In April 2015, I wrote a post called “Get It Done” about two dreams I was chasing: writing a book and going freelance. I was full of energy back then in seeing the opportunities getting closer and the path forward getting clearer with each step I took.
A decade later, I'm the Chief Development Officer at Hounder, running a true web development agency and still trying to write books on the side. Finally that decade hiatus of not posting on my own site is finally coming to an end as I start to re-align with the "writing a book" phase of my dream back in 2015. Dreams materialized, but not in the way that I was envisioning. Isn't that true for most things?
If I could go back and talk to that version of myself here are some of the things that I'd say.
Your Technical Skills Will Evolve
You are good at PHP and Javascript, but you'll get better. You'll learn Laravel, dive deeper into Drupal and Wordpress to build truly enterprise sites for clients. But here's the thing: in ten years, the specific technical knowledge you're so proud of now will be minimum level to stay in the game. The things that will differentiate you is everything else. How you communicate with clients. How you scope projects and budgets. How you hand the conversation when something goes wrong and something will go wrong. How you will build systems that let you sleep at night instead of worrying about deployments. Learn the skills everyone is talking about, yes. But invest in the ones that people overlook.
Processes Will Save you
Right now you think process is just a bureaucratic process and bogs things down. Checklists, documentation and code testing that feels like obstacles to the actual work; the code and the building. You're wrong.
In ten years, when you're managing multiple client projects across a team (Yeah, you will have a team to support you. Boom!), you'll realize that every roadblock you experience could have been prevented by better process. The scope creep that killed your margins? Process. The deployment that broke production? Process. The miscommunication that damaged a client relationship? Process.
Build systems early. Document everything. Setup standards with the team. Create templates for the conversations you have repeatedly. Future you will be grateful.
Say "No" More Often
You're going to say, "Yes" to everything at first. Every project, every client, every “quick favor” that turns into a week or more of extra work. It makes sense when you're building momentum to not let you client down, but it stops making sense faster than you think. You're clients trust you to give them the best advice and not to always agree with them. Be brave and be bold. This will be the hardest lesson. You’ll learn it by burning out at least once.
Relationships Compound
That one developer you helped debug a problem? They'll refer you to a client five years from now. That small client you treated with your full attention? They'll bring you in when they move to a new startup with a real budget. The former colleague you stayed in touch with on LinkedIn? They'll become a new employee with so much potential to change the future of Hounder.
Treat every relationship with the same care. This isn't about networking. It's just being genuinely helpful to people like you've always done, so keep at it.
Tools Change, Principles Don't
You will see technologies rise and fall. Frameworks you built or used will become essential and then become legacy. Build tools will revolutionize everything with repeatable processes that can be relied on. However, clean code will always be clean code. Good architecture is always good architecture. Start understanding the problem before reaching for a solution.
The Book Will Happen Differently
You wanted to write a book. You will, sort of. It won't be the book you were imagining right now. The children's books about dogs on an adventure that you'll develop with your daughter, that's the writing life you were actually chasing. Your daughter will become an amazing artist that can design the characters you always imagined having those grand adventures.
Take Care of Yourself
You're going to spend a lot of hours sitting in a chair staring at a screen. Oh, living the dream. You're young enough right now that it is sustainable, but it won't be for long. Set up your workspace properly. Invest in a good chair. Take breaks. Move. Your back, wrists and eyes are not infinitely renewable resources.
Will It Be Worth It
The late nights, the difficult clients, the projects that went slightly askew, the constant learning and the uncertainty in next week; it will all be worth it. You'll build things that matter to people. You'll build a team you love working and brings you back to your computer with renewed vigor each day. You will have flexibility you were craving in 2015 when you wrote that post about dreams getting closer.
The path won't always be straight and may not look exactly like you imagined, but you will look back and realize that the messy was exactly what you needed.
Now stop reading and get back to work. You've got ten years of building ahead of you.