post by Stephanie Nelson
A bit ago, I took on a project for a client that I thought I could handle. I had the basic skills necessary to do the job, plus I really like the client so taking on seemed like a good opportunity for me to get a little more experience in another area of online marketing.
It didn’t take long for me to realize I was wrong. I’m still working on the project, and while I know I CAN complete it, it’s taking a lot more time than I’d anticipated and I am definitely out of my comfort zone. But since I agreed to do it, the client didn’t budget for another vendor to take on the work – another stumbling block for me.
All this got me to thinking…When are you expanding your wheelhouse and when are you just getting in over your head? And is there a way to tell the difference before you take a leap?
In hindsight, there were some hints that this was beyond my scope. It’s on me that I let my fondness for this client cloud my judgement. In this case, though, I think that even if I’d paid attention to the hints that would have stopped me completely from taking on the project. I might have set a better expectation of timeline, though.
I was right that this is giving me great experience. I’m learning more about WordPress than I ever knew existed. I’m getting good insight on GoDaddy and hosting and HTML (and my loathing thereof). I’m also gaining client relations experience – on being honest upfront, on being transparent when obstacles arise, etc. At my core, I believe that once I have this project completed, I’ll be a better business owner, I’ll be more confident in what I can – and cannot – do and/or commit to, and I will have a set of skills that I can use on some level (though not at this one again – ha ha ha).
So what’s happened in your business that’s made you wonder if you were expanding your wheelhouse or just in over your head? How did you handle it? What did you learn
Image by Master isolated images at FreeDigitalPhotos.net