Your next project might feel like a calling, but it’s a choice. A choice that will have an impact on each day you spend on it.
There are no right answers here, but before you fall in love with a business or an organization, it may pay to think about these and other options that are built in:
Are you selling to consumers?
Are you raising money?
Do you serve one person at a time or does a committee have to agree?
Is there a network effect to the work you do?
Is the margin on each item low?
What’s the lifetime value of a new patron, customer or partner?
Is the work time sensitive?
Do you meet with people in person?
Are you answering RFPs or are people seeking you out by name?
Is price or yield or efficiency the dominant metric in making a choice?
Will you create value with your personal effort or by managing others?
How will people find out about what you do?
Is accuracy the most important part of what you deliver?
Can a competitor who works far more hours have a big advantage over you?
What’s the effluent, waste or side effects of what you create?
Are you likely to spend time working with peers you like?
Are you likely to respect your customers?
How much time after you begin before you expect your metrics to be positive?
Is the learning curve steep?
After you’ve learned how to do this, does it become boring?
Pick your customers, pick your future.
PS Joel recommended this post from fourteen years ago.