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IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

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I am a small-shop it consultant looking to take my business to the next level. Now, I know this is a broad question, and I have ideas of my own, but I wanted to bounce this off some others in a similar situation to see what they have done.

Ok, here it is. I am sort of in that in-between stage of my business, where I am doing well, but not as well as I would like. I am a network guy by trade, and a lot of my customers are asking for some custom programming that quite frankly, I cant do!
I’ve looked at a program from BrandedTechnology.com and spoke with someone yesterday. I was thinking about using them for some services in order to expand the things that I can provide to my clients. I don’t know. I guess I’m starting to babble now.
Basically, I want to branch out into offering more services, but am not quite sure what is the best way. I would appreciate any thoughts. thx –
Donald

Topic

BrandedTechnology.com

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Hello IT…

brandedtechnology.com is a new website as of last Tuesday. How did you find it? What do you know about them?

Registrar info:

domain: brandedtechnology.com
created: 24-May-2005
last-changed: 29-May-2005
registration-expiration: 24-May-2006

not much

In reply to BrandedTechnology.com

To be honest, I don’t know that much about them. I only mentioned them as an example of what path I was looking to go down.
I was referred to them by a friend who works for HSBC bank. He said they used to only focus on large institutional accounts, but have been bought, and are undergoing a new marketing initiative to get into new markets. Thats about all I know about their history.
I talked with a guy from there, and he seemed ok. Don’t know much else though. Sorry.

Is this Marketing?

In reply to not much

This entire thread sounds like a setup to peddle the services mentioned here. I don’t think it’s on to use this forum in such a fashion.

It DID Start Out That Way, Didn’t It?

In reply to Is this Marketing?

Although for what it’s worth after trying to communicate with them to get some more information (the concept was interesting) it’s apparent I won’t be using them for anything. So, if it WAS just a marketing ploy I would strongly suggest the next time they try it they have better infrastructure in place to respond.

That aside, however, I think the thread contains a lot of good advice for folks. I’m assuming ITConsultant was honest in his request (I’m going to side with the “trust until given a reason otherwise” approach), and even if not I think any IT person these days would benefit from what has been said here.

Strange

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

“They are the name behind the name” But no mentions of waht names they were behind.
Solutions below market rate.
How do they achieve that. if you sell below market rate, you pay below market rate, so you get people who’ll take that. They could be good people who don’t currently appeal to the market, or they could be just people who don’t appeal to the market.
They appear to flagging themselves as a reseller, so what’s theer added value and is it worth it.

Can’t say as a devloper of software, I was happy with the between the lines content here. As a software user, who doesn’t currently have the skills and potentially the time to develop, you will have a different outlook.
If you recommend spambot and are looking for say customised reporting solutions, they are probably worth a go. If you are talking about selling client (as opposed to functionally specific) specific software, then it’s going to be on a case by case basis.

One thing I would strongly recommend is that if you are going to sell programming, you should either learn something about it or develop a relationship with someone who does and listen to them, otherwise someone will make a swift buck from eating your a$$ out at the earliest opportunity.

Tony

In reply to Strange

Thanks for the advice. I do have a fairly strong understanding of software solutions, as I started out my career as a programmer for another local IT provider. That was about 13 yrs ago, using C++ and a language called MUMPS. (*nightmare flashback!!*)

Anyways, since then, I have always kept in the loop somewhat, but your probably right, I could get eaten alive if I get into the wrong situation.

I’ll let you know what I decide to do, and how it goes. In the meantime, I may dip my feet in the water with the company (or one like it) that I mentioned earlier.

Been there, done that…

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I started out as a Consultant and was doing extremely well. I decided that I needed to offer my clients more services and bought a local computer store. Five years later, two sacked staff members later and about $30,000 lost later… I am now running a thriving local business. We are busier than ever and more profitable but I could have done without the pain & the learning curve and my consulting has almost disappeared.

My advice? Stick with what you know. Do what you do well. Look at expanding by all means but expand your client base, take on staff if needed and do what you’re good at.

If you want to provide programming skills then form an informal partnership with someone who does that. Refer your clients to them and they will tend to refer clients to you.

I tell my business clients to look after their own business and let me look after mine. In other words, they do what they’re good at and they don’t mess with their computers. I do what I’m good at and I don’t mess with their work. Everyone benefits.

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks for the advice

In reply to Been there, done that…

I am leaning towards just sticking to what I do best. The only thing is, I’m afraid that if I can’t provide the total package, someone else may come along who does, and end up taking my customers.
But, forming a partnership isn’t a bad idea either.

Thanks for the advice. Good luck to you too!

Forming a partnership

In reply to Thanks for the advice

Hi ITC

I agree with HWM on partnerships.

We are based in India and Singapore and work closely with consultants in US and Europe on a partnership basis on very similar basis.

Much of development is based on relationships. Onsite consultant have these. We have the production knowledge and ability. They provide the front ending and the on-site consulting and we do the back end development and delivery.

Works well for all.

Regards

too much for everyone

In reply to Thanks for the advice

I am in a similar situation. But fortunately, I know people with different skill sets who are helping me. I am reselling security solutions, vpns, intrusion detection, etc and having a professional take care of it. I get a percentage. I also have a relationship with an ecommerce solution provider. I get a percentage off every referral. When they refer customers to me, I give them a $$ as well. This way, we all focus on our strengths and provide a full solution to our customers. We are one big solution provider.

Informal vs. Formal

In reply to Been there, done that…

I don’t know that I would recommend an “informal” relationship with someone that provides the services you need. While I’m not a big fan of seventy-five page legal documents that spell out when you can blow your nose in front of them, I would recommend at least a basic agreement that protects you both.

Something fairly low-key, maybe a one page document, but SOMETHING that puts it in writing. I long for the days when a handshake and someone’s word were sufficient enough, but these days getting someone to put pen to paper to promise they won’t steal your customers is almost a necessity.

Great advice

In reply to Been there, done that…

Very succinctly put.
Though my mind started to wander as to how this can be done, your advice seems to the point and very pertinent. In a small business it pays to a specialist and not a generalist (that tends to dilute the offering and also it simply is difficult to manage – add to that the headache of trying to figure out whether the other person is fleecing u or not – since you dont know the software urself).
Stuff to be cautious about:
1. Does the company have the where withal to handle the requirements
2. What are the services they offer
3. What are the nuances of a back-to-back agreement with you (in case the client wants a single point of contact (you) for all requirements)
4. What are the future plans of the organisation
5. How many resources do they have for the work they propose.
6. Who are their current customers and references.

these are somethings that we look at when going into back-to-back agreements with 3rd parties.

