Welcome to 2D Web Solutions episode 11 – where you ask questions and we find solutions.

I’m Arelthia Phillips founder of PinTop Solutions, LLC.

And I’m Kerry Carron founder of Ultimate Solution, LLC.

Each episode we answer up to five different questions related to design and development and your business. And we get these questions from you, our visitors. So, if you have, or would like a question
answered from us just visit our website 2DWebSolutions.com anytime and submit your question. kay

Okay, Kerry… so, today’s topic is discovering the hierarchy of needs in the aspects of design and development. that is a

That is a fantastic topic and I think it’s going to be a really good episode.

Yeah, I think so as well. You know the interesting thing is that when I first saw our question for today, “what are your must-haves as a designer and developer” I was like, “wow.” This is a big question with lots of elements and it brings to mind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for me. Are you familiar with of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Well – as a matter of fact, I am! But of course, that’s because once we got the question and we started thinking about it, we came across a lot of things about Maslow and his theory. So, in his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed the idea of physiological… or is it psychological? Psychological hierarchy of needs in human beings.

Yeah, you know, it’s something big that you see pushed a lot in education. Especially secondary education when it comes to dealing with kids. It’s because there are these different levels that need to be met in order for them to be motivated to do what we wanted them to do. And, I think this fits great with our businesses because there are certain things that we need in order for us to move forward in our business, and to be successful in our business. So, let’s address and discuss each one of the levels Kerry.

…there are certain things that we need in order for us to move forward in our business, and to be successful in our business. ~ Arelthia

Ok. Maslow’s primary level is the physiological level. And that has to do with breathing, having food and water, shelter, clothing, sleep, and things that make you comfortable. So if we relate those – that aspect of it – to our question which is, “what are your must-haves as a designer and developer,” how would you answer that question?

You know, for me, it’s interesting because I’m going to start out with the internet. You know, that’s like a must-have for me. If I don’t have my internet then I can’t function. But then you know, as I move forward and I think about it some more… I need my gum to work. Gum helps me focus. Um… you know, it keeps me from snacking on all these different things. You know what else I need to do in the morning when I get up? I need to get a nice hot shower so I can just function and work. And then I have to start off my day also by reading my Bible. That’s like an important need for me at the foundation. If I don’t have that, things tend to not go right for me, you know? I do have some other things that I – that are like needs for me. Like my coffee or my green tea, um and then (I’m going to blame Jeremy for this but) I have to have coffee candy. I keep coffee candy near my desk. Um.. and then, as I work – especially when I’m coding – I listen to Pandora. Pandora is on my computer. I will listen to Pandora so much that, it’s like, at times my son’s like, he can’t sleep without hearing Pandora because mom was always up coding with Pandora going. So, those are like some basic needs for me. If I don’t have those needs, then it’s hard to get to any other level. What about you, Kerry?

Um… I have a lot of the same needs of course, and I go into the area where you talk about having music on and things like that – I’m not a music “listener” during my work time. I like to have a quiet area that’s free from distractions. So, I have my own office area. It happens to be in one of the main rooms of our house but I’m the only one home in the afternoon or in the mornings when I’m scheduled to work from home. And so, I like it like that. Um… there’s also an app that I have that I have used. It is a sort of music and it’s called Brain FM. And I actually listen to this every night when I go to sleep and it helps me sleep better, and more soundly through the night. But they also have a section in there where you can set it up to listen to focus [better] and I do find if I have that kind of music on then I am able to focus better. Um… some of the other things that – if you’re working long hours and you don’t want to get up from the computer except to take that bathroom break. Having finger food nearby is a good thing – being particular in what you choose so that crumbs don’t fall into your keyboard, spill-proof cups if you’re prone to accidents. For me, specifically, I like to have my coaster and my coffee off to the side and set specifically far enough that I have to actually turn and reach for it. So, that when I do bring it in front of my computer or my keyboard I know it’s there. There are things like that. So, temperature control… that’s another big thing. I have to have the right temperature in the room – being too warm, I get fidgety and I can’t… or I get tired. And then, I can’t focus on what I need to if it’s too cold. Then my body is busy trying to get my metabolism to fire up so that I can then move on and focus that way. So, those are the things that I have to have in order for me to do my job well when I’m working from home. Ok so, the second element that Maslow refers to is, safety. So, relating to Maslow again and relating to personal, financial security, health, order, law ,and protection from the elements, let’s go into the safety aspect of things a little bit.

