Being Trusted

Better Than Sex

I felt like crap today when I woke up; it’s been snowy and cold for the past 3 months. For the past while, it’s been really horrible. My plans for my consultancy haven’t been progressing as well as I had hoped either. To top it all off; I woke up to an inbox with 62 new emails. By the time I had sorted out the urgent from the regular; I realized I had a dozen (or so) requests for my opinion/ perspective on something new. None of the requests were paying jobs; they were all from organizations I’ve done work for in the past, but all wanted a freebie.

I get asked to do free work all the time, and actually like it. Most of the time, if someone asks me something I understand, I’ll share the answer (or at least my thinking) with them. I wouldn’t think about invoicing someone for my time in those cases. I’m of the mind, that these are opportunities to prove value. After a while of proving to be valuable, some of these organizations will be receptive to transitioning to a paying relationship. But that’s not really what I’m after. I’m after instant gratification.

I’m making enough money to be happy. I have enough time to make my clients happy, while keeping myself happy. I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out solutions to different problems. I monitor the market, and specifically the UX field, for emerging trends. If a new solution pops up; I figure out if it’s better than the solution I used previously, and start recommending the new solution if it proves to be better.

If someone asks me something, I’ll probably answer if I believe three things:

1. They respect my opinion
2. They care about UX
3. They trust that I’ll be respectful

It’s difficult for me to leave a question unanswered. I love user experience, and can talk about it for weeks straight. Anyone who wants to engage in a respectful, thoughtful, discussion about UX is hard for me to ignore. The chance that I could learn something new is provocative. It’s impossible to know where you’ll find insights about user experience; which is why I take any opportunity to discuss problems, challenges, and solutions.

Although it’s a risk, I’ve focused my career on offering value first and hoping money will follow. So far, I’ve been right. Although people could take advantage of me, I’ve been lucky enough to work with honest, reputable organizations that reward hard work and smart thinking.

By the time I had finished answering the emails, 1/2 my day was gone & I was feeling great. I felt really productive. Most of the responses I gave were issues I had dealt with so many times it was easy for me to give the organization some insight. And, you know what, people are 100x more thankful when I can help put things back on the rails quickly, and without costing anything. I can honestly say, the feeling that kind of gratitude gives me is better than sex. — not sure if that makes me weird.