Best of luck

Business KISS

In reply to Been there, done that…

I have been a network consultant for 12 years and formed alliances with programmers, specialists and additional network consultants (so I can take a vacation). I use word of mouth and customer referrals to locate people I would like to associate with. I use these associates in a couple of small projects to see how trustworthy, good and flexible they are. If they work out great if not that?s ok too! Over time I now have access to a core of specialists I can use as I need them without the overhead. The crux of the matter is how hard do you want to work? As a small consultancy you have flexibility in selecting clients, work time and off time. As you grow your company you will lose the options to all those as your expenses ratchet up. Babysitting your employee productivity, work quality and emotional needs isn?t a lot of fun either.

Do what you are good at! Continue your technical education and specializations. Be the go-to network consultant in your area and enjoy life.

In other words… Keep It Simple Stupid

You are on the right path

In reply to Business KISS

If you are doing okay with what you have, what would happen if you expanded your market share?

Conrad Levinson wrote several books on guerrilla marketing, the one I like the most has that title “Guerrilla Marketing” it will be the best $13 you ever spent if you use only a few of the techniques to expand your clientel. Additionally, I would think about offering more specific consulting (or specialized consulting). Such as network security, email security, sox compliance, something that you can specilize in that people want.

Send a survey to your current clients and see what they want (the customer is always right) and they may tell you about a market that is not being served at this time.

Each of these take some time and effort but the dividends will be all yours.

Mark has it right though KISS (keep it simple st..) and you will succeed.

– David

My take…

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Don,

I think you offer some key points in your posts. By self admittance your strong suit is networking and you are cannot offer the requested service of custom programming. This self-actualization is a big key to success. Do what you do and do it well. If you want to expand your menu of services then partner with someone who is good at programming and has a desire to offer networking services. That would be a win-win situation. I have managed high performance teams in which my partners came to the table with skillsets to compliment those offered by my company.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to expand your skills inventory. In doing so, the question you will have to answer is “Are you willing to expand at the risk of tarnishing your professional reputation?” It is human nature to remember the negative facts about anything. If by some chance you fall short of excellent on a programming task, people will be prone to “forget” the excellent service you provide in the networking arena. Go for what you know and build on that!

Darren

Right on the Money

In reply to My take…

I think you hit it right on the money with regards to risking your reputation.

Your clients MIGHT understand that programming is not your cup of tea and cut you some slack, but you run the risk that your clients don’t understand that programming isn’t “the same” as network support (“It’s all IT, right? And aren’t you our IT person?”) – and therefore they remember the negative aspect of “average” or “sub-par” programming as much or more so than “superior” network support (and YES, there are clients out there who just know a computer is a computer and that it’s YOUR responsibility to make it work correctly).

I would also extend your comments to note that even if it’s a one-sided engagement (you hire a programmer and he/she does not bring you reciprocal business) it’s worth doing. In that case it’s still a win-win because you’re able to provide more services to your client (more services = less likely to leave, all things equal) and the programmer gets some additional business.

A partnership where each gives the other business is more ideal, of course.

I just made the step….

In reply to Right on the Money

….from consultant to consulting company. I find that a fairly large amount of clients can install a single user retail accounting software. What they can’t do however is make the step to multi-user, network share, backup, etc. etc.
I also have clients who started off networking, using a kit they bought at one of the popular computer retail stores. As their network grew they added switches and/or hubs, and now things are a mess, because they don’t understand that networking is not just about daisy chaining RJ-45 ports.
Networking is my strength, and it’s where the need is. I know people who are working in IT for years and still can’t configure Frame relay or PPP on a router, even if it has a GUI.
I have never lost a client because I referred programming tasks to a partner company. What I have done is that I have given a detailed yet simple enough explanation as to the differences between networking and programming.
In fact, I have offered to sit in meetings and ask technical questions to any company that is offering a software to my client. You see, clients realize (and if they don’t we have to help them see it) that the software is a one-time buy, that should work from the get go. The networking person on the other hand is needed, not only to fix networking problems, but to pull users out of those holes they tend to fall in.
Leave the programming to programmers, and choose the software for your clients that will make your maintenance job much easier, as well as make your client’s life easier.

A lot of wise folks have already said…

In reply to My take…

…do what you know, partnership what you want to add.

Here’s an example of one way to handle your situation – with hands ON:
I’m a contractor and I’ve been with the same client for over 5 years. I’ve been with several firms, but just one client – because they know I’m good at what I do, and will tell them long before the project heads into waters I’m either unfamiliar with or don’t care to go. In every case they’ve appreciated my honesty and let me supervise the work in those areas so I’m sure they’ll be happy with it.

Here’s an example of one way to handle your situation – with hands OFF:
There’s a great guy in the area who is known as a real ‘braniac’. He spends a great deal of his day working on his MANY certifications, which means he has fewer hours to bill clients – but with his knowledge he CAN charge more. It took him YEARS to get to where he is, and he’s happy with it. However, when a customer comes to him with something he can’t do, doesn’t have time for, or just doesn’t want to do he passes it along to someone else. Nothing new, except I think it’s important to understand HOW he passes it on!

1) When he asks someone else if they’re interested in the opportunity, he lets them know everything except the client name.
2) If that person says they ARE interested, then he introduces them in an email to the client.
3) The email includes three very important points, and even though he phrases them in a very easy and conversational ‘tone’ they are very clear:
. . a) This is my client, they are important to me and to my business.
. . b) I am referring my client to a trusted professional whom I know and have worked with in the past.
. . c) I am now stepping out of the picture and letting the two of you work together.

My personal favorite for your position is the second, hands OFF approach. Unless you’ve got a formalized business partnership with another firm or individual, the risk vs rewards is too great to risk a close-knit hands on approach. With it being hands off you are doing a service which both parties can appreciate, and one in which if all goes right they may be able to reciprocate later. And if all does NOT go right, then you are hopefully distanced enough that one or both might even call upon you to help with the resolution instead of being considered part of the problem.

Good luck and may your business continue to grow!

Pick 1 or 2 applications…

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

You have received good advice in previous replies. Perhaps you can find someone who is a programmer looking to expand their business or in need of generating work. Create a partnership – not in your business necessarily – but simply a fairly formalized agreement on how to handle clients and what to offer.

It is less important that you know each application service offered but more important that you know the people you are working with and be able to broadly understand the solutions offerred.

Also, decide on and limit which applications you will offer. This will keep you from going all over the map – becoming all things to all people. Also, you can find a partner who specializes in those areas and learn that aspect of the business. Then, built on prior success, you can expand into new areas.

