Re: Do you like your company?

Dan,

This is an interesting question... I suspect it's geared more for those who
sit in the proverbial cubicle staring at a computer screen, clocking in at 9
and out at 5. Unfortunately, this does not cover people like myself (which I
suspect is a larger percentage than others, but am also willing to admit
that I'm wrong).

I'm essentially a freelancer, but not in the strictest sense. I guess
"Small-Business Operator" would be the more correct term. I am the co-owner
of my company, and have a nice, small (read: manageable) client base. My
main website is STILL being built (although of the three active domains we
own, it's the only one that doesn't have any information on it), because I
spend so much more time making my clients happy, giving them the latest
"trick" I've picked (many times from these lists), or making a "tweak" here
or there in their site. Since my company does more than JUST website design,
I and my partner keep busy. And we like it that way.

So, even though the point may be moot, here's my answers to your informal
survey:

Q: Do you like your company?  Why or why not?  Does the size have anything
to do with it?  Company policies, etc?
A: Yeah, I like my company (and I better, having created it). The aspects of
the company that are in my hands, I try to show in the best light. With the
graphics design part, I try to make clean, compact, efficient images for my
clients, that try to be unique without being gaudy. For the website design
part, I do all of the visuals -- I program how a site looks, from the fonts
used, to the colors, to the navigation system's feel. My partner does the
scripting and behind-the-scenes work that makes what I visualize come
together as I had planned. I suspect that I continue to enjoy doing what I
do, mainly because the size of my company is so small (two people). We know
how to work together well. Rarely does ego get in the way, because we are
both good at what we do individually to make our different parts compliment
each other in the end, which the client benefits from. Since there are just
the two of us, we're not encumbered by so-called Company Policies, other
than we will not do work on sites that offend us or are illegal.

Q: If you don't mind sharing your thoughts, please explain a bit about your
company: number of employees, gross sales, your job description, company's
market focus, etc.
A: As mentioned above, the number of employees in my company is a whopping
two (we have more computer hardware than warm bodies). Our gross sales is
still in flux, as the company was only created last year, so we don't have
figures for a full-year's work. Also, we work when we want to, not because
we have to, so that adds in quite a bit of vagueness to the figures. Also,
so as not to risk accidentally stepping over the limits of the rules for
these lists, I will just say that while we charge somewhat less than what I
believe is the average pay for this kind of work, we are kept comfortable
with the income. As for job description, that's a lot more confusing. With
just two people in the company, we wear many different hats, sometimes at
the same time. Our primary jobs, however, are Website Design/Graphics
Design/Digital Preproduction/Domain Administration/Bookkeeping (me), and
Programming (ASP, JavaScript, CGI)/Systems Troubleshooting and Repair (not
web-related)/Sales and Marketing/Additional Bookkeeping (my partner). The
company's focus is also slightly fuzzy with all that we actually do, but I
guess it could be summed up as Digital Technology. That's vague, but with
essentially six different aspects to our company, that's the best way to
lump them all together.

Does this help, or just confuse the matter? I hope the former. May I ask why
you asked these questions? Without really knowing better, I see two possible
reasons right now: 1: You're looking into starting your own business, and
are curious to know if others have been able to make a go of it
successfully, and/or 2: You work for a big company, where you're possibly
treated as a number, and are looking to see if this is the norm or not.

Good luck with the survey! I hope you find out what you want.
Kehvan M. Zydhek

----- Original Message -----
From: <WebProgrmr(at)aol.com>
To: <hwg-business(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2000 23:44
Subject: Do you like your company?


> Just a bit of a survey, really.
>
> Do you like your company?  Why or why not?  Does the size have anything to
do
> with it?  Company policies, etc?
>
> If you don't mind sharing your thoughts, please explain a bit about your
> company: number of employees, gross sales, your job description, company's
> market focus, etc.
>
> Thanks.
> ++Dan
>

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