While teaching web classes, I often get the question about my own website and business:

So Scott, you’re an Internet Technology Trainer and Expert, What’s your website?  Where can I check out your portfolio?

I always respond with there is an old French proverb:

Les cordonniers sont les plus mal chaussés.

The cobbler’s children go barefoot.

In other words, the web consultants’ portfolio is always empty.  Why is that?

Then I think to myself, when do I have the time to update my own websites?

I tend to focus my time either on my family, on research and development, or on my client work. That leaves very little time for my own site.

In addition, my own public websites (currently):  scott.stawarz.com, consultchicago.com, and octavity.com, have always been used as experiments. I throw different iterations up, I try different items.  I take the site down, wipe it clean, try a different approach. Many times, the experiments don’t even make it into the public record.

As I stated in my first post, I have decided to eat my own dog food. The first time I heard the eat my own dog food phrase was at a Microsoft Solutions Framework Certify the Trainer (MSF) event.  The Microsoft Master MSF trainer, said in order to certify you as an MSF trainer, we want you to eat your own dog food. It was a great experience, and since that time, I have tried to follow the dog food edict ever since.

Although, as Yoda would say,

Try not… Do or Do not… There is no Try

I have basically been not doing. Stay tuned:  next time, I will talk  What are the steps for coming up with a Portfolio, business site, or blog?