I just sent in my contracts on my new book for Cisco Press – The Technology Consultant’s Toolkit. It will cover such expansion in detail and will also have more than 10 profiles & interviews with other consultants, small consulting firms, and staff consultants from larger firms. Alas, it will not be available until 2006. ;-(

Matthew Moran
http://www.cbtoolkit.com
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career/

Good luck with your book!

In reply to Pick 1 or 2 applications…

Thanks for the feedback, and good luck with your book!
I look forward to reading it.
How long did it take you to write it?

How long to write my book…

In reply to Good luck with your book!

The Technology Consultant’s Toolkit is yet to be written. The IT Career Builder’s Toolkit took several months – although that is always a mis-leading number.

Research & Outlining can take as much time as writing and then re-writing.

My plan with the Technology Consultant’s Toolkit – which is already outlined and CD-Rom tools identified and some developed – is to complete the book in about two months. It then goes through a series of editorial pre-production steps, technnical reviews, edits, rewrites, additions, etc. Finally, after all reviews are in, it goes to layout. After a final author review, to print production and ultimately distribution.

Whew! The behind the scenes work is quite intense at times but something that I enjoy and that intrigues me.

Matthew Moran
http://www.cbtoolkit.com

Also been there and done that

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Hello IT Consultant,

My advice to you is to always keep your options open by aligning yourself with key individuals and companies that can complement or enhance the services you already provide or are looking to provide. By doing so not only you increase the level of services you offer but also branch in to other areas you want to service as well. Always keeping in mind your limitations, engaging in project you know nothing about will hurt your business. If you want to expand your services make sure they are service you or someone in your company is knowledgeable in.

Within my agreements I specify that my company reserves the right to engage, hire or contract third parties to perform or assist in the work I am being contracted for.

This approach gives me the ability to handle any project needing the services I advertise for and also tackle multiple projects at the same time.

This way you keep your overhead low and also keep more people employed. Create a database or resources and qualifications. For example this forum is full of knowledgeable and qualified individuals in their respective fields. It is a good place to start.

Good Luck…

Also been there and doing that right now…

In reply to Also been there and done that

Contract, contract, contract. HCConsultant has said it all.

I can never say this enough. As a business or an individual who deals in IT related services you should also appear bigger than you are. Never say no to any job and if you can’t do it, contract someone else to do it for you. They do it under your banner, get paid and if they do it well, get more work from you. It cuts down costs because you pay them as a contractor and they do their own taxes.

I contract whomever I need too to fill in the gaps with what I can not do. I’m no web designer but I offer the service and contract it out to someone else. I contract out anything that I can not do, it builds a reputation in the eyes of your customers as being able to do anything IT that they want. That makes them refer you to others that they know. This generates more business and things just keep going from there.

Be Careful…

In reply to Also been there and doing that right now…

“Never say no to any job and if you can’t do it, contract someone else to do it for you.”

That can be a dangerous proposition. On the latter part of that sentence you need to be sure that the folks you’re contracting with are the kind of people you want representing your company, because that’s EXACTLY what they’re doing. Low-quality, buggy solutions have YOUR name attached to them; guys running around in speedos and ripped t-shirts doing the work on-site have YOUR name attached to them; all the headaches associated with the work, whether you did it or not, have YOUR name attached to them. If they don’t represent your company well you’re better off not doing the project than using them.

Which leads to the first part of the sentence – if you don’t already have a relationship set up with someone (or expect to have one shortly) you SHOULD strongly consider politely saying no to it. Don’t put yourself in the position of having a deadline looming and having to pick “the lesser of the evils” when it comes to contractors. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find a diamond in the rough…but chances are you’ll get burned.

I understand that you’ve lost the “full service provider” approach in that case, but I’d rather have to explain to my clients why web design isn’t in my portfolio than explain a poorly designed or unprofessional web site to them. And I guarantee that they would rather have the former than the latter, as well.

All that being said, it can all be prevented by building the relationships up-front (which may have been where you were headed, Angus). Find high-quality individuals, set up some terms (i.e., pay rate, who “owns” the client, etc.) and there you go.

You make valid points….

In reply to Be Careful…

And most of what you said, goes without saying. If you know your work ethics and practices then you’re going to choose someone to contract to who has the same ethics as yourself.

Simply interviewing potential contractors first before using them can eliminate a lot of headaches. Giving them a limited pay trial with an agreement signed by them stating you can terminate the contract at any time for practices not becoming yourself as an IT professional or your company. Either way, you lay down the law and state to potential contractors and current contractors that not only will the loose their contract they could suffer legal ramifications. I’ve signed those before and their nothing if not effective. It makes you think before you act when you represent another persons company.

Which also leads to the second paragraph. You should say yes but you give them a sort of tentative yes that will give you enough time to find someone while drawing up the scope and project documents, since these take time. Yes you can get burned with contractors but if your smart enough you’ll find ways to ensure you don’t pick the hot ones. I’ve have several very sneaky tests for picking a proper tech from a backyard tech. They work very well.

You should never loose the “full service provider” approach, it can harm you in more ways than one. The most common way, your client looks to another company to fill in your service gap, that company undermines you or undercuts you on price and you loose out. When it comes down it, businesses run on money and they will pay for a cheaper option even if that cheaper option goes up in price a few months down the track. They think they will have saved money over using you at your prices.

But yes, building relationships are important. Find those who can benefit from you and you from them. In the end, it’s your future you have control of.

Second the Motion

In reply to Be Careful…

FirstPeter suggests that at times it is correct to say “no” to a job or project. This is undeniably so; but the damage of it can be turned into a positive if at the same time you declare one or more resources that CAN do the thing that is wanted.

This speaks to your integrity; your focus on the needs of the customer or client rather than your own needs. YOU need a job; the CLIENT needs a solution.

Once you have established yourself as having integrity, when a job comes along that CAN be done by you, these people to whom you said “no” may well consider you first.

This is also what FirstPeter has called “relationship” — if you don’t have one, don’t expect much business either.

Use Caution

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Remember, as you add more services to your plate, you also add the requirement of support. The firm I work for is a small consulting shop that ventured to do some custom software for a few of our clients. In all circumstances, this lead to a lack of support for the software and a damaged image for new clients.

I would recommend acting as the intermediary. Find a developer (or development team). Put your clients in tough with the developer and act as the one who oversees the whole process. Your clients are not going to know what they want. You work with them on a daily basis, so you have a pretty good idea (and the technical ability) to communicate the end goal of any development project to a team of developers. This way, your client is able to say I want this widget, and you can tell the software developers, they want to be able to create custom reports of their data on the following criteria.

Unless you are ready to hire an individual to support this software, I would outsource!

