Feeling beaten up - is this really worth it?
I will be honest. I am feeling depressed and down today.
Nothing is working as we expected.
Our web team is not happy with my project manager, and because of that (and many other factors), we got four resignations this month.
Because of this, our web team is almost non-existent, and that's where our primary revenue comes in. We have a project in hand, and we need to deliver those projects asap.
We have a solid mobile team, and right now, there are more mobile devs in our team than our web team, but we are only getting 20% of business from mobile. I don't know how to get mobile app projects.
It has been tough to hire new web devs. I am not even sure where we are going and what mistakes we are making.
I have been questioning myself for the last couple of days. Is this really worth it? I was making more than double in my job easily. Why did I choose this struggle?
I even don't know the mistakes we are making. Feeling beaten up. I need a mentor, but I don't know where to find mentors. Am I the only one who does not know what I am doing?
I apologize this is not a motivating story. I just wanted to share what I am feeling.
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Update: I am blessed to be part of this community. Thank you guys for your words. Somehow your words have motivated me again. I don't know how. I never thought that words from random strangers on the internet have this much power but I am amazed by your support. Thank you all of you again.
I am working on my company and I am at full throttle.
it will pass. Wear your problem solving hat and start digging into the issues head on.
Is it possible to retain one of the web developer? is mobile team willing to learn web dev? if yes can you create knowledge sharing session by the outgoing web devs? also record the kt sessions for future as well. Why was the team unhappy with PM? dig deeper where the fault lies and if its the PM than may be you need to take some hard decisions too(letting go of PM). If its not the PM than is there anything else that could have been done to retain developers? you need to find this out for the future else it would become revolving door. Do you use any tools for project tracking ? skip meetings etc.? if not may be you need to start doing that as well.
@pdyc I really appreciate your comment. The mobile team won't learn web dev plus they won't able to deliver what people with experience can deliver.
We are digging deeper and taking lots of meeting with the team to figure out the issues.
We use Jira for project management. Can you please provide the URL of "skip meetings" ? I can't find it on google. Do you recommend skip meetings? Please let me know.
skip meetings is not a tool it is techninque to ensure that managers are doing their job by randomly choosing one of their team mmembers and talking to them. It ensures that if there is some issue with managers you get early signal. It also ensures that managers do not take their positions for granted while reporting things to you since you are utilizing other channels to get the information as well.
If you used jira you would have got some indication that project is not on track?
if i am not able to retain web developers or hire someone immediately i will look at my network for consultants who have worked with me before and check if any of them can come on board temporarily to ensure project delivery is on time. It will eat up my margins but atleast i won't lose clients.
I would also try to gauge clients reaction on project delay and if it is not too harsh than try to push the dates so i get breathing room to maneuver myself out of this situation.
Thank you. Got the extensions on project deadlines.
good to know. happy for you :-)
The night is darkest just before the dawn — Harvey Dent. Seriously though, you got this!
Thank you for this. I badly needed this.
Hey @jc!
It sucks to be down in the dumps, but know that it's part of the process and everyone in this forum and outside of it also have bad days. Remember that not so far from now, you'll look back at this experience with much less grief! If you need someone to talk to or a mentor to get some advice, check out Growthmentor or Clarity.fm.
Thank you very much for this site @flawnson. I was not aware of these sites. Have you used any of these mentorship sites? If yes which one is better? I appreciate your help.
I haven't personally used them, but I know people who have and some love it. Here's a non-exhaustive list of sites I've found in my research (I was previously working on an idea in the space)
Intro.co
Electives
re:create
MentorCruise
The Muse
MentorPass
RookieUp
DesignLab
Pickstar
Growthmentor
epeakers
ADPist
Mentorly
Big Speak
Ten Thousand Coffees
Clarity
Mentoring Club
Speaker Match
SpeakerHub
Wyzant
Karma Community
Thank you. This list is useful.
Do not regret @jc! If it was easy everybody would do it.
You had the guts to start your own business when 99% of people are dreaming.
Whom from your mobile team can support at least temporary? Did you resize the story based on the proficiency?
Can you try to negotiate the ETA?
What corrective action will you put in place for hiring and and monitor team well-being?
For next hiring you will need to make sure you to have employee/company fit.
It is in the bad time that you have a great opportunity to build a tight and stronger team!
Try to take a step back and don’t be hard on yourself.
@PepperJack Thank you much for your words. I badly needed this.
I guess I can try to negotiate ETA.
Do you know how should we check for employee/company fit? The thing is in the interview they all behave very nicely but as soon as the job starts they become a different beast.
Thank you again. Your words are really helpful.
No problem @connect2jc!
Short term: negociate the due date.
Be transparent to your customers (not too much in details but enough for their understanding). At the end of the day you are partners then in the same boat.
Medium term: You have to have a close focus on your team and have them engaged - CRITICAL
Long term: You have to ensure that potential new employees match fully/based on your criteria your company proposition.
It will cost you less and save candidates time.
Why hire a candidate more used to the corporate world in a startup if you already feel some gap in the expectations during the interview?
This my style - I like to ask questions that put candidates out of their confort zone.
I am not looking for the right answer but their behaviour.
Thank you. This makes sense.
I have seen your latest update @connect2jc. Congrats! Keep on full throttle :)
Thank you @PepperJack.