2010 has been an awesome year. Of course, after the previous year, I could have done nothing but sleep all year and it would have been better for me. A few highlights:
- skeevisArts has been thriving. We launched a ridiculous number of websites (and those are the projects we can talk about), as well as diversifying into mobile development (both iPhone and Android, as well as some generic mobile web sites).
- Launched Structo, my first “serious” startup venture with me at the helm. Initial feedback has been good, and I plan on continuing it in the new year.
- Finally got real and took lessons on DJing, something I’ve wanted to do for years.
- Moved from the ‘burbs into downtown DC. As much as I loved Bethesda, city life is completely different, and awesome.
- Got more involved with the community, and had a chance to speak a few times. ProudlyMadeinDC is a big undertaking of mine, and working on it with Michael Mayernick has been awesome.
- Best of all – celebrated nearly 5 years with Alex. Yay!
Further Lessons Learned
Building off of my earlier list – read that first.
16. Introductions are amazing. Give and receive. I introduce as many people as possible, and give referrals whenever possible. After two years, I can happily say I’ve never sent a cold call, never placed an ad, and never gotten any work off of Craigslist (though I tried to initially). All my work has been an existing client or someone I met referring me to someone else. I stated last year that building a network is important, and that’s been galvanized this year. And it’s true – give and ye shall receive. I do whatever I can to introduce people, and every time I meet someone, I’m always thinking about who in my list they should talk to, and follow it up with an email intro. DJ Saul really guided me on this, and it’s something I plan on promoting as much as possible.
17. Don’t do it all yourself. I got hit pretty hard with this. When I first started, I did every bit of work. Nowadays, I’ve become better not just at outsourcing or bringing on contractors for skills I lack (like good design), but to also assist in what I would be doing as well. So today I have a team of Flash developers, WordPress Developers, PHP + Rails, etc…
18. Ensure that you’re balancing time appropriately with non-revenue generating activities, and really think if an event is worth attending. When starting out, I attended every networking event, developer group, and conference – not only because I had the flexibility to, but because I thought that, in same way, it might help my business. Really judge whether an event or conference is worth your time. (Hint: If you attend a one day conference and you spend all morning on your laptop before finally zoning out at 2 PM to go to a side room to get work done… you’ve wasted your time)