Outsource

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Donald,
I too am a small shop IT consultant as well. I found myself in the same position some time back. I had to step back and ask myself the same questions. Finally it hit me, I would have to rely on others for my success. For years, large corporations have been out sourcing IT resources. It is a good concept as a business owner.. I

Outsource

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Donald,
I too am a small shop IT consultant as well. I found myself in the same position some time back. I had to step back and ask myself the same questions. Finally it hit me, I would have to rely on others for my success. For years, large corporations have been out sourcing IT resources. It is a good concept as a business owner.. I now work with another company (software) that I contract thier services. Not as easy as it sounds. If you consider this avenue, make sure you place an agreement in writting protecting your business.

Decisions … decisions?

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I’m thinking that you don’t have to know how to do everything, just what’s possible, who can do it, and how to manage that part of it. In negotiating for the projects/contracts, if you want it you’ve got to lead it, and take the headaches that go along with it, regardless of who does the work.
If you can market the sale and you can recruit the talent to get the job done to everyones satisfaction, then go for it.
Another option is to create an alliance where you get a finders fee, or reduced rates and get an agreement not to compete with the customers you establish. I would offer the partnership plan, but then your customers are asking you and not somebody else, aren’t they? I’m sure they are asking not because they find you to be an expert programmer, but because of their experience of doing business with you. You’ve got a few options you could go on.
If you have to contract a programmer, don’t be discouraged by the $150 /hr rates charged by the big firms. Not all good programmers like to work the 9-5 and some like seasonal or contract work only and work out of their house. All of them have to afford the tools to work with so don’t expect to get someone for $10 /hr either unless you’re bulding unoptimised static webpages for geocities. Look and the BLS and you can get a ballpark figure for different skills, that’s what I do when I’ve had to figure the cost for skilled labor. You can also check you’re local job boards and see what’s offered.
You can even get someone else to do the evaluation if aren’t versed with the specific technology or language. Find someone you know is talented and even if they don’t have time to do the work ask them if they can “give this person a call and see if they are up to the task?”
Hopefully you’ll find something in this that helps. Good luck.

Know Yourself!

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Old but wise saying: Know yourself. In the Navy I learned a useful tool called the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator (Google: MBTI). It has substantial application to your situation.

For instance, network engineers or administrators, programmers have some things in common — they are intensely focused, introverted, and get their “feel goods” from a perfectly invisible job well done. Nobody sees the server room, nobody sees the code that goes into an application.

That type is INTP. They make terrible CEO’s and only with considerable experience make effective managers. They tend to be brutally honest and open with everyone; keep them away from your customers if you have dirty laundry. On the other hand, letting your client’s INTP’s talk to your own INTP’s creates an extremely trusted and trustworthy back-channel.

General Managers ought to be ESTJ types. Decisive, extraverted, thoughtful. They tend to distill choices to just two and see things as good or bad. Having an ESTJ managing INTP’s is not easy; INTP’s see nuances and a million variables at once — it is the very essense of programming to be able to see many threads at once — but too much detail makes management difficult.

The VISION of a company requires an intuitive component, a risk-taking element, usually an extraverted personality type. This suggests ENTJ or ENFJ types.

Empaths are good at customer service (ESFJ) but tend to be highly impulsive and emotional; possibly sympathizing more with the customer/client than with his own co-workers or employees.

Learn to spot a few characteristics in yourself and others, align yourself with your complement — someone to fill your weaknesses and make your consultancy more complete and less vulnerable to serious oversights (mistakes).

Unless you are seriously introverted, you should not delve into programming except as a hobby; and if you *are* seriously introverted, YOU be the programmer and let someone else bring in the business!

I am very good at what I do, and it is NOT rustling up the clients. I depend on the extraverts to find business, and then I take care of my part of it.

Awful Limiting…

In reply to Know Yourself!

I’m a pretty big fan of Myers-Briggs myself, and I think it’s a very useful tool (anyone who hasn’t taken it yet – take it; it’s well worth the time, even for the “basic” version).

However, I will take serious issue with your definition of, among other things, who should be a programmer, who makes a good visionary for the company, etc. I think the types you’ve noted may serve as a guide (although I believe you’re off-base on a number of them), but the way they’re outlined here makes it appear that one type should, for instance, never be a programmer. That type of “categorizing” is completely incorrect and not at all valid (either in spirit or in practice).

“For instance, network engineers or administrators, programmers have some things in common — they are intensely focused, introverted, and get their ‘feel goods’ from a perfectly invisible job well done.”
— That may be true generally, but I know a number of network admins that are extroverted, and some that are not “intensely focused”. These folks are still able to get the job done well, and in some cases better because of they’re extroverted nature. Several are also able to “value add” to what they’re doing precisely because they’re not “intensely focused” on what’s going on with the network, but rather they’re keeping a 5,000-foot view that lets them see “what could be”.

“General Managers ought to be ESTJ types. Decisive, extraverted, thoughtful.”
— I think this statement is absolutely off-base. I would never in a million years limit my selection of a general manager in my organization to someone that is an ESTJ. For someone at that level I would argue that you want someone with more “what could be” perspective (an “N” instead of an “S”) and, since they’re a manager, I might look to have someone who’s somewhat more on the “feeling” side than the “thinking” side (“F” instead of “T”).

“The VISION of a company requires an intuitive component, a risk-taking element, usually an extraverted personality type. This suggests ENTJ or ENFJ types.”
— I’d look for a “P” for anyone who’s responsible for vision in my organization. Someone who’s not constrained by a schedule or by process would be ideal here. And I wouldn’t necessarily limit it to extroverts; I might have an extrovert do the communication, but not necessarily the vision itself.

“Unless you are seriously introverted, you should not delve into programming except as a hobby; and if you *are* seriously introverted, YOU be the programmer and let someone else bring in the business!”
— I think this is the most egregious misstatement. To imply that an extrovert shouldn’t delve into programming as a career is, in the words of somebody from the South, HOGWASH. And likewise to imply that someone who’s seriously introverted should stay away from “bringing in the business” – same sentiment. The stereotype of a programmer is someone who’s locked away in a cube with three 2-liters of Mountain Dew, five boxes of Twinkies and blasting Metallica over her headphones. And while there is usually truth in that statement (I know a LOT of folks that fit that mold to a T), I also know programmers who are LEAD programmers (because they’re the best of the bunch) that are extroverts.

I also know folks who handle all the marketing of a business that are introverts, finance people that are extroverts, sales people that are introverts – all successful at what they do.

While I think you’re approach of “Know Yourself” is a good one, I respectfully caution EVERYONE that reads the rest of the post to be VERY careful with the content and recognize that there’s no “silver bullet” type for a particular job. Myers-Briggs is a good indicator of where your personality lies, not your passion or your attitude (two HUGE factors in success).

Thank you! You make my point even better than I.

