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So I dove into building the MentorNet website (See MentorNet - Finally!). I wanted a really crisp, clean look and feel, so I borrowed a few ideas (ok, and some code ;-) from around the web and came up with our new design. I’m really please with it. I built a handy-dandy back-end that Rich and I can use to add resources. Rich has been busily populating that. Then I went ahead and installed WordPress for our blog and went to start making the UI match the main website. That’s where I hit a wall.

I don’t know what it is about stylesheets. I know they are eminently logical. I suppose if I just knew all the ins and outs I would find them to be child’s play. But as it is (and I’ve been working with stylesheets for years) I just find trying to bend CSS to my will to be excruciatingly frustrating! Now with PHP, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do–at least nothing that I can think of. I build all kinds of cool applications in PHP. But the minute I try to do stylesheets, I slow to a crawl.

I know what I need to do. I just need to outsource this kind of stuff. I did it just the other day for a little Flash animation I needed. Cost me $15 and it was as painless as could be. So why don’t I just do it?

  1. I get caught up in the challenge. Doing web development is kind of like doing puzzles. Your brain gets a little endorphin hit whenever you get the website to do what you want. I start in on it because I enjoy the creative activity. But then, with stylesheets, I start hitting the wall. It’s like going into withdrawal. It isn’t as much fun, but by that point, I’m just determined to make it do what I want.
  2. I’ve had bad experiences with contracting out work before too–people who don’t speak english well, don’t respond to their emails, do half-assed work. Sometimes it’s quicker just to do it yourself.
  3. I don’t have money to burn. I have this gnawing anxiety whenever I think about spending money. I can’t be certain MentorNet will produce income. Can I risk forking over cash just to save myself some time and frustration?

Well, I know the answer. It is worth it to outsource these kinds of jobs. We can find developers who do quality work. And my time is better spent working on the business rather than frittering my time away doing webdev puzzles.

I’ll let you know how that turns out.

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