I’m a Versatilitist
“A Jack of All Trades, Master of None”
Have you ever heard that described of anyone?
Often, the connotation is negative, implying that the person is not worthy of praise, someone who is too undisciplined, scatterbrained or worse.
I beg to differ.
I consider myself well-versed in a variety of skills: writing, web design, illustration, graphic design, photography and videography.
And I like it.
However, I have learned that earning an actual living required me to focus on one vocation — guess which.
Everything else, however, still come into play in today’s world: website, marketing materials, blog, etc.
And for those of us running our own small business, we wear even more hats: owner, receptionist, secretary, accountant, advertising firm, salesperson, customer service, clerk, shipper, oh, and our actual profession.
That is, until we can (or decide to) find (or afford) a way to outsource — maybe hire an “office manager”, someone who will wear almost as many hats as we originally did.
Even blogging requires a variety of skills: content-writing, design, SEO, social (media) savviness, etc.
For me, being a versatilitist allows me to:
- continue learning – just as I’ve had to learn the different nuances to blogging, it’s the same with my own business, as I learn about marketing, workflow, and plan for the future.
- quash boredom – I often tell my older son, do you want to be a garbage man, someone who drives a truck around all day, along the same routes, emptying cans, every day, for years and years (apologies to all the sanitation engineers out there). I couldn’t do it, even if the pay and benefits are great (according to an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe).
- be self-reliant – I am quite happy not to have a boss to answer to (in the traditional sense, as all my clients are mini-bosses).
- control my own destiny – I’m not beholden to any one (except my family). Vacation? Okay, let’s plan for it. More time for the kids? So be it. More personal reading instead of blogging? Yes. And It’s only recently that I’ve taken that step — that I should be versatile in balancing my work and personal lives.
How about you? Are you versatile?
Other posts you may enjoy:
Comments
9 Comments on I’m a Versatilitist
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JEMi @ InMyHeels on
Tue, 6th May 2008 2:24 pm
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Harrison McLeod on
Tue, 6th May 2008 4:59 pm
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Tei - Rogue Ink on
Tue, 6th May 2008 5:08 pm
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Nez on
Tue, 6th May 2008 10:49 pm
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Versatility, Hats, and the Happy Man « Rogue Ink on
Tue, 6th May 2008 11:42 pm
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Steph on
Wed, 7th May 2008 10:07 am
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Nez on
Wed, 7th May 2008 10:21 am
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Barbara Swafford on
Mon, 12th May 2008 4:42 pm
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Nez on
Mon, 12th May 2008 5:56 pm
Yes! YES I AM and I’m happy to see that as a pro – not a con. I am not often bored – I like getting excited about new projects and learning new things.
And yes – being someone who likes to control the quality of output on anything I stamp my name on (haha I think this way from now!) – I like to overlook everything. So I have to learn different things to do so
Well you know what Nez
Kudos to you man. Kudos to you 
JEMi @ InMyHeels’s last blog post..What Keeps YOU Young?: An InMyHeels/Lipton FUJI Crosstown Bike Giveaway!!!
YES! I think you nailed it, Nez. I’m in the same boat. I’ve done many different jobs over the years (life guard, carriage driver, production artist, locksmith assistant, animation, clerical, retail, etc.)in addition to my “true” calling – graphics and illustration.
Why did I do all this? I get bored easily. That, and I vowed to myself at a very young age never to have a boring job.
I think being a versitilist makes for a well rounded person, if you do it right and don’t just do it out of laziness or being scared of what you could be doing.
This has also served me well, especially during the 80s when layoffs happened nearly every day. I always had something to fall back on. Not only that, but now I find my vast background of experiences helps me relate to many different types of people on many different levels.
I’ve often been told by clients that I’ve read their mind when it comes to making their visions come to life. There’s no trick to it. It all stems from the wealth of observations I’ve collected over the years.
Excellent post.
Harrison McLeod’s last blog post..Fiction Writing: Overactive Imagination
Ooh. Harry sent me here. I’m excited. It’s why I love my profession, actually – writing about a bunch of different stuff means I have to LEARN about a bunch of different stuff, and that makes me happy.
I LOVE being able to do tons of stuff. I had a friend who used to argue that if your labor was worth more than the guy you would pay to do a task, then you should outsource. But he’s an economist, and we don’t listen to them.
Just this last weekend, I tore up my carpeting, sanded my woodwork, fixed my roof, wrote a bunch of copy for three businesses that have nothing to do with each other, project managed, changed the oil in my car, gave business advice, did my accounting, and cooked a damn fine bowl of pasta with cream sauce and peas and proscuitto.
Take THAT, economics! No proscuitto for YOU!
Fantastic post. It makes me all squidgy.
Tei – Rogue Ink’s last blog post..Out of Context: The Hat
@JEMi: Thanks for the kind words. I always thought of myself as, “Jack of all trades, master of a few” — isn’t that better than mastery of only one?
@Harry: I have a friend who’s like you: martial arts instructor, illustrator, caterer, swing dance instructor. He’s definitely well-rounded, and easy-going probably because of his vast experiences.
I also agree about relating to people. I should use that to my advantage in pushing our services when we meet with potential clients.
And thanks for the “tweet” — is that the proper use of the word?
@Tei: Thanks so much for dropping by. I was into Do-It-Yourself projects as well when I was much younger — meaning, had the time — always watched Hometime and New Yankee Workshop.
But now I try to focus on all the multidisciplinary work related to my work, and leave the oil changes to my (honest) mechanic.
That said, I would also say that part of the reason I always did things myself was I found it hard to “let go”, to find someone I trusted to delegate work to (or to whom to pay).
[...] is how you know that Charlotte’s Web was one of the best children’s books ever. NezSez did a fantastic post yesterday on versatility, and I wanted to riff off of it, since versatility is [...]
It is indeed a fantastic post on versatility, as Tei mentioned on her blog! I’m glad I came, I saw, I was impressed. I need to read more great stuff like this, since I’m redefining my own freelance business. I’ll be back!
Thanks for the kind words, Steph. Hope to hear from you again soon.
Hi Nez,
I consider myself a “Jill of all trades”. I like to self teach, and have also enjoyed the book learning I have received along the way.
You are right, when it comes down to a career, do you have to pick a favorite, and hopefully you can choose one that makes a decent wage.
Hi Barbara,
Yes, that’s a fact of life. Unless you were born into money, I suppose…
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