In reply to Awful Limiting…

One of the indicators of extraversion is an aversion to Myers-Briggs ranging from dismissal to active opposition.

The MBTI is merely a method of communicating to others in a somewhat standardized way observations about human nature.

It seems to be more effective at typing people that are strongly aligned with the four axes that the MBTI concerns itself with. As we get older, and trained in management styles, and develop our natural weaknesses, we can become “centerline” on those four axes and much more versatile. It is extremely rare to find such versatility in youth where it is deprecated as “two faced” (really, try 7 leadership styles and 16 types) or weak.

Ignore it at your peril. Believe me or believe FirstPeter.

But let us consider a question:

Is it worse to make a mistake or worse to ignore it completely?

Bad question — nobody ignores it. Whether you call it MBTI or “gut feeling”, everyone judges other people all the time. The problem is that without some kind of training or study, you have no idea whether your gut feeling is even hitting job relevant factors. Maybe you both think that the very first episode of Star Wars was the best and purest science fiction fairy tale and the rest are mere marketing machines. You feel so good that you hire him or her for whatever is needed at the moment — but what you are really doing is buying companionship, possibly at the cost of the continued existence of your company.

Does anyone doubt me? Unless you were hired purely on merit, by a machine, is not the human element still your own ability to convey to the machine what you can do for your employer?

It is inescapable. Having training in methods of observation and judgement about human beings is crucial in an era when I.T. has become a commodity market.

I may *say* that an ESFJ is not well suited to a programming job that may take two years to complete; but in fact, what I am saying is that a person that is highly energetic, impulsive, emotional, ambitious is going to become bored with the job before it is complete — I merely CALL such a person “ESFJ”.

If you have staff; one of whom is decidedly ESTJ/ESFJ, and the other an INTP; I suggest it would be unwise to assign critical “face time” to the INTP engineer/geek and it would be unwise to commit to your ESFJ a million-line computer programming project.

On the other hand, if you have TIME for it, DO develop the weaknesses in your staff — the INTP needs to learn to interact with people, and the ESFJ needs to slow down and THINK from time to time.

Let’s look at the example you cite, the extraverted lead programmer:

“I also know programmers who are LEAD programmers (because they’re the best of the bunch) that are extroverts.”

Perhaps unwittingly, you prove my point. He is the LEAD programmer. Not just a worker. A geek will be sitting comfortably at a monitor when he is 55 years old, delighted to be left alone to do projects. He does not WANT to lead others.

But the LEAD programmer doesn’t want to just sit in front of a monitor; he may have reached his limit of patience doing that. If he was your ONLY programmer, now you have a problem — the project just failed.

The power to observe and discern the traits of others is not universal. The word “narcissist” describes a person that has no power or interest whatsoever in actually observing other people; and yet the narcissist very often will gossip or declare what he supposes is the traits of other people — the word is “projection” — what he sees in other people is often shadows of himself: A dishonest person sees dishonesty everywhere; yet an honest extravert is far too trusting of the world. Either way, this type is not very accurate at judging other people.

Just as an extravert tends to be projective, an introvert does the opposite, and sees in himself traits that actually are coming from other people; he will call himself “adaptive” but that is not what is actually happening; it describes only his introspection of what is happening.

Such a person in the presence of honest people will feel more honest, when in the presence of party people he will feel like partying, and when in the presence of slimy people he will feel like slime. If he can disern these changes from his own baseline, he can be remarkably perceptive about the qualities of other people but is likely to keep those opinions to himself as he may think they are indeed about himself.

Good teamwork suggests, therefore, that the entrepreneur ought not trust his ability to judge others and to align himself with a perceiver of some sort who CAN judge others — but that’s a catch-22 and doubtless explains many business failures.

What it takes is someone with enough judgement and assertiveness to IMPOSE some sort of introversion upon the extravert, extraversion upon the introvert. In the US Navy, that person is called “Chief” and can do not wrong because that person _defines_ right and wrong 🙂

The Chief’s primary duty is to develop subordinates. Tame the wild horses, build a fire under the geeks, and so on. The Chief must perceive what really is and where a person must go, and how to do it. Chiefs are taught 7 leadership styles and 16 types of MBTI. One moment a Chief will engage in friendly peer-to-peer conversation; another moment he may be a tyrannical coercive mean machine — but to a different person that needs that kind of medicine at that moment in time; or the situation may allow for “coaching” but if the ship is on fire this is no time for building a consensus (“democratic” style of management).

Watch your step

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

The step of growing and working with someone else is rough, and expensive.
If you make the wrong choice – you will pay.
We’ve found (2 person team, he does web development/custom cold fusion, I do IT – married into this arrangement as well), that for lots of other projects, find highly recommended people and make deals.
Working with things like programming always blow up budgets, the unexpected, doesn’t work like client wants, or they simply don’t pay in the end.
Become great at what you can do, and the people you also outsource too will send more your way.
We hire for when we need to and it has been great. We also try to keep everyone in the loop about new people with skills they might be looking for.
Another avenue is students and grants, but you need to have a lot of time to manage them.
Good luck, have a pocket and pillow before you start – it gets very thin before it gets thicker.

Keep it In House

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

My opinion, and that is all it is an opinion, I would look to employ a person who knows programming. This would keep your customers coming back to your store. In turn it would also keep your botom dollar growing. By hiring an inside employee you won’t have to deal with another company taking your customers nor rely on them to refer you. With that said I wish you great luck in your adventures in your business.

The cost of development

In reply to Keep it In House

The problem with hiring a programmer is that until the product is rolled out, you are having to pay the salary. This can get costly if you have a product that takes a year or more to roll out. One project that our firm recently completed has been in development for over 2 years. This was supposed to be a 6 month project, but because the client continually changed the requirements, delays were inevitable. (This is even with a solidly defined specifications and requirements document). The cost of development has been staggering as the cost has risen almost 75%. Just be sure you are ready to take on a temporary loss until the project is completed.

Eh ?

In reply to The cost of development

You do a development in house, if you already have or can easily acquire the required skills.

The only reason you expand and permanently hire any skill from software engineer to sanitation engineer is if you forsee a a permanent need for the skill.
For one offs (even a series of them) you are better off devloping a relationship with someone external who can fill in the time where you don’t reqire work with someone elses. The biggest advantage of in house (given you’ve got staff retention) is continuity.
The thing I would recomend for people if they want to go that way, is to pick an experienced developer for the first job and as part of it have them come up with a series of ‘standards’ which then become part of the requiremment for any other developments that get farmed out to other developers.
Especially when starting out you are better off going external until you build a market at that point it will become economical to hire your own fella because you won’t be paying them for browsing while you come up with another need.

