I'm Pivoting
15 years. That’s how long I’ve been a web developer by trade.
I still remember making a full website at the start of my CS course at BCIT and immediately falling in love with the web. This was back when XHTML was still a thing, and it was still common, though discouraged, to use tables for complex layouts. I loved pushing the boundaries of HTML and CSS. I loved the fact that I could make something and anyone anywhere could see it in all its glory. I made a website that took design elements from the computers on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, but with more flourishes.
It was the days of Java Applets and Flash. It was a day when we used the term Dynamic HTML (or DHTML) to describe the combination of HTML and JavaScript. It was wild and beautiful.
I started my professional career in 2010 at the peak of jQuery, as Flash was beginning its decline. PhoneGap (now Apache Cordova) allowed us to create mobile apps with JavaScript as well, and it was a wild time as different frameworks and languages rose up and fell—sometimes fading into obscurity immediately, sometimes becoming the only way of doing things, and sometimes having one idea that went from novel to ubiquitous in short order.
I’ve worked for companies that did marketing, publishing, games, retail, and more. I’ve worked for 2-person startups and multi-national corporations. I’ve taught and learned, mentored and received mentoring. I’ve had bosses that I’d still take a bullet for, and a few that I hope are stubbing their toes right now.
But in all that time, I’ve been an employee. Someone else came up with a job description, and I did my best to fill it while trying to bring a little extra.
Now, I’m ready for something different.
I’m finally starting my own thing.
What I’m Building
I think it’ll take different forms in the future, but for now, I’m starting as an agency that works with small to medium-sized businesses and solves one repetitive or error-prone problem at a time—in a way that integrates with their existing tech.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- Helping a touring manager find out early if the show her artist just did is under or over budget
- Enabling the manager of a store that sells curios made by local artisans to pay them all out with the click of a button
- Allowing an egg farmer to pass their egg grades back to their feed distributor daily instead of weekly so they can adjust their feed levels in real time
And I want to do that in a way that means they don’t have to wrangle some new system every time they want to get work done.
My Process
The problems may be diverse, and scope and tool usage may vary wildly from client to client and project to project, but I do know these things about how I work:
- Listen first. I listen to people describe their business and don’t just push a pre-made solution.
- Validate early. I confirm as soon as possible that I’m making what the client needs, not just what I think they want. An early prototype can save so much wasted work.
- Stay nimble. I’m ready to pivot in a project when things change.
What I’m Bringing to the Table
The technical toolkit I’m bringing to this is AI, automations, and 15 years of experience making all sorts of web and mobile apps. I’m also bringing 15 years of listening to folks describe what’s happening and what they want to have happen in their business, and turning those conversations into real solutions.
What’s Next
I’m excited. I’m terrified. I’m learning quickly how to manage my time between building the business and doing projects, and I’m already so grateful for all the support I’ve received, all the relationships I’ve cultivated, and the opportunities waiting for me around the bend.
Follow along: I’ll be posting on LinkedIn, Substack, and my own website joelshinness.com as I go. Sometimes it’ll be my thoughts on the bigger picture, sometimes it’ll be stories of how it’s going.
Let’s work together: If you want to collaborate—whether setting up a project or bringing me in as a consultant—my website has ways to contact me, and you can always send me a message on LinkedIn.