Learning by doing with a little help from outside resources is the way I learn best. And boy, have I learned a lot in the last few weeks. In case you’re unfamiliar with my situation, in addition to working and taking classes, I’m starting a side project to help others find meaningful work. That’s it in a nutshell. So to continue, recently…

I’ve learned about concisely describing my idea, web crawling, coding in Python, database set-up, refined my CSS skills, learned some new Illustrator and Photoshop techniques, figured out legal requirements and filled out documents, learned about Intellectual Property, built a pitch slide deck, developed ads, completed market research, and the list goes on. It’s things like this you can’t learn at a corporate job. You just have to do them yourself.

Although the statistics of succeeding at this project are slim, no matter what happens, I know I’ll have learned a great deal from it and hopefully helped some others in the meantime.

For the Future

There is still huge room for improvement and learning new skills. Mainly I want to learn how to test and run marketing campaigns, learn & use CRM software, figure out the sales thing, implement some small instances of MongoDB or other NoSQL database, and feel more comfortable with really putting myself out there. I usually prefer to stay in and enjoy a nice glass of wine and a good book, so this last skill will probably be the most difficult of them all.

It’s the Little Things

Some of the most frustrating things have not been the heavy stuff, but the little nuances that set me back by small iterations. For example:

• Difficulty setting up bank account. Customer Service Reps told me I needed one form when in reality I needed two.
• Switching DNS. It takes 24 to 48 hours? Boo.
• Web Dev. There are so many options. I knew this coming in, but the extent of it. Oy. Open Source? Purchasing or Outsourcing? MySQL or NoSQL?  PHP or Python? Coding it yourself?
• Blog and Resources Development. It’s going to be like another site on its own. Just realizing this now.
• Office Space and Motivation. I don’t always want to go to Starbucks. A nice office with a great view would be awesome and really force me to concentrate.
• Also, things like backlinks! Bah! The insanity

Anyways…

That’s my rambling for the day. BBL. Hopefully a little smarter than today.