It’s generally ‘cheaper’ in cashflow terms to go external, but there is on going cost in terms of the learning curve for every new devloper you contract. Technical skills is only about half the job of a developer, learning your environment is critical as well for speedy completion.

business expansion

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Donald,
One of the best ways to expandyour business is in the Public Sector. The best way to do that is to expand your partnership by bringing on a Veteran, or Diosabled Vetran with an IT background. Both the Federal Govt. and State and Local Governments are pushing business to Veteran and disabled Veteran business. Case in point a yound Army officer recently got oout of the service after returning from IRAQ where she lost her leg. Started her own business and went to the VA in her area nd immediately received a 3 year contract for consulting services.

Just a thought.

Gene

networking … the OTHER kind

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Leverage your network (people not technology) to find people who can do what’s being asked of you and have the time to do it. Hire/contract them when you find a need for them.

The expense of paying them can be completely rolled into your billing of the client. You can even roll a portion of your “overhead” expenses (new systems to handle the new technologies being developed) into your billing.

If you “buy” services you will continue to pay for them and can only hope to recoup your expenses from them. If you can find a way to develop them for yourself, you can continue to roll them into billing where appropriate. It takes a little longer to recoup the expenses, but once you have, that standard charge becomes majority profit.

now hire me to do some of it for you! kidding.

In re: IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Stick to what you know and subcontract out what you do not feel comfortable doing. Make sure you have enough profit built into the deal.

Grow

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Hire someone who can on a project to project trial

The clients take

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I employ over 30 IT Consultants on a variety of different projects. If a network consultant offered me a programming service I’d be very worried.

There is no way I am going to put the organisation at risk by allowing a software development project based on someones learning curve.

You may not realise it but most organisations pay way less for generalists than they do for specialists.

Stick to what you know and develop your business based on value added services i.e. if you are a network specialist add network security services as a value added and increase your number of clients.

As for recommending other organisations go very careful all they need is one bad project and your good reputation can be tainted in the clients eyes.

keith

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Hi Donald
Don’t know if you’re in the US or somewhere else. I’m from UK and here there is a small business support organisation funded by government called Business Link. I think the The US equivalent is called the Small Business Administration, although I don’t know anything about it. Although I’m independent now I worked at Business Link for London for about 7 years. Government business support organisations (BSOs) are often a good place to start. They can offer best practice support and advice and can be a good place for networking. They may, for instance, suggest your establish some form of partnership with another person or group to offer the range of services you want to offer and then help you to do it.
Also they tend to be better at telling when you when the meter starts running…
best – keith

Next Steps

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Dear ITconsultant818,
Get more clients and work on interesting stuff – how does one do this-good question?
Develop IP that everyone can use.see http://www.reardencommerce.com to sell software as a service.
Be sure to ask for references from previous clients.
Demonstrate bottomline benefits to clients.
Keep in touch with the latest IT and Technology trends and scientific developments.see http://www.eurekalert.org, http://www.technologyreview.com, http://www.cos.com, http://freshnews.org and http://www.freshnews.com
http://www.cos.com is a website anybody can join by paying US $ 1000 and then get projects from the world’s leading universities and companies.If you can access it do it by all means and solve the problems or else if you cannot do it find people who can and learn from these people and repeat the model.
Save time and money for your clients-how does one do this ?
1)Reducing input costs of materials and/or software.
2)Increasing volumes
3)Increasing clients for people who buy from you.
4)By anticipating their needs early-for eg. I found a small retail store selling t-shirts,I suggested the store starts selling on a)website and on b) http://www.eBay.com – both the suggestions were followed and the retail store owner made profits and in the bargain a web-designer got a job and a real need was satisfied for both the buyer and seller.
Do see my blog too for more ideas-the address is
http://parvezthewebsurfer.blogspot.com – Ignore what you do not like.
Lastly check out what innovative companies are doing by reading mags like Business2,Business Week,Red Herring,Entrepreneur,www.Bizjournals.com
Do think about paying me once you start getting more business and find partners or friends who complement your skills and be fair to them.All the best and hope you get many more clients and grow into a big company.
Do not forget to pay me once you become big-this help is given on trust that when you become big you will pay me an amount you think is fair.

Give it a try

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

If your business is legit, you can probably find at least one if not several local folks who do exactly what you are looking for, who you can subcontract to work with you. If you manage the projects (and them) well, you can effectively serve your clients, provide additional service, and grow the scope of the business and form some solid business relationships. Just do the do diligence in checking out their legitimacy, references, business plan, etc. If you really like the business side of it and are good, you might mentor a student-recent grad into the mix. Hiring other consultants who are good eliminates some of the HR hassles of the process.

Branching out

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

the best idea i could come up with i can’t take credt fr because someone else came up with it which i will now pass n to you.

go Co-op

start a consultants network, preferably one where each consultant has a different specialty than any other in the group ie one linux guy or Device driver specialist or embedded hardware specialist. The guy i know has all this in his network under a group specialty of Telecommunications. Does that give you any ideas.

if you want to learn more send me an email and I will get you in contact with him.

Carl

The more diverse the network the better.

Some ideas!

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Why dont you find someone you know or place an ad to find someone that does outsourced programming (or any other service you need). You set up a meeting with them and the client – and you oversee things. They quote you, you add your markup and quote them… that way you make some money from them doing some work for you!! Just make sure that you manage the whole thing etc…

This should solve all you problems

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I specialize in selling those services that most computer consultants have problems providing like software development, web development and desktop publishing.

The wayt it works is i have a group of offshore programmers and designers who I’ve been working with since 2000 so when i left corprate they went with me. You can get software development done for like $300 per project and 5 page websites for $350. You can usually mark these up 300%.

So if you interested drop me a line and I’ll explain more.

marcus_macd(at)hotmail.com

Define what your are, Increase your staff size, leverage and suceed

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

WHAT I WOULD TELL MY BEST FRIEND

1. Develop a tactical and strategic plan (not books)
? Strategic
 Define broad goals
 Define specific objectives
? Tactical
 Take the objective and define what it means in steps
 Define projects if needed, checklists (to do’s), Measurable things
 Then execute them — measuring your results ? yes, even as a small company

FROM AN EXECUTION PERSPECTIVE

1. Develop a solid list of the best consultants you can find (you now have staff).
2. Contact a Human Resources outsourcing company to help with your people legal issues. ? Remember they have contacts as well and you want to concentrate on the business, not HR activities. (Some HR companies are now very cost effective until your company gets larger)
3. Develop a PC directory or database with consultant resumes and rates $$ — Develop a contact list and keep in touch with the people periodically (define what they will and won?t do, what direction they and technology are going in and check references).
4. Develop agreements that you will need (non-competition for your customers, they are your company employees when conducting work for you, etc…)– use a lawyer for this one.

