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Future planning
Posted on October 17th, 2004 7 commentsI’ve been meaning to write about this for a while but haven’t done so until now.
A little over a month ago I had a meeting with a friend in the print media business to sort out some work-related issues (which still haven’t been resolved). This person has been in the print and online business for a long time and I have tremendous respect for his opinions. After a while the topic turned to my website/business and where I was planning to take it. I told him that I didn’t know. And to be honest I still don’t.
There are two main things that I’m really unsure about:
1) How long do I want to do it?
Unless something unexpected happens, theoretically I could spend the next 30 years writing reviews of digital cameras. I don’t see them going away and if something better comes along I could probably transition to it. Then question is: do I want to be doing this for the next 30 years? After nearly 7 years of working on the DCRP site I’m pretty sure the answer to that question is “no”.
So then what? Do I close up shop one day and just let it die? Sell the site? Get a successor to take over the business?
If I leave, then what do I do with myself? Another desk job? Something good for humanity? It would be hard to give it all up because, to be honest, it pays very well, I’m my own boss, and I feel like I’m helping people (though not in the right way, IMHO).
2) Getting help
Over the last 7 years my workload has increased and along with that, my stress level. In order to keep myself sane while continuing to grow the site, I’m going to need to hire help at some point. The question is, what type of person and when do I hire them?
Who I need:
- Salesperson
- Grunt worker (takes pictures and product shots, gets cameras to review, etc)
- Writer
The problem is, I can’t hire all three. I’ve thought about getting an intern for #2, but I’m 30 miles from a real university and I need them here where all my equipment is. A salesperson would certainly be nice, as well. But the real questions arise about a writer. My fear is that if I have someone else writing that my site will “lose its voice”. I believe that DCRP = Jeff Keller and changing that could be asking for trouble. Not everyone agrees with me on this, though. Another person suggested hiring someone (a partner with a real vested interest) to help out and over time they would acquire “my voice”.
A related issue is what happens if something bad happens to me. If I was “out of commission” for a while, that could be the end of my business. I don’t like to think about that scenario, so I’ll just say that it would be nice to have someone take care of things while I’m on vacation.
This may sound selfish, but I’m hesitant to hire someone because I’ll have to pay them, which takes money away from my “buy a house closer to civilization fund”. Once that’s taken care of (hopefully by the end of next year), or if my income goes up again, then I would be more willing to hire help.
Obviously I have a lot of uncertainty about the future of my business (and my own life as well), and I need to figure it out at some point. The friend whom I had this conversation with initially says that I should think about it now, rather than waiting for something to happen which will force me to make a decision.
I don’t think everything will be resolved by writing a blog entry on a site where I normally complain about less important things, but maybe some wise soul has words of advice.7 responses to “Future planning”
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well,u cud always become a professional photographer(^_^).or u cud ask Nikon/canon/…..for a job.BTW,i always meant to ask u, don’t u get bored of writing the same kinda reviews for all the camera’s????i know getting u’re hands on a new camera is very exciting,but still……
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It sounds like you need to answer your first question (How long do I want to do it?) before making other decisions. If reviewing cameras is what you plan on sticking to for a while you might want to think about moving. You
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I think that you have taken a good first step in the fact that you are even thinking about it. It is a lot of different things to think about, but don’t get overwhelmed with it. One step at a time. Maybe decide where you would like to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, etc. I wouldn’t worry now about who is going to take over your site. I think you are on the right track with the intern thing and that will work itself out eventually. I think that the bigger question is ….. what do you want to eventually do when you don’t want to do this anymore… Good luck with everything. Its hard sometime to think about uncertain futures.
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I was recently faced with a decision similar to yours and got some pretty good advice from my friends and family. First of all, you have to answer the question if you’re happy where you are at doing what you are doing. A lot of times, when a person moves (and believe me, I’ve done a lot of moving in my life) they make it difficult on themselves, by holding on to things they used to do, places they used to go, etc, and never move on. Is your life happy in Brentwood? Are you fulfilled? Does your income amount dictate your happiness? In my life I have found that my career is a means to simply pay the bills and gain material desires. My true happiness comes from my relationships with others…family, friends, co-workers. Brentwood looks to be a beautiful place. Definitely a lot more scenery than in Dallas. How many people do you actually know and spend time with who live in Brentwood? You may think I’m crazy for saying this, but church is a great place to connect with people. Since you work from home, church may be a good place to hook up with people you can hire to assist with your site. At any rate, the choice is ultimately yours. I enjoy your site a great deal as I check it every day. I might be interested in writing for you. Not sure how my current job would qualify me for that (I control all of the CA 7-11 gas prices).
By the way…I love your pictures of Banff. I was there on 9/11 and have never seen a more beatiful place. I even stood exactly where you were standing at Athabasca Glacier, Peyto Lake, Lake Louise, and Moraine Lake. Climbed Mt.Rundle and Cascade as well. I hope this advice helps.
Regards,
Keith -
I commend you for addressing this, as well.
I think it’s awesome to think seriously about where you are & what you want to do. I mean, we go through phases where we’re not thinking of it we’re just doing & then we stop/reflect/plan/move on.. I think what’s interesting is that right now you’re stopping. and reflecting. and planning. I’d be excited for some change coming your way!
The good news is your very fortunate to be where you are. I always am telling you how jealous I am of your owning a house. And you do have a cooler car than me – and brand new beautiful cameras. So you’re doing damn good.
Speaking of I got a referral from someone seeing your site and had a wonderful talk with him. It’s awesome to talk to other business owners.
I think you should put an add on the site “Seeking Review Writers” and then give one a try. Just *one* – or maybe 3 and it could be like a special issue. Get a contract written up & signed, etc. It’s not forever, just try it once.
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On a somewhat unrelated note: Jeff – I want the new Elph soooo bad – and I want a new one to replace my Nikon: A really incredible superfast semi-pro digital camera. I haven’t even done the research on this last one, but I do know a ton of people that have some Canon and they love it.
Oh, if money only grew on trees!!!
Feel better,
xoxo
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themask October 20th, 2004 at 18:18
As many others said, it’s a good thing you think about it now.
This sentence struck me in your post:
“My fear is that if I have someone else writing that my site will “lose its voice”. I believe that DCRP = Jeff Keller and changing that could be asking for trouble.”
My advice: don’t worry about it. It may take a while, but you *will* find someone that you trust. It happened to me in my work, and to many others before. A good business owner has the ability to find and train someone that can take care of his business, so that he can grow and/or move on to some new ventures without risking to loose the old.
Try, and don’t stop at the first failure. You’ll be glad you did. -
Like a lot of people, some of my more insightful ideas and plan making occur when I’m not under pressure to make a decision. I find just having some loose contingency plans is surprisingly effective in curtailing any worry where planning your future is concerned. Nothing’s carved in stone, and you have the luxury of changing and updating as needed.
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Vicky October 18th, 2004 at 08:52