OK so, there’s like, health insurance. Also for me, it’s important from a safety standpoint – additional sources of income. And then a really big development thing is… I have to have my version control. If I’m creating anything, I’m going to use Git and I’m gonna have it under version control because I feel like that’s like a safety net. That’s like the security in the house, you know – the camera system in the house, the alarm system in the house as part of just basic security. So, that I feel safe – mhm, yeah, yeah, yeah.

A lot of, a lot of you know, that I’m a gun toting female and my gun is right next to me at all times. And I make sure that my back is always facing away from the door so that if somebody comes in unexpectedly, or brakes in, or burst through… I’m ready for that! Um… but on a more business side of things one of the things that I think is important for designers and developers to get established right away, are separate personal and business checking accounts. And then, not only just having them, but maintaining them and spending out of each of them appropriately. So, that’s a… that can be a safety thing. It’s just like your legal entities or your terms of service are. Um… for me… from a health perspective… I had some chronic neck pain a few years ago, which is no longer chronic thankfully, and a lot of that had to do with my posture while I was in front of my computer. I was working out of a laptop and with a laptop, your keyboard is attached so you’re constantly putting your head down trying to look at that. So, I have a more comfortable chair that puts my body in the right position, I have a place for my feet, and if I’m using my laptop, I have it elevated and I use a separate keyboard and then I just use the monitor that is raised on a level that I can look straight ahead and not have to worry about dipping my head or work wrenching my neck in any direction up or down to see the monitor clearly.

Yeah, and you know Kerry, that brings to mind I think something else is also very important from a safety standpoint – especially related to help is having a comfortable day is a bed that meets your needs. So,  that when you do finally walk away from the computer or the phone or whatever you actually get a good night’s sleep.

I think that’s, that’s one of the things I need to upgrade because the mattress I have right now it is not good and my husband is having the same issues. And it’s like we have got to invest in some kind of mattress – yes – we’re gonna go with the sleep number.

Alright, ok Kerry, so, um… I think we already mentioned things like BackupBuddy to keep your website’s backed up, the firewall on your hosting, things like that. Um… your SSL certificate on your websites. Um… so, let’s go to move on and talk about “love and belonging,” whether we’re talking about friendship, love, intimacy, family, community, belonging, and relationships. How…, what… what needs do you think as a designer or developer that we have there Kerry?

Well, when you’re working from home. which could be a whole other topic and a whole other show, you have a whole new set of challenges ahead of you when it comes to interacting socially. Um.. so, some of the things that are a “must have” for me is… I have to have some sort of connection with other people who are doing like-minded… Like-minded individuals who are doing similar things that I’m doing. So, I like…, I like to have Skype groups and Slack groups. Online communities like OWNWP.

Can you… what is ah…, can you tell us a little bit more about OWNWP and your slack group Kerry? start on

Sure. OWNWP is a website and community that has a group of elements…, or a group of resources for other web designers or online business owners to access to help them develop their business and work with one another to collaborate, to make… to impact on as many people as possible. In fact, one of our tag lines is, “members collaborating to impact millions.” So, that’s the whole goal of it and it’s a really fun community to be part of. And it’s pretty much run by its members so if there’s something you want, as a member, to have happen in that community [website] you pretty much put in a suggestion and then we do it because it’s there for all of us to get the most out of it and from one another. Another thing that I like to have – oh and the Slack group. The slack group is a… Slack is very similar to Skype. It’s ah… except it’s more aligned with a particular group, for lack of a better term, and it’s a place where people can go and hang out online. It has different channels within it that you can join and become part of, you can go there to ask questions, to answer questions, to use as resources and you know, there’s some channels that are set up just as a water cooler so you can just, you know, put in a good joke of the day if you want to, and there are other ones [channels] that are specifically aligned with questions regarding, maybe WordPress, or maybe a particular plug-in, or what you need help learning more about and things like that.

Ok so, if someone needs – maybe they’re looking for a community to join so they don’t have to feel you know kind of isolated… Oh, I guess we can put a link to this information in the show notes, Kerry.

Absolutely. Absolutely and OWNWP.com is the website you can get access to the Slack group right from there. You can join the membership which is free. You can do it do it all right there. But most importantly, on the bottom line to this “love and belonging” aspect that Maslow talks about is having those contacts and making those contacts. And what I love the most about how I have been able to develop my realm of contacts is the fact that my online contacts start as just basic relationships. But these relationships develop into friendships and then these friendships become… they turn into much more! And a lot of these close friendships turn into team members that I can work with today, tomorrow and into the future.

