Today, Chris Brogan wrote about the value of having an on-line lab. Chris just launched his new travel blog (seperate from his main site) to experiment, try out some new ideas, play, and build another business. Chris also makes the points that labs transform failures into learning opportunities and invite us to continue rolling up our sleeves and getting into the nuts of bolts of making things work.
I have thought about this subject in relation to Compass Yoga, the site I set up 10 days ago to begin my yoga training business. I wondered if I should have fully-baked Compass Yoga into my personal site rather than building out a separate site with its own URL. Was I just shying away from really putting Compass out into the open on my personal site because I was afraid of how it might go? Then I read Matthew Russo’s excellent comment on Chris’s post: “The difference between a pro and an amateur in any field is that pros take the time to “practice off the court” while amateurs practice on the job. Labs are a perfect business example of this analogy.” I do want to be a pro with my yoga business, so I better give it its own court.
Here’s what the separation of my personal site from Compass Yoga does for me:
1.) Gives me a place to solely discuss all things yoga, wellness, and health, which while important to me, is only one of my passions.
2.) Compass is the very first business I’ve ever started. I’ve spent over a year intensely studying entrepreneurs and they have inspired me so much that I could no longer keep from jumping off the cliff. I’m sure I will make lots of mistakes and missteps, and all of them will be valuable to me in the long-term. Having a separate site for Compass lets me take risks and try some new, wild ideas, without worrying what impact it will have on my own personal brand.
3.) Giving Compass its own space keeps both my personal site and the Compass site clutter free. I can’t stand sites that have 800 things to look at. I’m always impressed by a clean design, easy navigation, and the ability of a content provider to edit out the unnecessary so the necessay can speak. I wanted Compass to have its own space, clutter-free, to stretch its wings.
Do you have an online lab where you play and experiment, separate from your main online presence? I’d love to hear about it!
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Today, Chris Brogan wrote about the value of having an on-line lab. Chris just launched his new travel blog (seperate from his main site) to experiment, try out some new ideas, play, and build another business. Chris also makes the points that labs transform failures into learning opportunities and invite us to continue rolling up our sleeves and getting into the nuts of bolts of making things work. 
Christa Avampato 