It’s been over four months since my last Creative Transmissions article when I announced the launch of Custom Google Map Tools and plans for both websites and my future services.
A lot has changed since then and the future is looking bright.
In the early part of the year I found myself working on a large number of smaller web development projects for multiple clients.
I think that the many creatives and makers out there will agree that while variety is the spice of life, too much chopping and changing between small projects can be difficult to manage efficiently.
My own philosophy of what to work on is to ensure that each project I do gives me the opportunity to either try something new or apply my existing skills to a challenge that allows me to grow or improve as a developer. This is in fact one of the main reasons I started me own business in the first place.
The projects I have worked on all fulfilled my criteria however it became apparent to me that in order to build a company that can help significantly more individuals and businesses with their own projects and growth I would have to streamline my own processes.
As a programmer self-taught as a teenager I’m good at thinking about systems and to me business is another system to be hacked and optimized, so that is what I have been doing over the past few months.
What hacking the business looks like for me is:
- Systematizing my process for building WordPress plugins
- Designing and building a custom database to allow me to more efficiently manage and report on my operational business data
- Combining my most useful JavaScript and PHP code into libraries and plugins allowing me to build more efficiently
- Writing my own build tools to automatically pull together the files and libraries I need at the start of a project in order to eliminate repetition
- Focusing on fewer clients
- Turning my most popular solutions into plugins
These are all actions that have allowed me to leverage my own strengths to create in a more lean and effective way.
Everybody has different strengths and processes so hacking your own business will probably mean something different to you.
I think the important thing is to step back with a critical eye and see what can be eliminated or done more efficiently.
The result of this is more focus, clarity and space for new growth and opportunities.