming creatively dry – Creativity is born out of interaction. It is hard to be consistently creative on your own. The best ideas come from people brainstorming together and one great idea leading to another. Without somebody with whom you can bounce ideas around with, your business or project will lack a creative spark.
- Loss of confidence – Overtime we can begin to lose confidence in our abilities or our project/business. This especially true when we make mistakes and things go wrong. Without somebody to encourage and reassure us we can begin to second guess our decisions.
- Being over confident – While some suffer from a lack of confidence others are overconfident and need to be challenged and questioned. This is a trait I suffer from and would happily dive headlong into disaster if it was not for my fellow directors at Headscape constantly questioning my ideas. Without people like this it would be easy to push your project or business in entirely the wrong direction.
- Reaching the limits of your knowledge – We can’t all be experts at everything and yet both running a website and running a business require a broad range of skills. When working in isolation it is easy to reach the limits of your expertise and flounder when trying to tackle problems outside of your comfort zone.
- Having a blinkered perspective – Another problem with working alone is that you only have a single perspective of the work you do. By adding another set of eyes to the problem you are given a broader vision and may approach the challenges involved from a different angle.
- Feeling overwhelmed – Running a business or even a business critical website can feel like a weight. You can often be required to make some big decisions especially in terms of hiring and expenditure. Making these decisions alone is a big responsibility and can be extremely scary. Having somebody to share that with makes an enormous difference.
So can you associate with any of those? If not I suggest you read the over confident one again! I don’t believe there is a single website owner or entrepreneur who couldn’t do with an outside perspective.
The question is, how can you find somebody?
Getting an outside perspective
The most obvious solution to that question is to partner with somebody from the outset. Whether working with somebody on your website or forming a business with somebody else, partnerships can be very beneficial. That is what I did with Headscape and have never regretted it for a minute. I would be lost without my two co-founders Chris and Marcus.
Palto, Shutterstock
That said I know that not everybody’s experiences have been so rosy. Also by the time you are reading this the opportunity for this kind of partnership has already passed.
What then can you do? What other options are available for those seeking an outside perspective and somebody to bounce ideas around with?
Here are some options…
- A sleeping partner – This is the approach we have taken at Headscape. We have a non executive director called Brian who works with a number of companies and keeps us on our toes. He has a radically different view on business and constantly challenges us. In return he has a small stake in the business. He is worth every penny.
- Paid consultant – If you don’t fancy having somebody else that entrenched in your business why not consider an external consultant who you speak to on an ongoing basis. Admittedly these kinds of consultants can be pricey but they do bring an outside perspective to the table.
- Find a mentor – Another option is to approach a web designer or website owner you admire and ask them to mentor you. Obviously these people may well be busy with their own businesses or websites but if you are willing to pay for their time you can get some valuable advice. This is exactly the service I offer through the Headscape consultancy clinics. Most of the time you only need an hour once a month to keep you on the right track.
- Find a ‘buddy’ – A cheaper option would be to find a buddy, somebody else in a similar situation to you. The two of you can agree to talk regularly and share the challenges you face as a business or website owner. You can discuss different approaches and ideas together providing you with somebody to bounce ideas around with. In fact I recently posted about this idea on the Get Signoff blog and people have posted their interest the comments. If you are interested too why not contact one of them or add your name to the list.
- Join a community – The final option is not to look for a single consultant, mentor or buddy but to find a supportive online community instead. There are loads of these around but be sure it is not too big. You want people to know you and to remember your particular circumstances. Personally I would say the Boagworld Forum is the perfect size but then I am probably bias.
However you choose to do it is entirely up to you. The point is that if you want to really see the potential of your website or business you need the help and encouragement of others.
Humans by their nature are best in social groups and you are no exception. We are not meant to do it alone!
2 Comments
Comments are for the discussion of this post. If you have other questions / comments then post them to the forum or send me an email
“Creativity is born out of interaction. It is hard to be consistently creative on your own. The best ideas come from people brainstorming together and one great idea leading to another. Without somebody with whom you can bounce ideas around with, your business or project will lack a creative spark.”
I’m not sure that’s necessarily the right emphasis.
The truth is, we just don’t know what creativity is born out of. It seems to need interaction, but it also needs solitude in order to contemplate and process ideas.
Brainstorming and interaction with others is fine for determining process. But determining process isn’t creativity, it’s just working out the nuts and bolts of how to turn a creative idea into reality.
Haha, right after I finished reading this on smashing, I find it here, and read it again! Nice work.