Are we too nice?

Would we get further in this world, more quickly, if we weren't so nice? Tony and I are proud that we've managed to make a living for ourselves, working from home, having started working from home in about February 2008, but it's not easy, and we are not yet making a fortune - not nearly.

We see how much other people are charging for web design services, and other creative design or writing services too, and, although we have recently put our prices up a bit, we just don't think we will ever charge as much as very many people do. We know we are not getting too far too quickly like this, but, hey, we're nice people and don't want to charge people a fortune. Now if we're so nice, does that give us a reason to be upset if it's not appreciated? Not really, hey, because then that wouldn't be nice.

We do get upset sometimes, though, depressed, miserable, and wonder if we shouldn't be so nice - doing things for clients that were not part of the original requirements and not charging them for the extra bit of work put in; not moaning to clients after we've been sitting at a coffee shop waiting to meet them and have bought coffee for ourselves with sometimes just about the last of our money, then the client does not rock up; or, spending two hours (away from work/home and our computers where we earn our income) with a client who sounds so interested in what we do and can do for them, and then they either phone the next day to say they're going to consider a website at a later stage rather, or, we never hear from them again - and we just say "It's fine, don't worry, no problem." And we move on. The thing is, it's not really fine. It sucks. But we're nice people, and we rant and rave on our blogs about it, or to each other, which isn't really nice, but, hey, how does one get it out there that we're doing the best that we can, not just for ourselves, but for our clients too.

The sites we design are cheap in cost, not "cheap." We design sites that many other designers can design too, except we charge less, and you usually get more too. If people want to hire more expensive designers (because that must mean they're good, right?) we should really just put our prices up a lot more. But we can't. We're nice.

And you know what? - now that our rant is out of the way and we feel better, and even though this rant may not be viewed as "nice," we are going to stay nice. The few people that do remember us for it, are worth it.

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010

How getting sidetracked can actually help you move forward

It happens to me often enough - getting sidetracked - and I'm sure it happens to you too. You're busy with work on the computer (you work from home like Tony and I do) and you decide to perhaps quickly check your emails. Nothing there that you need to deal with urgently related to your business, but there's an email from your friend that looks interesting. Ah! Breaktime, and sidetrack time! You know you should be getting on with your work, but what's a minute or two - a break will do you good, revitalize you, and give you more energy to tackle your work with renewed energy and more enthusiasm (you think to yourself, trying to make excuses for yourself because what you really know, deep down, is that your break is probably going to be a bit longer than just a minute or two).

Being sidetracked for more than just a minute or two is not the end of the world either - it can actually help you with your work at home business. The words in your friend's email inspires you to click the link in it, or inspires you to "quickly" look up something on Google.

You find what you like, but on the Google results page, there's other links and descriptions related to the topic that sound interesting too - so you check those out too - then, on more than just one of these 5 or 6 sites you check out, you find more links of interest, and off you go - to check out those sites too!

You find a site or two that sparks your imagination, and this sends you off searching for something else completely different! Or you like a site so much you tell a friend about it, by sending them an email - they reply right away, saying "Thanks, cool, and have you seen this site?" It could never end!

But you know your work is calling, and you stop "being sidetracked" - eventually - and, it wasn't all bad - your "time away from work" was useful - perhaps you needed a break that was that long, perhaps you found out something interesting that can be of use to a friend or relative, perhaps you discovered a method to speed up your work or make it easier to do, perhaps you were inspired to put in more effort regards something in your life, perhaps you got ideas for another work from home plan that you or your family could benefit from.

So, next time you get sidetracked, don't panic, don't feel bad, just be sure to take notes, and use your sidetracking time as best you can!

© copyright Teresa Schultz 2010