October 1, 2020
Beware The Should
Have you been a software developer for a long time? Or a designer? Or a marketer? Or a copywriter or a photographer or an illustrator?
Okay, great.
Now let me ask you a question...
How would you feel if some total n00b criticised your approach to your craft by saying something uninformed like:
- “You’re doing it wrong!”
- “You’re going to be sorry if you keep doing it like that!”
- “You should do it like this instead!”
If you’re a patient person, you might roll your eyes and ignore them.
If not, you might angrily lecture them about their ignorance.
Regardless of how you react, what the n00b is saying is that they know better than you.
This is irritating.
Especially when coming from someone who hasn’t earned the privilege of weighing in on the situation.
(And you can multiply this irritation by a hundred if the advice is unsolicited.)
Here’s the thing...
Building a business is just as much a craft as coding or design or photography or anything else.
If you don’t understand the craft of entrepreneurship and yet you tell business owners how they should be doing things, you’re just another irritating n00b who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
This is not good for business.
Yours,
—J