Pandemic Times and Personal(ized) Choices
Edition #15: Where professional updates can be life decisions
Less than a month ago, I quit my job with a high-growth startup with a personal goal to build and learn.
I had an exciting job with a startup that was building neuroscience-games to connect talent and opportunities, and we were just completing a run on a new product. The gig was remote, I could travel at ease and it gave me the opportunity to meet some great colleagues along the way so I did not have any of the other motivations that drive people to pursue something new. I did, however, have some other life goals.
I have dabbled with ideas and made unconventional choices with my career in the past so this was not new territory in that sense. What was certainly different is that I made the choice in the midst of the pandemic where the conventional reasoning to “stick to your job” prevails, and quite likely for a good reason. The accumulated confidence from the past choices, the ability to manage my financial liabilities and the support of my wife helped make the final call. Taking that call for me was day zero.
The next part of the process involved goal setting.
I was quite resolute in not finding things to solve but what I was most passionate about. I stayed away from quick wins and rewards that were available to pursue as enticing as they seemed.
This came through a process of discovery and acute self-awareness about what makes me happy. Friends and good people all around lent their ears and played devil’s advocate. It helped learn about myself and how they perceived my point of view. Most gave me the social signal to proceed with what I felt right.
Quickly and I’d say on day one, I set myself three goals. I wrote down what excited me outside travel and these turned out to be –
Building something for small businesses impacted by the crisis to be more resilient
Learn more about the ageing process and build stronger bonds with the senior care ecosystem in India
Create a goals-based application for better financial well-being
I have been quite enthusiastic about these for a while now but never had the focus and energy to stay consistent to these pursuits due to my professional commitments. I turned this predicament around 180 degrees and made my personal pursuits my life’s professional update. Most people said, “pick one area” and I did, by sequencing them in order of priority. For me, one half of the process was ‘learning’ so I picked the one that was quickest to execute and get into a build mindset.
Secretly, I felt each of these goals contributed something to the other. For example, this post on goal two (ageing) is about my efforts to achieve the first goal (build something for small businesses) actually. The experiences of the first two may likely come in handy when I kickstart the third goal very shortly.
In the midst of all this, I was also acutely aware of my abilities and skill sets so that aided the process in prioritization. For example, I have never built an ecommerce website and that meant I would go through many steep learning curves, and potentially solo. My first experience was building my personal website on a college webserver using HTML codes and a bit later using tools like Dreamweaver and Frontpage. These were static websites, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Then comes coding bits here and there.
What surprised me was how easy building an ecommerce website was as pretty much all tools and applications needed (inventory management, ads manager, payment systems, website builders, etc) all talk to each other, and the job was more about conceptualizing and system integrating it smartly.
After roughly 300+ hours of learning by building, long nights, online videos, micro-collaborations and feedback loops, I can proudly say that I have executed on the first goal – build an ecommerce website for a small business heavily impacted by Covid. Still a few days to go for launch and then come a new set of challenges, for which am prepared :)
2020 so far has been a harrowing experience for us, our families and communities but there have been many silver linings in there. People are cooking more, eating healthy, spending more time with family, exploring nature available around their homes, finding new ways to stay active and much more. If you want to dig further, my last post on DIY Home Skills and earlier posts on decadal indulgence, life preparedness and trust economy may interest you.
Thank you for listening!
PS: I am compiling the learnings on the technical aspects of building an ecommerce website and will post soon in a professional medium like LinkedIn. If this is something that excites you and has been on the back of your mind (“to build a website”), I can offer some help. If nothing at all, it is a great way to learn something new. You can mail me at veemahesh1@gmail.com.