teejayvanslyke

Ha! No no, if I were looking for upbeat answers it'd be a bunch of responses saying "Nah, I'm awesome. Every day I know it."

I think it's easy to forget how much knowledge we've gained over the years through our experience. And too, it's difficult to quantify your true potential. Am I part of the top ten percentile? Top fifty? It's pretty vague.

It's probably best to remember that everyone brings their own skills to a project, like you say.

Thanks for responding!

Paul is spot on below re: communications overhead. When you distill what it is we programmers actually do, only a small fraction of it is programming itself. The real value is in helping you distill your idea into something that the marketplace will embrace. Being able to execute an application in XYZ language or ABC framework is important, but not nearly as valuable as understanding what and why you're building the thing in the first place.

Because of this, I'd recommend vetting your candidates based on their ability to take your idea and produce an actionable plan. Some things to keep in mind:

- Are they actively and constructively criticizing your idea in the pursuit of understanding how they can add value, or are they constantly nodding "yes"?

- When you ask them to provide a proposal, does it give you confidence they understand what you want to build? Or is it vague and open to interpretation?

- And perhaps most importantly: Do you think you'll enjoy working with the person? You'll be communicating with them constantly for the duration of the project.

I _love_ talking about this stuff and would be happy to talk more about finding your great match. Email me: [email protected]

How to effectively market my consulting skills. I've been a web developer for over a decade now and I'm still not confident in my ability to bring in consistent work. The work comes, but I'd like to have more potential clients knocking.

From what I can tell, the best way to achieve that is by consistently offering to help others with my skills. So I'm making it a point in the coming year to make blogging a part of my work routine.

Are any of you facing the same dilemma? I'd love to hear your insights!

Hm. I'd say happiness, influence, and respect. Maybe those aren't symbols. Maybe I just liked the way that line sounded as I typed it.

Thanks for the comment! I think my main point here was that buying a house isn't necessarily a good investment, depending on your goals and the price of the house relative to its value.

I will say though, that it makes sense for owners to defend their position, since they're already owners. And, as a renter, I'm likely to do the same.

Regardless, I appreciate both perspectives!