If you wish to scroll straight to the recipe, please click here – the recipe is ultimate, but the article is worth a read too!
My 8 year old son has some of his friends coming round tonight and over breakfast this morning he asked for a Mexican style evening. I have just finished preparing what I consider the ultimate salsa for eating with tortilla crisps (many, many thanks to Michelle Lee for the recipe) and whilst prepping and producing the salsa, my mind started to make comparisons with my job as a web designer based here in Nottingham, and the many similarities:
When you do something you enjoy, you naturally want to do your best.
As for me, when I am involved in a task that I do not like, I drag it out, spend the time thinking about how I wish it was over, I do not concentrate as much as I should on the actual job, and I do not perform to the best of my ability.
Designing websites is something I love.
I enjoy it and as so I am focused during the whole process.
This leads to a higher chance that the task will be completed to at least the required standard and if not... than to an even higher standard.
Choosing the right tomatoes is especially important to this dish. In the same way, choosing the right web designer is the key to obtaining the website of your dreams.
My advice (and following on from point 1) is to always try and choose someone who loves their job.
Past successes can influence the selection process and I ensure I have a portfolio of clients who are happy to explain how I have exceeded their expectations, and how I have delivered a website that rocks. They will explain what made them chose me, and why they are happy they did so.
I take time selecting the tomatos knowing that any extra time at this stage is not wasted time, but instead time spent to give the greatest chance of success and of tasting the ultimate salsa. Do the same with your web designer – we at Net Quality will spend as much time as is necessary to explain how we work and how we plan to approach your independent business project.
Once the selection process has been completed, take time to prepare for the task ahead. With the ultimate salsa this includes having sharp knives to perform the task, and the washing and complete emptying of all pips from the tomatoes. If this stage is rushed, the resulting salsa will be too liquid and not as clean and crisp as is needed for an ultimate result.
In a similar way, take time to ensure all preparatory steps are performed to build your dream business website. Spend as much time as possible explaining what the website is for, who are your targets, what you would like to see as design fundamentals, the type of navigation structure you want, the sort of images you require and all the many other questions which must be answered to ensure the work produces the required outcome.
Now the ingredients are prepared, they must be processed and combined to produce the ultimate salsa. The more efficient this is, the higher the chance of an ultimate result.
Check that you website designer is focused and will work efficiently.
Any distractions will only result in delays and possibly a lower quality website.
Ensure his production will cater for the unforeseen and that he has an efficient process in place to communicate between you and him.
Any questions, comments, delays and scope-creep will therefore be managed and resolved in as timely a fashion as possible resulting in the greatest chance of success and a business Internet site that meets your business needs.
Maybe it’s a genetic thing which I have inherited from my mother, but I believe all recipes exist to be improved on. Looking for that extra ingredient to improve the taste is the same as looking for that extra detail which will improve the overall site.
I love the feeling of bringing something “extra” to all my Internet sites. This is what makes a Net Quality website stand out from the others. When you are choosing and evaluating your website design agency, always look for the one who will give that little bit more and while will result in an ultimate website.
Some of the points overlap - it is because I love cooking that I am confident to experiment and improve on all recipes. This also explains why I enjoy focusing on the choosing, preparation and actual production of the dish.
Similarly, my greatest thrill is to produce websites that not only meets our client's needs but exceeds them. Praise such as “its perfect” or “its better than I imagined” is what pushes me onwards to ensure the preparation and execution of the task is as efficient and complete as can possibly be.
Shopping list:
Recipe:
Roll the lemon firmly several times back and forth on the work surface to ensure the most juice will be obtained (this does not increase the amount of juice, but breaks down the membranes and facilitates the juice). Cut in half and squeeze into a bowl. There will be pips, and these can now be removed very easily with a fork – the lemon is prepared first as it is difficult to spot the pips amongst tomatos and onions if these were in the bowl too
Slice the 4 tomatoes into quarters
Empty the pips and any soft membrane from the quarters
Dice the 16 tomato quarters into cubes about the size of the smallest lego piece and place into the bowl
Dice the onion the smallest possible (probably about half the size of the tomato cubes) and place into the bowl
Place the coriander into a tea cup and use scissors to chop it into small pieces (thanks to Catherine Cohen for this fantastic tip of preparing any herbs). Once finished, add to the bowl.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Mix with a fork (sort of fold the ingredients together)
Place in a fridge for at least 1 hour (it's even better if you can wait until the next day)
Serve with tortilla chips and try not to finish the whole bowl in one sitting!
Photos:
I really wanted to show you the finished product...but unfortunately between my son, his friends and me, there is none left.
I will take a photo the next time I prepare this ultimate salsa (it will not be long...)