Justin Ramedia

Today I’m creating a marketing plan for xdv8, a new iPhone app development team. The app they are going to be releasing is good, but what’s better is that I’m learning a ridiculous amount as I create the plan. In the researching of app price points, average returns for developers and usage statistics, I can cobble together a really solid understanding of how the iPhone app economy works and performs. I knew enough to get by before. I read TechCrunch, Gizmodo, and a dozen other tech/web/nerd blogs, but until you get in the dirt, you only see the tip of the iceberg.

One of my favorite things to think about when I’m starting a project that seems really big is from the guys at 37 Signals – The best way to graduate from beginner is to get in way over your head. It feels scary when you have to do something that you’ve never done before, but how the hell else do you learn? You can study all day on the “right” way to do things, but until you get in there, you’ll never really know. Practice might not make perfect, but it makes better. So I’m going to keep jumping in the deep end and learning more every time.

UPDATE: Marissa Mayer, Glamour’s 2009 Woman of the Year and Google VP of Search & User Development agrees with me and 37 Signals as well:

Get in a bit over your head,” she says. “That’s how you grow and learn and stretch yourself.”