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

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  • Jdoughs
    Confirmed User
    • Mar 2004
    • 5794

    #1

    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.
    Last edited by Jdoughs; 01-28-2011, 12:06 AM.
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  • Angry Jew Cat - Banned for Life
    (felis madjewicus)
    • Jul 2006
    • 20368

    #2
    Hiring tradesmen these days you'll find a vast majority of people are nothing more than masters of causing headaches. Same applies online...

    Comment

    • Jdoughs
      Confirmed User
      • Mar 2004
      • 5794

      #3
      Originally posted by Angry Jew Cat
      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.
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      • sandman!
        Icq: 14420613
        • Mar 2001
        • 15431

        #4
        99% of successful people in adult are masters of 1 thing and they hire people to do the rest.
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        • Jdoughs
          Confirmed User
          • Mar 2004
          • 5794

          #5
          Originally posted by sandman!
          99% of successful people in adult are masters of 1 thing and they hire people to do the rest.
          Pay dat man his moneyz.

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          • PornMD
            Mainstream Businessman
            • Jan 2007
            • 9291

            #6
            Originally posted by Jdoughs
            Pay dat man his moneyz.



            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.
            Want to crush it in mainstream with Facebook ads? Hit me up.

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            • Angry Jew Cat - Banned for Life
              (felis madjewicus)
              • Jul 2006
              • 20368

              #7
              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.

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              • Jdoughs
                Confirmed User
                • Mar 2004
                • 5794

                #8
                Originally posted by Angry Jew Cat
                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.
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                • Angry Jew Cat - Banned for Life
                  (felis madjewicus)
                  • Jul 2006
                  • 20368

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Jdoughs
                  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

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                  • Agent 488
                    Registered User
                    • Feb 2006
                    • 22511

                    #10
                    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.

                    Comment

                    • Barefootsies
                      Choice is an Illusion
                      • Feb 2005
                      • 42635

                      #11
                      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.
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                      • JFK
                        FUBAR the ORIGINATOR
                        • Jan 2002
                        • 67373

                        #12
                        jack here, I like diversity

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                        • Paul Markham
                          Too old to care
                          • Jun 2001
                          • 52942

                          #13
                          Originally posted by sandman!
                          99% of successful people in adult are masters of 1 thing and they hire people to do the rest.
                          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.



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                          • Jdoughs
                            Confirmed User
                            • Mar 2004
                            • 5794

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Paul Markham
                            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.
                            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.
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                            • Paul Markham
                              Too old to care
                              • Jun 2001
                              • 52942

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Jdoughs
                              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.
                              Thank you. It seems to be something that most people miss.

                              Who says I can afford to eat everyday.



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                              • Jdoughs
                                Confirmed User
                                • Mar 2004
                                • 5794

                                #16
                                Originally posted by Paul Markham
                                Thank you. It seems to be something that most people miss.

                                Who says I can afford to eat everyday.
                                Well you are looking pretty slim.
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                                • ~Ray
                                  visit hardlinks.org
                                  • Jun 2003
                                  • 18361

                                  #17
                                  getting good at different things is what I enjoy...

                                  being good at one thing is just plain boring.
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                                  • CurrentlySober
                                    Too lazy to wipe my ass
                                    • Aug 2002
                                    • 38945

                                    #18
                                    I am just a 'Jack Off'...


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                                    • Oracle Porn
                                      Affiliate
                                      • Oct 2002
                                      • 24433

                                      #19
                                      I'm the Master Jack


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                                      • CaptainHowdy
                                        Too lazy to set a custom title
                                        • Dec 2004
                                        • 94735

                                        #20
                                        I'm the "Master Of All Trades"...

                                        Comment

                                        • Lint
                                          Confirmed User
                                          • Dec 2010
                                          • 254

                                          #21
                                          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.

                                          Comment

                                          • Barefootsies
                                            Choice is an Illusion
                                            • Feb 2005
                                            • 42635

                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by Lint
                                            Specialized people usually end up working for others.
                                            Exactamundo.
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                                            • czarina
                                              Webmaster Extraordinaire
                                              • Jul 2002
                                              • 10752

                                              #23
                                              I'm a master of two: web design and elevatedx integrations

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                                              • Kiopa_Matt
                                                Confirmed User
                                                • Oct 2007
                                                • 1448

                                                #24
                                                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.
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                                                • woj
                                                  <&(©¿©)&>
                                                  • Jul 2002
                                                  • 47882

                                                  #25
                                                  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...
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                                                  • Big E
                                                    Registered User
                                                    • Mar 2002
                                                    • 935

                                                    #26
                                                    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.

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                                                    • Deej
                                                      I make pixels work
                                                      • Jun 2005
                                                      • 24386

                                                      #27
                                                      IM a jack...

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                                                      • SGS
                                                        Confirmed User
                                                        • Dec 2002
                                                        • 5176

                                                        #28
                                                        Jack of all trades to an extent but a master of the one that really counts since 1982.
                                                        See sig...

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                                                        • Frasier
                                                          Confirmed User
                                                          • Jan 2010
                                                          • 377

                                                          #29
                                                          Originally posted by woj
                                                          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?.
                                                          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.

                                                          Originally posted by woj
                                                          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...
                                                          You might be surprised. And a few of us beat the odds and actually do it successfully.
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                                                          • jimmycooper
                                                            Confirmed User
                                                            • May 2010
                                                            • 4016

                                                            #30
                                                            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.

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                                                            • The Porn Nerd
                                                              Living The Dream
                                                              • Jun 2009
                                                              • 19787

                                                              #31
                                                              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
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                                                              • Klen
                                                                • Aug 2006
                                                                • 32235

                                                                #32
                                                                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.

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                                                                • Dappz
                                                                  Confirmed User
                                                                  • Dec 2009
                                                                  • 997

                                                                  #33
                                                                  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.........


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                                                                  • WiredGuy
                                                                    Pounding Googlebot
                                                                    • Aug 2002
                                                                    • 34512

                                                                    #34
                                                                    Definitely a specialist / master of one. Do one thing really really well and hire for the rest.
                                                                    WG
                                                                    I play with Google.

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