Remember the Hats

My printer is working, but the scanner feature is not. Rather, the scanner feature is working intermittently. I managed to figure this out by asking Microsoft’s Copilot AI for suggestions. Don’t judge me because I turned to AI for assistance. It’s cheaper than hiring someone, and it at least helped me narrow down what might be wrong. I just didn’t have time to fix it completely. The whole situation made me think about the fact that writers are often their own technology experts, among other things, because it’s expensive to hire someone else when things go wrong.

Though not often discussed, small business owners and private contractors are often responsible for fixing their own technology issues. We only call in the REAL I.T. experts as a last resort. To be rational, it might be worth the money to call an actual I.T. expert as opposed to trying to solve it myself because I often fall down the rabbit hole of time when I’m trying to solve a technology issue. On the other hand, I learn a lot in the process about how my computer operates so it’s a toss-up in the end.

Being a writer often means we wear many hats besides the one labeled “Writer.” The same goes for small business owners. We may also wear hats that say:

• Marketing and Social Media Manager
• Personal Chef
• Editor
• Proofreader
• Janitor
• Office Assistant
• Accountant or Bookkeeper
• and so on.

We develop problem-solving skills because we can’t always call someone else in to solve the issue. To quote Ed Harris in Apollo 13 playing NASA Flight Director Gene Krantz, we “work the problem. Let’s not make it worse by guessing.” We will chip away at the issue until we narrow down what the problem is, and often, we may solve it through hard work. Sometimes we don’t, and we still have to ask for help.

Is it worth it? Did we use too much time? Would it have been cheaper to just call someone to fix it? Those are questions only we can answer ourselves. Only an individual can decide if something is worth their time. I often find the process worthwhile because I learn so much while trying to solve the problem.

If you are accustomed to having an I.T. expert at hand, this kind of process might not work for you, and that’s okay. There are plenty of people selling their I.T. talent to help others. Please hire them if you can afford it because that is hopefully supporting another small business owner.

Just remember if you are setting out on an independent career path that you will often be the expert at hand to solve your own issues. Whether it is a technology, marketing, accounting, or editing problem, you are where the solution begins. If you can solve it yourself, you will have learned new skills, and if you must hire someone to fix it, you will have learned to ask for help. That’s an important skill, too.

Whichever direction your independent path takes you, just remember the hats. You’ll earn a great supply of all kinds, and that is all part of the adventure.

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Inspirational Verse for the Day:

Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10, CSB)