What do you enjoy the most about operating your business? What tasks would you perform even if it had nothing to do with the successful operation of your company?
Obviously I love the freedom of freelance, but I really enjoy designing a site from scratch. There’s nothing like the feeling of starting with a clean slate and finishing a beautiful project on my own. I was designing before it was a business and I’ll be doing it even if I leave the business!
What is the least enjoyable part of operating your business? Are there any tasks you’d gladly delegate to anyone else, no matter what the price?
This would definitely have to be the ‘business’ side of things. I’m a creative thinker, so the business side is much too business for me. By that I mean the billing, accounting, marketing, advertising, proposals, bids, and other paperwork. I hate the formality of it all because I’m really a very laid back person, but I know it’s part of the business and something I can’t be in business without suffering through.
What’s the worst advice you’ve been given with regard to building or operating your business? How about the best advice?
I haven’t been given a lot of bad advice, but I have heard people talk about ways to ‘cheat’ the client without ever actually lying. I’ve read bad marketing material teaching people ways to get around ‘the system’ and it really gets me. On the other hand, I’ve heard some really great advice like "bill at the same rate for every client" and "don’t use splash pages whenever possible".
What challenges have you overcome during your endeavor? Please describe something that impacted you financially or intellectually and how you got past it.
My biggest challenge in the beginning was in coming up with a solid rate to charge people. While I was still very new it was difficult to know what a fair rate was. I read a lot of articles about what web designers charge and read blog posts about HOW designers came up with a figure. Eventually it was just a matter of coming to terms with my worth and feeling comfortable charging the right amount. Confidence plays a huge part in that.
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Operating your business should not be something you despise doing! If you hate the operational aspects, you might want to look at how you perform these tasks and take a hard look at why they are so painful. I have worked with hundreds of small businesses and found that those in the most pain weren't using the right tools. Accounting software included.
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Posted by: Sanjay Kumar | November 5, 2006 5:08 PM | Permalink to Comment