On 18 February 2009 I was a proud man. I just registered my company DivitoMedia and I was ready to conquer the world and the web. As this was the first company I started – without any experience – things didn’t run as smooth as I wanted to see.

In this article you will learn from my mistakes. The problems and struggles I had during the last 18 months are great practical information for you to learn from. This helps the web professional to become more productive and avoid certain pitfalls.

Clean Your Office

My room was a mess, my writing desk was a complete disaster. I couldn’t find the stuff I needed and the disorder made me unable to focus on work. This has great influence on your productivity.

Photograph by Aditya Bhelke

A clean workspace makes you able to think clear. You don’t see the stuff around you that you don’t need and you can focus on the things that you need to finish. This allows you to become more organized and productive, so get your Swiffer and clean up!

Get YOUR Money

On the web, there are a lot of opportunities available to get some freelance work. I do my part as well, and after discussing the job, price and budget the work can start.

Once the job is done though, you have to get paid as well. I always tend to become a little bit lazy after the actual work is done. I expect people to pay their bills as easily as I do myself, but on the web this isn’t as obvious as it seems. People simply don’t pay when you don’t ask them.

Here are a few tips to make transactions go smoother:

• Up-frontal deposit. Clients who are willing to pay a percentage from the quote upfront are usually serious about their business. It’s a good insurance to make sure they do not fly the scene. That’s a good thing to know before you start on a project.
• Don’t send the work before they paid for it. Pretty obvious, but this tends to slip when you have clients you know for a longer time.
• Bill them. Simply as that, just send them your bill where you state they have to pay in 14 days. They usually pay these bills easier when they have it in writing.
• Call them. E-mailing will simply not cut it as they don’t reply. Asking people to pay in real life will have more effect.

Photograph by Cleebster

You have to remember that money that is still in the accounts of your clients is not your money yet. You can not pay the bills with this virtual money. I tend to forget that…

Finish Projects

DivitoDesign has been an ongoing project for me since the day I started in the web world. My knowledge grew over the years and the web was constantly changing; and so did the blog. DivitoDesign is a project that goes on; it is never complete or done.

This isn’t a problem of course, but it is great to finish things. Your project is done and your head is clean. You don’t have to think about it anymore, because it’s done. Time to move on to the next one.

Learn to Finish

• Make a list – when you have things mapped out on paper, you don’t need to think about them anymore. You just watch you list, do the thing and tick what you finished.
• Small steps - Your big project is a series of small steps. These steps are usually pretty small and easy to do. Split up your project in these steps and finish them one by one.

Keep your Files Secure

Your files should be secure and backed up. You never know what is going to happen with your situation and an accident or problem lies in a small corner. When your WordPress blog gets jacked or your hard-disc crash, you loose everything. All the work you did.

• WordPress Backup Plugin – This plugin makes a backup of your MySQL database (which your WordPress site runs on) and send it to your email address.
• Burn DVD’s - When you burn a DVD once in a while with your personal photos, work files and backup files, you always have that when your computer crash.
• Dropbox – This great tool is excellent to store files online and secure. Works easy for project management too.
• Secure your website – There are so many threats out there on the internet that it is necessary to secure your website. There are multiple security tips available for WordPress. To make other websites secure I recommend this website security expert.

Photograph by CarbonNYC

Do YOUR own thing

In the last year I didn’t do my own thing. I like almost everything I do, I like to help people and I am loyal. That’s combination happens to be a pitfall for me. On school, people asked me to build stuff for them, and I didn’t say no.

One friend I know from ‘the streets’ was dragging me into carpfishing. As I always like everything and I didn’t want to disappoint my friend I kept going with him. It was all I did for a time, but now, I decided to take a stand. I have to do my own thing to get there.

That’s the lesson I would like to give you: do your own thing. Once you focus on the things that you need done, stuff you like and your thoughts you have, you are ready to get somewhere. That is exactly what I am going to do. And so should you.

What do you think?

I hope this helps. Please leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments, looking forward to read them.