2010/2011 Reflections and Goals

I just went back and read through two posts I wrote at the turn of 2009/2010, where I laid out a list of goals and changes I planned to implement in my life during the upcoming year.

Looking back, I’d say I had about a 50% success rate on my list of goals for 2010.  Not a great score.  But I think I know where I went wrong:

I failed to factor in the unexpected.

There were several very significant—and unplanned—developments in my personal life during 2010:  I got engaged, we became first-time home owners (and subsequently moved from New York City to southwest Connecticut), we got a dog (meet Trey)…

So these led me to lose focus on the things I had hoped I’d do:  Get back into playing/writing music, snowboard more, take up photography, travel more.  Yeah, these things didn’t quite happen in the past year.  Oh well…

So this New Years, I’m keeping it simple.  I’m limiting my “New Years resolution” to one singular theme, which might take a variety of forms in 2011.  This goal can be applied to the things I’m currently doing as well as the unkowns—the unpredictable events and projects that inevitably come up as the year goes on.  So here it is:

2011: The Year of The Partnership

Let me explain…

Up until recently, most of the things I’ve done were done on my own, as the sole owner, creator, marketer, investor, and beneficiary.  Most of my projects, startups, and client work were handled almost exclusively by myself.  This is the nature of freelancing.  We’re highly self-motivated., inspired, willing, and able.  We’re self-starters, self-teachers, figure-it-out-as-we-go-along…ers.  We learn to take on all of the positions of a larger agency and compact them into a one-man-band.  It’s fun.  It’s exciting.  It’s challenging.  It’s interesting.  But it’s not the path to greater success.

Breaking out of the bubble

In late 2010, I started to change the way I ran my business.

I found that the way to break through the ceiling that freelancers often hit—the point at which they’ve raised their rates to a comfortable level, have filled up their entire schedule, and don’t have the bandwidth to further grow their business—was to assemble mini-teams of highly-skilled, reliable, and trusted fellow freelancers on a project basis.  I call it the Freelancer/Agency hybrid model.  Hiring sub-contractors, particularly those who are the best of the best at what they do (both in work quality and professional reliability) was indeed the best way forward.  It allowed me to take on more big projects simultaneously, and deliver better work for my clients than I would have been able to produce alone.  Managing a larger and constantly changing team is a tricky task, but it’s just another thing to learn-as-I go

Here are other ways I plan to forge partnerships in 2011:

Seek Business Partners

I’m an entrepreneaur with new ideas for startups popping up daily.  Moving forward, when I decide to pursue a new idea, the first step will be to find the right partner to help me do it.  Creative collaborations are the way to go and I plan to pursue them wherever possible.

Grow The Network of Awesome

I’m now constantly on the lookout for folks who share my passion for work, reliability, and quality results.  Whether it’s through pursuing new referrals, connecting on social media, or attending more industry conferences and meetups, I’m looking to meet more people and build better working relationships with the awesome folks working in this web industry.  This is a major goal for 2011.

Improve My Skills Through Collaboration

Web designers are constantly learning, expanding their skillset, and self-teaching as we go.  Up until recently, I relied mostly on my own exploration.  Moving forward, I plan to work more closely with collaborators, learn from their expertise/creativity, and seek constructive feedback/critiques wherever possible.

Change is Slow

I’d like to conclude with a concept from Delivering Happiness, the story of Zappos.com, told by CEO, Tony Hsieh, a highly recommended book I’m currently listening to (I’m trying out audible.com for the first time and loving it).

Find a single thing you can improve every single day and over time it will produce drastic and meaningful change.

This concept resonated with me.  In the past, I tended to make bold and sweeping goals for change only to fall short because I tried to tackle too much.  If I focus on changing only one small thing at a time, I’ll be much happier when I write the next version of this post at the turn of 2011/2012.