Yeah, yeah, and you know, for me – I think it’s important for me to reach out and be associated, whether it’s online or locally, to be associated with positive people. Um… not let, not to be pulled into a bunch of negativity, so I try to focus on positive people whether it’s the local group of like-minded individuals or as in the Slack chat. Um, but whether it’s local or online – it’s just important, I think for us as developers and designers to find others that can relate to us. Yes, we may have family members and it’s important for them to understand what we do, but maybe not completely understand we do, but have, like… support, provide us support for what we do. But we need individuals around us, whether they’re a keyboard away or actually talk to a person that understands. That is so important.

So, as a designer and developer Arelthia, how do you get… If you’re not meeting with them online are there other avenues that are available to people who are freelancers or entrepreneurs that they can take advantage of.

Oh yes… you know, there are local meetup groups, there are work camps that happen if you’re involved with WordPress, at meetup.com you can find individuals locally in your area that interested. Also, you’ll be surprised as you meet people online. You’ll be surprised how many people that you end up meeting that are local to you and you never knew it. So, just as you meet people, be mindful that sometimes they may actually be in your area and you can make that connection and meet with them locally as well.

Yeah, that’s a great idea! All right so that brings us to the fourth aspect in the hierarchy of needs which is “esteem” and that relates to achievement, status, prestige, recognition, and mastery – even independence and responsibilities. So, if we relate that to the question of
a “must have” for you, Arelthia, where does that take you?

Oh, it takes me to my freedom to create. And also to clients actually paying me for my services or paying me for a product that I create. You know, that’s great recognition. Also when you receive referrals from your peers – there is… it something – it’s one thing to receive a referral from a client that you’ve done work for, but it’s something else to receive a referral that comes from one of your peers that is in the same space that you’re in. But they send them to you because you can get the job done for that person. And that, that is something big! I mean, that is like big recognition for me. Um… and increasing your user base – whether it’s a plug-in, or your form or whatever. When that number increases, that’s like, “ah, yes, ok I’m doing something right.” When you get mentioned on popular blogs it’s like, “okay, all right, I’m doing something right. Somebody sees me. I’m not invisible.”

Yeah.

And I think that’s a big thing because a lot of times we can get to a point where we feel invisible. And we were not invisible. People see us. They may not always tell us that. You know, you might have to go to an event and somebody says, “hey, I know you!” before you realize,”oh people see me, people are watching me, okay.” But it happens. So before I keep rambling on and on… What about you Kerry?

Well, I think it’s interesting that you mentioned that… You’ve shared this story with me a couple of times that one of the first people that you met in the iThemes training community was me, and how I stood out. And I had no idea! So, that every time I get that I’m like, “whaaat?! What, yeah, what is that all about? But um… some of the other ways that you can improve your esteem or have esteem for yourself or get it from others is when you finish a project and you can add it to your portfolio and you see your portfolio growing and you can feel that you have a reputation as an authority on a particular subject. It does give you that that sense of… of esteem. And knowing that I’m meeting people who know who you are is an incredible feeling especially if you take an opportunity to join up that at some of those meetups. I know when we first had our Skype group, a number of us made an effort to go to some particular events and when we all met up it was like we all knew each other. It was like we were best friends and it was like, “I know you.” And you really do [know them] and it’s so, it’s so cool. It’s like… it’s like having a family reunion with the good side of the family, you know, that you haven’t seen in years and it’s just… it’s so exciting and it’s just such a great feeling.

When we all met up it was like we all knew each other. It’s like having a family reunion with the good side of the family that you haven’t seen in years. ~ Kerry

I like the way you put that.

So, um the other thing is when you know you have a deep understanding of the skills. You know, you start recognizing that you do have these skills… whether it be HTML, CSS, other codes, PHP, whatever. And you mentioned also, being mentioned on popular blogs. For me, another thing is when I might go into my website and they’ll be a pingback or a link back from another website. I’m like, “well, where did that come from?” Some website that you know has linked to something I wrote, it’s just like, “wow that’s some serious recognition.”

Yeah.

And it does, it just makes you feel really good.

Yeah, it does, it does! Um so, Kerry let’s move on to self-actualization. What do you need, how do you know when you get to that point of self-actualization? What do you need for that?

Well, according to Maslow, that self-actualization is peace, knowledge, self-fulfillment, realization of your own personal potential, your personal growth, and having some peak experiences. So, I mentioned a little bit about that in the “esteem” [discussion] because to me they’re kind of intermingled, but the bottom line when it comes down to reaching that top level of self-actualization is having the faith that knowing no matter what is thrown at you, that you can deal with it and you can… you can – you will be ok. It’s… it’s no matter what happens you’re going to be okay and this has to do with watching your business grow, and you’re realizing that you’re becoming the person that you really want to be. You know you have these goals for yourself and as you meet these goals it’s like, ” wow, I am doing it, this is me! This is who I am and this is where I want to be.” How about you?

