The Fun Factor of Owning a Business

I’ve been on a major productivity kick lately… de-cluttering my office, reorganizing my digital life, and prepping my son for the start of the school year. Client work has also been picking up, and my blogging schedule (if you want to call it that) has gone to the wayside a bit.

Needless to say, I haven’t had time to actively research any utilities or destinations for Design Notes, so I’ve missed the last two Fridays. My apologies to everyone who’s been wondering what happened to this segment. It’s not dead, it’s just on hiatus. I don’t know if there’s even enough interest to keep it going… but it’s fun so what the heck?

Yesterday I saw a video segment of the guys from SkinnyCorp (founders of threadless) talking about the fun factor in their company. Their “business plan” basically consisted of one philosophy: if it isn’t fun, we’re not gonna do it.

While most people don’t go into business just for the fun of it, watching that video reminded me of the fun factor (or lack of it maybe) in my own business. Looking back, I started out taking myself way too seriously. I know of a few competitors in my area who still do! I’d be willing to bet none of them are having much fun. I don’t plan on following suit.

I went freelance for the creative control over my projects and time, and to be home with my kids. I started this blog because I like to write. Many of the other things I want to try are because they sound fun! Of course I hope to make money too, but mostly I just like what I do.

Long story short, Design Notes was only ever about the fun factor, so it will be subject to my whims, I suppose. Maybe it’ll become more of a spontaneous segment rather than a once weekly planned kinda thing. We’ll see…

As for the guys from SkinnyCorp, they’re a shining example of how a small business can succeed without all the long-winded, legalese-filled business plans. When I grow up, I wanna be like that. :)

Tags: blogging | business | getting-things-done