Are you a "Jack Of All Trades" or a Master Of One?
 

I come from a construction/contracting background. Starting out as clean up boy, to siding/window installer, to finishing carpenter (journeyman), worked in the Union for a few years as such, then ran my own show doing the same for several years. Only when forced to (by lack of work in that field) did I stray away from my main trade, and the last few years of 'them days working' was as an electricians apprentice for my best friend who had 3X's more work (and better pay) and local (instead of being on the road, away from my family).

I always thought (was taught) that a Jack of all Trades is usually a master of none. And that nobody wants to be a just a jack of all trades, you should strive and focus on being what you do best. I didn't fix toilets, bang roofs, build decks, renovate or anything not directly related to what I was good at. I let the people (often hired) who were masters of THAT TRADE do that work for me. I focused on what I did best, THEY focused on what they did best (and nothing else).

The same principles I believe follow to this business very well. There is millions of guys who can do a bunch of things and run a blog or get $100 Adsense checks, but very few who are actual masters at what they do. In this massive world we all 'know' the same groups of people or individuals very good at what they do, true masters.

So I guess the question I'm looking to discuss, are you a Jack Of All Trades or a Master Of One? And why is it like that for you, in your point of view.

I find myself sometimes falling BACK to wanting to be a Jack, and I see so many others trying to be J.O.A.T.'s thinking that is what they need to be in todays day and age. And I think in a tough market its more important to focus on what you are good at, not spreading out into areas you maybe shouldnt be.

Hiring tradesmen these days you'll find a vast majority of people are nothing more than masters of causing headaches. Same applies online...

I don't know. My only real experience with hiring a high end person for online (I was always a one man show running affiliate sites) was hiring Drocd to code Linkspun and I have to say it turned out very well.

He did what he does well, and I did what I do well, and neither tried to do what the other was good at because that would just be counter productive.

99% of successful people in adult are masters of 1 thing and they hire people to do the rest.

Pay dat man his moneyz. :thumbsup

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jTdHhHzCWts/0.jpg

http://www.nametrader.com/pay.png

To answer the OP question, I have strayed here and there but in general I've stuck to being a master of one, mainly because I recognize that I'm really good at that one and suck at almost everything else.

If you plan your mastering your trade as an affiliate, you've basically got to be a bit of a jack of all trades in the first place. It's just the nature of the trade. You're basically the general contractor on site. You handle everything, and bring in the specialists when needed.

Agreed, I don't know that I'd call that a Jack though, it's more like an apprenticeship where you work in shit all day and then progress to better tasks as you learn your trade.

It's like any job. You work your way up until you can afford to pile the shit work on some other poor fuck. I guess that's the point at which you're no longer a jack? How long do I have to apprentice before I'm a Journeyman Affiliate? lol

online your trade may be obsolete literally tomorrow. hard to compare to brick and mortar. although online has killed many b and m jobs and biz as well.

I am a "jack of all trades" for sure.

I produce content, still run clip stores, pay sites, I am vested in a fast growing hosting business with hundreds of servers and customers, I also do some work in mainstream, as well as some offline ventures.

While I am a creative person who finds it hard to just do the mundane work day. A lot of the motivation is to simply follow the money. I was shooting foot porn, people asked and were willing to pay for tickling, so I shot it. They kept paying, I kept shooting.

Same with web hosting. My consulting clients needed a host that tied into my consulting of the time. Something that my designers and programmers could get root access (something many hosts do not provide), and better support times to get what they needed done in a timely fashion. It exploded from there.

I simply follow the money. It really is that simple.
:2 cents:

jack here, I like diversity:2 cents::thumbsup

Hit the nail on the head. Always been able to earn enough money to pay others to do things they are best at.

I guess if I have 2 skil1 would be to shoot porn, the other would be to manage staff. Not a master at either, but seemed to have got by. :thumbsup

Despite what anyone may think on here. Nobody does one thing and eats everyday for as long as you have and is not a master at what they do. :2 cents:

Thank you. It seems to be something that most people miss.

Who says I can afford to eat everyday. :winkwink:

Well you are looking pretty slim.

getting good at different things is what I enjoy...

being good at one thing is just plain boring.

I am just a 'Jack Off'...

I'm the Master Jack

I'm the "Master Of All Trades"...

Most entrepreneurs are jack of all trades, not specialists. There is plenty of empirical research and evidence that supports the so called "jack of all trades theory". It is not enough being damn good at one thing in order to run a successful business. Specialized people usually end up working for others.

Exactamundo.
:2 cents:

I'm a master of two: web design and elevatedx integrations

Master of one. It helps to be quite familiar with other aspects though, so you can understand and have empathy for others working on the project. That, and it's easier to tell if someone is bullshitting you or not. :)

You always start as a jack of all trades, at that point you basically don't know jack shit about anything and are just learning as you go along... and then you focus on the areas that are most profitable?

It's not like someone just wakes up one day, and decides that they want to run a network of blog sites or a tube site or something...

I'm going to disagree with the premise - I think you need to be a 'jack of all trades' in the sense that you need to understand ALL aspects of your business in order to: a) know what you need and what's possible/not possible, b) hire the right people, c) monitor their results.

If you don't know have the slightest clue about programming, how on earth are you going to hire a good programmer? How are going to know if they're doing a good job? Same for photography, advertising, etc.

IM a jack...

Jack of all trades to an extent but a master of the one that really counts since 1982.

I agree with that. I'm learning shit every single day, but my strength and my background are from managing people, motivating people and putting the right people together at the right time to make great things happen.
Hopefully, one day I get to use those skills in adult.

You might be surprised. And a few of us beat the odds and actually do it successfully.

I am the Master of Puppets



No, in all seriousness, I think a well structured division of labor is the ideal situation. With that being said, it can be rewarding to get your hands dirty or to learn things that you never thought you'd have to learn. Being able to do the little things helps gain the respect of your staff and being able to speak intelligently about something that you are outsourcing is extremely helpful in getting the results you want out of a project that you outsource. The best way to be able to speak intelligently about something is usually to have at least some hands on experience.

On a semi-related note, I knew a girl that worked at Babbo, Mario Batali's restaurant on 8th, and she said that whenever he was in town, it wasn't uncommon for him to jump onto a station or even pick up a piece of garbage on the ground and throw it away. Seems trivial, but chefs tend to be a highly egocentric bunch and doing things like that are practically unheard of in NYC. But it sets a tone of accountability and makes people want to work for him. That's the way to go.

When I started out two-three years ago I HAD to be a Jack of all Trades cause I couldn't afford Jack. heh heh Nowadays I work with designers and programmers to do what they do best, but then I go over everything so it all looks "Mister Peabody-ish". Still, I figured it out once: I do like 22 jobs! LOL And it would cost me a couple hundred thousand to "replace" or hire me. So there ya go. :D

I am JACK OF ALL TRADES,i even had that for a while as my custom title.I find it retarded to claim how such people are "master of none"while it's completely opposite.I am highly skilled at some areas where i can pwn anyone else no matter from where he/she is and what education he/she have,and i can do everything else a little bit.Also for the record,first JACK OF ALL TRADES in history was Leonardo da Vinci,and i am sure if he would reborn in this century he would do more then any other scientist.

well sometimes we need to be a jack of all trade if we dont have excess money, but if u have money get a people who is master of one bcoz he can deliver you a good quality of work bcoz thats was his expertise.........

Definitely a specialist / master of one. Do one thing really really well and hire for the rest.
WG