One quiet morning on the way to work, I was stuck in traffic. I looked over to the passenger seat and thought to myself: “Why isn’t there a pretty girl sitting here right now?”

While the above question has absolutely nothing to do with this post, it was an interesting question that had me thinking for a while. Anyways…

As an avid driver, I rarely let my anyone else sit behind the wheel of my car. Similarly, as an avid coder, I get so involved in the actual creation that I rarely step back and look from a user’s perspective.

So here’s a somewhat obvious business revelation from me, to you

Once in a while, get out of your car, and let someone else get behind the wheel. Watch them drive, see what confuses them, what they hate and what they like. Take careful notes. In the end, make conclusions about your ride experience. What it fast and exciting or stiff and uncomfortable?

Big companies do studies like this all the time by watching end users use their products. Like car manufacturers though, these companies have a bit of a problem: if they find a bottleneck, it might take them years to correct it.

You, my friend, are in a better position. You develop for the web and you know how fast you can make changes and push new updates to millions of people at once.

Summary

I know you’re passionate about your product or service, but if everyone hates the ride, it will never succeed. Don’t just do it. Do it right.

Sidenote: Building a company? Check out a helpful checklist to guide you along the way. More info and links over at Nivi’s blog.