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Behind The Firm List Blog
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (The Type Who Doesn't Worry)
Life's been good to me lately. On my second month of a full-time job, the first since 2001. A couple
of paychecks in my wallet and a new car in the car port (one NEEDS air conditioning in Sacramento,
at least in your car). Been on a couple nice trips with my girlfriend and have some more on the
horizon. I should be quite happy, care-free and above it all, shouldn't I?
Well, that's all fine and well if you're one of those people who either have no outside obligations or
can shrug everything off. I am not in either of those camps. I tend to think too much (and those of
you who know me know that quite well) and I have quite a few outstanding obligations.
If you have a kid, you've got that kid forever. You can't just send him/her back and be a bachelor again
(though they are probably working on a Fox special of this very nature as we speak). And alas, websites
can be like kids (ever have one spit up on you?) and The Firm List is one of those really large babies,
no, a toddler, who likes to bang pots and pans.
It's amazing how a little idea can become something quite large. A hundred-pound gorilla, in fact, though
that's a pretty small gorilla and we're already talking about babies & toddlers, not gorillas. But with
little or no promotion, somehow they come and they tell friends.
I should be happy, and I am. But I am also sad. I am sad that I cannot manage the site as well as I
might have early on. That instead of getting all firms listed within a few weeks, or days, I am now 2
months behind. I have 400+ firms to add. I've been that way for a couple months now. I am not sure
when that will change.
Too popular. That's not always a problem with your larger net businesses, but with labors of love, it's
quite the problem.
Luckily, I haven't had too many other of the pitfalls of unexpected success on the amateur playing field.
I have a really good web host and because of the way I have my account set up, I've never run into the
problem of having too much bandwidth. That kills a lot of sparetime projects. It hasn't killed mine, thankfully.
I've been on this fence for years, where the site either needs to become an established, serious
business or shrink from its present form (or close altogether). I have ridden that fence and haven't
made the decision.
There's been an unending wave of people who give me free and often unsolicited advice on what I
should do. I keep an open ear, but I've heard it all before. Everyone has their vision on how the site
can succeed and how I can make a fortune, but I tell you it's not that easy. If it was, then there would be
countless other sites which have done it. There are countless sites (not as many as there were) but
none seem to have had it any better.
Ultimately, the deciding factor will just be whether I manage to find the right partner to move this site
to the next level. I've been looking for the last 8+ years I've been doing this web building thing and
haven't had any luck.
While I often amaze people at all that I am able to do in terms of building & maintaining websites, I can't
do everything, or perhaps I just don't want to do everything. I very much need someone who is
skilled & adept at running a business and/or promoting a business to make this all work. But, I am
usually turned off by most people who are good in these roles.
Anyways, I should be getting back to work, I surely have a lot.