Take on low risk projects until you really begin to understand the business area and the risks associated with it. (Make sure you can pay to fix the contracts you get initially)

FROM A MARKETETING PERSPECTIVE

Develop a Marketing Plan– Not a book

Decide how you want to advertise, how much money you can put into it and how you will measure the results of your expenditures. Define what you are as a company now and what you want to be when you grow up (what is your vision ? service ? hardware ? software ? strictly consulting).

Make sure you enjoy the area of work (or it will likely not succeed). If you do not enjoy the work and you want to do it because it looks financially attractive then pay a consultant to front your company when having business meetings about the subject-area to make the best impression.

Much, Much more can be said but this gives you a starting place on many fronts. I have been in this area of business for 34 years ? Best wishes, good luck and who knows, I might be applying for a job at your company someday!

Oh yes, and don?t worry about the 16 hour days ? You are likely doing that now anyway.

Reply To: IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I am an IT consultant that took the franchise route. The franchise gives me the opportunity to offer services that I would not otherwise be able to provide and that would take an incredible amount of time and effort to try to develope a relationship with an outsource partner. Computer Troubleshooters is a low cost franchise, has over 400 locations in 20 different countries, and has a team that develops custom programs. They have been ranked the #1 tech support franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2002, 2004, and 2005. It may be worth a look http://www.comptroub.com.

What I’ve Done

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

What you may want to consider, and what I have done as I am in your situation, is team up with other consultants who offer services in areas that I do not. They recommend me to their clients in areas that they do not handle and I recommend them in the areas that I can not service my clients.

consider costs, opportunity costs

In reply to What I’ve Done

Because you’re running a business you’ll need to consider the opportunity costs.

If your customers tell you that they’ll purchase $N million of programming (you need to be clear on just how much programming they want done or how often) if you’ll (your company) will do it.

You must figure out the cost of implementing a programming department (including the opportunity cost), compare the cost with revenue and ROI needs and then decide whether to implement a programming dept.

Forget all the jazz about “forming an informal partnership” or other such “casual” relationship. They seldom work out and are usually most often not worth your time (which is $$).

You’re at one of the many next steps in running a biz. I always took the “got more work, hire more people” road. It worked for me. Yeah there were some tight $$ times but if you take on more biz and need to hire more people you’ll have the staff to take on more biz (if you build it, they’ll come).

good luck,
r/dougo

? is king

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

The crux from my experience is that the lifeblood of any new business, is new business i.e. ?!!!!

Read all the above sensible comments around keeping your reputation, sticking to core competencies, etc and absorb, then weigh up the pro’s and con’s and consider this against the fact that typically it is NOT easy to get new business / to grow your young business.

If you have an opportunity (/opportunities) to do so, your gut instinct should be to take the opportunity. Yes, consider risk, weigh up, phase your attack, etc etc blah blah but DO Push yourself, your boundaries, your goals and it is then you will reap the rewards (not just financially). Stay focussed, do research and manage it professionally. You obviously are to be considered good enough for your client to come to you with new and varied requirements.

Don’t let the opportunities go away! Good luck!

Growing in never painless

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In my 15 years of having my own consulting firm the one thing I’ve consistently found is that adding new services can be tough … profitable sometimes … but tough.

I would agree with the people who have suggested a partnership … often, the person you get to do the work will either give you a finders fee, or you can hire them to sub-contract from you, and make your profit in that way … but you can’t do everything.

You also need to remember, that as you add additional services, YOUR job is going to change, so you might need to hire someone to do some of the networking work as well … because you’re going to spend more time doing management … meeting with clients, reviewing the project with the programmer … it will take time away from what you’re doing now, often more than you expect because it’s not your primary area of expertise.

If you do go the partnership route … you have 2 options to consider … sub-contract or turning over the client. Sub-contract puts your reputation on the line so pick a good programmer. Turning over the programming work runs the risk of loosing the client entirely. Heres an example:

A client is paying you X to do their networking stuff. They ask for custom programming and you suggest ABC Co. who comes in and starts working on the project. Of course, the project is much more intense than the amount of time you’re spending on networking so the client sees ABC Co more often for a period of 2, 3, maybe 6 months. Then one day ABC Co tells the client … oh I can do that networking task for you … I’m right here … next thing you know, the client suggests to ABC Co to take over everything.

Make sure you’ve got a clause in your contract with any partner that will not allow them to do any networking related work and that all business from that customer needs to be put through your company … otherwise you could easily get burned … and it will usually end up being your big client, not a smaller one that they steal.

Good luck.

build relationships

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I was in your shoes once and did the wrong thing. Don’t take on the work saying you can do it if you can’t. Instead engage the work building relationships with people that can do the work and give the work to them. Introduce them to your client and monitor their progress but don’t take direct responsablity for the project. If you wish get non compete clause signed and look for that person to refer you for your specialty. If your looking into increasing your business look into BNI Business Networking International best advice I can give you. I’m a member and it works for me.

Feedback

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I can truly understand where you are coming from. Sometimes it’s difficult when you run a small shop and you want to expand to offer more serivces. I would suggest forming partnerships with other small shops (or independent programmers) to work with.

But overall it’s best to stick with what you know. And it will save you alot of headaches!!!!

Offshore Programming

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

For the past 5 years I have been using an extremely good, relatively inexpensive (though not the cheapest), off-shore programming operation with whom I have developed an extraordinarily good communication system that enables rapid turnaround of requirements and a system that enables clients to remotely see what has been developed, depending of course on the nature of the application. I now represent these folks in the US.

If your strength is applications and networking, have someone else do the coding.

Repsonsible for yourself

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

We have a mix of permanent staff and consultants.

I expect that the consultants I hire come to the table with the skills I need. In general they are smart enough to teach themselves any new skills that they don’t have. If a person can’t be self taught as a consultant then I am not sure they are smart enough to be at it as an independent consultant. Drive and brains are the edge they have to show everyday to justify a higher compensation then a permanent employee.

The above may be a bit harsh if you have no starting background in an area you wish to get into to. There are two other ways to expand your areas of expertise. One is to pay for formal training to give you a base to be self taught from. The other is to become an employee with a company or larger consulting firm that may provide you training opportunities. However making a jump to totally new areas such as programming is hard within a company as they tend to build on existing employee skills since they want a pay back for the wage as well.

In your spot I would consider paying for some training or perhaps trying to get some self taught training via books or CDs. Any way you go there is no free lunch. Consultants are expected to work harder and come to the table with skills ready to use, that is why “they are paid the big bucks!”.

