Tech Talk: Jill of Many Trades

Running a small business of one, requires that you wear a lot of hats, sales, marketing, accounting, production, designer, tech support, administration, well you get the idea.  Deciding which of the hats you are going to wear and which ones will be outsourced to another individual is often very difficult for the small business owner (SBO).  An SBO tends to like to be in control, but also had only a limited amount of time to get everything done. SBO’s often have a wide range of skills, but like most people, gravitate to the activities for which they are the most skilled or enjoy.

This all came to mind to me today, because I find an unusually large pile of hats next to my office chair today!  The hats worn today include:

• Accountant / Bookkeeper
• Graphic designer
• Publisher
• Knitwear designer
• Photographer
• Marketing professional
• Administrative assistant
• Sample knitter
• Instruction / Handout developer

So, Jill of all trades, master of none?  Possibly, but being an SBO is not about mastering any one skill, it is about being reasonably good at a number skills.  So what does that make me?  A generalist — an I am pretty darn happy about it!