Categories
Business Professional

To Grow, or Not to Grow

I recently read Company of One by Paul Jarvis. Essentially, it questions making growth the priority for a business and then thinks through what it means to optimize for other values. His thinking matched up with my own, given I’ve run a consultancy for about 13 years without growing it much at all.

When I started Eighteen Intelligence, I had some idea that I’d grow it up to be a small agency with producers, account managers and designers. But I started with the idea that I’d partner with my friends for those practices in which I wasn’t an expert and first concentrate on building a software craftsworks around my strengths in software engineering and digital marketing. Over the years, the work concentrated on building sites that were designed by partners, and I kept several people busy as contractors or employees. I didn’t work hard to grow the business because being a father of two homeschooled boys was much more important. It helped to have one, very significant client the always had more work for me than I could squeeze into a week.

In reading this book, I found many of the recommendations lined up with how I think about my business and my craft. Just as it helps to wonder about why a client is asking for a particular feature, it helps to wonder about why you make decisions about taking on new projects or spending on expenses. It requires something beyond the default mindset of growth-over-all-else that is typical for internet startups.

I never looked for funding. I never spent more than sweat to find new projects. I relied on strong relationships with folks I’d worked with in the past. I’ve long stuck with some advice my dad gave me. To get by in life you can be really smart or really nice. It’s easier to be nice. It’s best to be both.

I’ve also believed strongly that information wants to be free. I share it freely, erring on the side of providing too much. I want the people with whom I work to understand why we took a certain approach rather than simply providing the immediate answer. Empowering people to solve their own problems is not a risk to my practice. It’s a fundamental value.

So, we’re just about the same size we were in 2010. It’s a comfortable place, but there are places to grow that aren’t about increasing the team size. There’s always more to learn, and there are always corners of the code to optimize. There are new services to help clients adapt to technology that increases in complexity.

Have you ever strategically turned down work in favor of a higher value? How often have you chosen to improve quality rather than chase after quantity?

(Featured image downloaded from Wikimedia Commons)

Categories
Business

The Real Value of Stock Options

Good analysis.

Benjy Boxer’s Blog

Several of my friends have been considering job opportunities at startups in New York.  Typically, their job offers have included below-market salaries and option grants.  When I chat with them about their offers, they’ve been attributing way too much value to the stock options offered.  I’ve generally explained to each of them why stock options are nice, but are worth much less than may think.

Categories
Business Entertainment News

Martinez needs someone to run the Campbell Theater

I don’t know about how economically feasible it is, but it would be quite convenient to have shows running there all the time.

Martinez unable to find promoter for shuttered Campbell Theatre – ContraCostaTimes.com

But Martinez received only two promoters’ proposals by the Aug. 19 deadline, neither of which met the city’s criteria, according to Schroder. Many of the groups that earlier had expressed interest in the Campbell said the city’s requirements were too stringent, he said.

Now, the city is offering more flexible terms, including the possibility of setting payments based on the promoter’s profit.

Categories
Business News

Staples to Sell 3D Printers

 

Staples First Major U.S. Retailer to Announce Availability of 3D Printers | Business Wire

Staples, the world’s largest office products company and second largest e-commerce company, today became the first major U.S. retailer to announce the availability of 3D printers. The Cube® 3D Printer from 3D Systems, a leading global provider of 3D content-to-print solutions, is immediately available on Staples.com for $1299.99 and will be available in a limited number of Staples stores by the end of June.

Categories
Business News

Hacker News thread about side projects for sale

The best part?

Sneaky. You made yourself a list of free ideas right here. 

Yay! “Free ideas” that … didn’t work out, have no market and are now eagerly flipped for peanuts. Sneaky indeed 😉

But as is also pointed out, many of these projects put the blame of failure on lack of marketing funds. That does seem to be a big hurdle to jump with these little projects. All the little viral successes might make you think all you need to do is build something and the fans will start showing up. In the real world, people don’t see mystical messages on the scoreboard at Fenway.

Sell HN: Do you have a side project you want to sell? | Hacker News

If you have any side projects that you’ve built and that you no longer have time for, list them here and let’s see if others want to buy it from you.