Wow um, you know, when I think about this topic, um, and I look at it from a personal development standpoint and I see that I have been – I’ve met some new challenges – that  have really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. And for me, that is like, a big one. When I look at it and I say, “oh wow.” I’ve had clients that I would have never expected. To actually… I’m talking to these people and they’re talking to me like I’m a normal person but I’m like, “wow, OK.” Um and so that, that just, it’s that being outside of my comfort zone, the personal development, the achievements that I’ve made, being able to look back and see the progress that I’ve made. I mean that is so big. Like the different types of new projects that I’ve been able to take on. Or I’m willing to take on. Because at one point, I wouldn’t have been willing to take on those projects. But if I hadn’t… if i didn’t have the support of those around me and if I didn’t have everything else lined up, I wouldn’t be willing to take on the new projects to try to do new things, to step out of my comfort zone. And so I feel like that that is the “I’m there.” I’ve reached where I’m trying to be. That keeps me going… that keeps me going!

That’s cool. All right so that wraps up the different… the five levels, um but what is, and how do you reach self-actualization? So with that, that’s the big “why?”

And I think I kind of started to touch on that because it’s once you get to that point – once you realize that you can do one thing and it pushes you to that next level. And then you realize that, “ok, I do have the support of all these other people. Other people do see what I’m doing. I’m going to new levels.  I’m doing things that I never thought I would be able to do.” And then you get to that point, and it’s like, “okay, this is why I do what I do – to help other people. This is why I do what I do – to solve problems. This is why I do what I do – to create new things. This is why I do what I do – so that I can get out into the world and see things that I never thought I would see. This is why I do what I do so that when somebody sends me their address and it says Surprise, somewhere and I’m thinking, “okay, they are joking this can’t really be the city that they live in…” Oh, ok, so I mean it’s just really stepping out of that comfort zone, willing to push further and further. Because once you get to that point it’s like, “I can go further. I can go beyond. And so Kerry,  what do you think? How do you get to that point of self-actualization – that big why?well if we go back to some of the things

Well, if we go back to some of the things we discussed, you can see how the importance of the physiological needs have to be put ahead, and then built upon before you can move on and master the next level. In fact, according to Maslow, if you try to satisfy the needs of one level in the hierarchy without having first met the needs of the prior level, your place in the hierarchy becomes very unstable.

Yeah, I think you bring up a good point Kerry, because if you think about it, um… it’s not very easy to spend a lot of time with your computer if you don’t have those physiological needs. And with the Slack groups and the Skype you can’t really interact with those people if you don’t have certain things met. I got to get my coffee before you talk to me in the morning. Don’t talk to me until I get my coffee. Um, just little things like that. You
don’t have the support of those around you. You don’t have that community to say, “hey, we recognize you, you got that.”

And you may not even have the skill set that you need but by being involved by setting up those foundations at those lower levels and learning that information because others have gone through it before you, then you can build upon that and suddenly… I don’t know about you, but I have found myself, a number, on a number of occasions when somebody asks me a question, and I just give out the answer. Then I step back and I’m like, “wow did I just say that? That was, like, exactly what was the right answer. And it’s like you surprise yourself because you know more than you thought you did. And it’s… you’re just there, you’re just there!

Okay. All right, great, great, great. So, um, Kerry… our tweet tip for today… What’s our tweet tip for today for them?

The tip for today that you can tweet anytime you like is “build upon what is stable to get to the top.”

Alright, so before we go, we want to hear from you. We encourage you to leave us your comments on our website located at 2Dwebsolutions.com so we can continue this conversation over there.

So once you do get over there, uh we want you to go ahead and leave your questions for us, as well, because next episode we are going to have an annual wrap-up of this season and then we are going to also share with you where we’re heading for next season. We have some site changes and we’re especially interested in knowing what it is you want and need from us so we can help you find those solutions.

Wow, it’s hard to believe Kerry, been a year already.

I know it’s unbelievable. oh well guys

Oh wow. Guys remember, when you ask questions, we find solutions… So while you’re over leaving your comments on our website feel free to submit your design and development questions so we can address them in future episodes.

And if you’re really ready to take action towards building yourself a successful design and development business be sure to subscribe to us. You know how to do it – just look in the sidebar on the website and all those places you can subscribe are right there for you. We’ll see you next time on the next 2D episode aspects of design and development.

Goodbye guys, until next time.

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