I’d like to clarify a bit on my post about getting your website done right. I came off as way, way too cynical and not very helpful.
My intention was not to skewer the people who are well-meaning or beginners. I -did- want to point out, there are unscrupulous individuals out there who will take advantage of people not in the know, willing to charge you thousands of dollars for work that’s not up to par: these are people whose intentions are skewed.
When I first started, my websites sucked. For real. I’ve drawn a quick visual aid to help me illustrate my point:
For those of you who are visually impaired, imagine walking through a hallway filled with roses which leads into a manure factory and someone’s propped the door open. Lots of potential, horrible execution. Now… you can make of that what you will. It’s taken me 13 years and I think I show some marginal improvement.
My point is this: as a small business owner, you’re going to make the best business decisions that you can, when you make them. There’s no reason to think you could have known better when you’re looking back. My first website… it was awesome (for me) – at the time. If I’d stopped there, though… The lesson is, If you get hosed, you get hosed. There’s people who can help – that’s the reason I teach the Digital Gunslingers. It’s why I offer ridiculously low-cost hosting. It’s why… well, you’ll get to see something new from me in a few weeks.
And, it’s why two of the people who comment on this post requesting some help will get a free, thirty-minute phone consultation from me in how to jazz up your website behind the scenes, no matter what the source code looks like. We’ll cover analytics, SEO, and usability. They’ll also get a free copy of Head First HTML and CSS.
Goals
The funny thing about goals is, when we actually achieve them, we may not like the challenges that follow.
The sort of relief that comes with achieving that thing we’d set out to do ten years ago is almost always quickly replaced by the realization that there’s bigger fish to fry, another mountain to climb, a crowning achievement to defend, interpret, analyze, and ultimately, surpass. The cost of this accomplishment is something that shouldn’t be forgotten as we set out on the next task.
And when it comes time to reflect, it won’t be a joyous celebration of the finality of a completed task (nobody likes a braggart), but rather the immense serenity of closure brought about by a decade of hard-fought progress paid for with tenacity, blood, bones, sweat, and tears.
Vigilance is the eternal price paid to ensure our goals reach completion, but also that the essence of who we are is not consumed in their pursuit.
All we can do is cross our fingers that our sense of closure, that relief, lasts as long as possible to allow us to set our sights on a new goal, without having one forced upon us.
Even so, and in light of whatever new challenges we’ll have to face, having crossed this goal off our list, tomorrow looks a little brighter.
(Header photo: World Trade Center by Joshua Schwimmer)