Phil

Time to build your contacts and partnerships…

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Been there… and the first thing that you do is not tell the client that you can’t help them. This is a perfect time to hone your skills and become a prospector and find the right solution for your client. As an IT Consultant, this would fall into your job. Whether you yourself can do it or not, it’s your job to find someone who can.

There are a number of companies out there that provide a wide variety of custom programming services. You find what the client needs, and then seek out a company that specializes in that particular software.

Not only will you become a hero with the client, but under some circumstances, you can even get a slice of BOTH pies in the process… you get a cut from the Programmers! Even better, YOU hire the programmers, and charge a premium to the client… (That’s the most common way to handle it – and trust me, the programmers are extremely used to it.)

Partner Up

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I know exactly where you are at. What I have done is form relationships with other consultants who can fill those holes. So for instance I have formed a relationship with a consultant who works with Great Plains. If any of my customers needs assitance with Great Plains I bring in this other consultant to help. Also it works both ways. If this other consultant has a customer who needs customer application development done then he brings me in to help. This is a very beneficial relationship and has really helped my business.

Partnership opportunity

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I am with Incode Systems, Inc.
http://www.incodesystems.com

A software development company in business for
22 years. We have established dealership / partnership arrangements with a number of
companies over the years to mutual benefit.

Here’s how it could work for you. We have built
a large number of utility programs which each do
something simple but are designed to be
scripted together with other such programs to do
something that ends up looking to the user like
an application. The only thing you need to know
about programming is how to write batch files.
We have also written a number of simple scripting
languages including a server-side language for
building entirely web-based applications.

A number of systems constructed in this way have
been marketed nationally to niche markets. This
highly modular development approach provides a
win-win model for developers and customers.
Applications can be constructed very quickly,
and therefore very cheaply.

Check the website: http://www.incodesystems.com

formed a company with a REAL partner

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I am in the exact situation as you have described. Started out with network consulting and services and did very well but there are times (often many) to win a customer over you need to provide the complete solution.

A common scenario is when a client says their custom program project drives their network one. So, if you’re on the network end, you’re at the mercy of programming project. What to do??

After awhile, I figured that I must get serious about the programming because HAVING A TOTAL SOLUTION TO THE CLIENT HAS THE BIGGEST ADVANTAGE AGAINST YOUR COMPETITORS. Sorry, I can’t emphasize that enough. You know longer have to downgrade yourself in price but upsell by providing total solution AND your clients will love that.

Rather than having an “outsider” do my programming work, I decided to formed a new “total” solution provider company with a friend of mine that is a programmer. I believe this is the best way to do because he has an ownership both to the work and company. What that means is that I know the work will be nothing but the best. Where as outsource to an “outsider”, they will give you more lipservice than not and project cost is hard to control.

my 0.02 from the field.

Good luck.

re:IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

You could locate a local programmer/developer willing to perform 1099 work at a pre-arranged rate, with all billing going through you. The developer should understand that you will be bringing them additional work and they should be able to refer work to you as well.

It’s a good idea to have in place a mutual non-disclosure agreement, a non-compete agreement and a sub-contractor agreement to protect yourself and the business you’ve worked hard to establish.

In addition, keep focused on what you do best, it is the reason you’ve been successful thus far.

Outsource to people you trust

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I consulted for about 20 years, from COBOL to Win32 – and now .NET. Now my wife and I work from our home supporting and modifying web sites for people who trust us because of my past contacts. So when they subcontract to us, they don’t have to spend a lot of time trying to decide if the estimates are reasonable or monitoring the ongoing project. I live to code, not manage, so I like to keep it simple.

In response

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Dear IT Consultant818, you’re doing things the hard and expensive way. First let me say this, if you want to expand your business, take out a full add in your Sunday paper advertising your business’s skill set, second, put in adds in the help wanted section for the skill set you need. You may not need them at the moment but when a contract or opportunity does come up, you have the resumes already saved to rely on. College students are a great and inexpensive way to also look at. You can recruit on college campuses for free and to find the brightest, ask the professors. Hope this is helpful

What’s your strategy?

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

You have to ask this yourself these basic questions (I’m going down one train of thought but depending on your agreement you have n^2 permutations):
Are you a worker or manager? (assume manager)
What is your objective? (assume making loads of money)
Where is the gap in the market that you can exploit? (assume being an IT consulting firm with specialist skills in networking)
What is your competitive advantage? (assume because you are a one-man-band you can undercut the competition on price)
How do you undercut offshore competition who are cheaper? (assume you are better educated, proven track record, reliable, industry vertical experience with references to prove;
… and now your being asked to deliver something outside your skill-set?

You need to be honest with yourself. Either you have a trustworthy friend who can deliver on you behalf (an take on the risk) or turn the opportunity down. To take on something which you have no experience with is not acceptable from both your own credibility and your potential customer’s well-being unless you have the structure to support it.

My advise – do an MBA.

Outsource

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Outsource it with a reputable Consultant or company. You can leverage this to make a partnership with another company who will in return kick contracts your way. Or you can hire a consultant to do the work on a as-needed basis.
I would suggest the first choice.

Be Very Very Cautious

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I was an ERP/MRP and network consultant and my customers were always looking for “Custom Software or Programming” for their respective unique ways of doing business.

Like you, I wanted to expand my business and opened the door to provide custom database programming for their ERP/MRP packages. I failed to have a contract spelling out what was required for the programming to be considered complete and to receive payment for my programming efforts.

Instead of expanding my business, due to my lack of legal understanding and failure to have the contracts reviewed by my attorney, I ended up losing my business.

Up until I started the custom programming, and some of it was accomplished by an outside source, all of my work had been completed and accepted on a Hand-Shake with only a rudimentary written contract.

That doesn’t work with custom programming. You have to have it spelled out exactly or you can expect to lose a lot of revenue and time.

Sooo… Be Very Very Afraid.

Maybe you can start offering to deliver Breakfast Burritos to expand your business ;^)

Are you sure you need a custom app??

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

From my experience, users/customers THINK they need a custom app a lot more often than they do.
It seems like a status thing: “I am so special that I need a custom app”.

9 out of 10 times that I was approached for a custom app, I was able to find something off the shelf that could do the job as well or better.

I found that my good (read smart)customers would enthusiastically buy in to using a package product once I explained the benefits (immediate availability, established interfaces to other app’s, functionality defined by a large body of similar users and, most important, the kind of bug-checking that can only come from lots of users using the app over an extended period of time).

Then you can stick to consulting AND give the customers what they want. Just remember to charge a fair rate for any product research that you do.

watch yourself

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Where are you located? Software development is a whole different world than keeping hardware going. Basically there are three ways to approach it:

1) Project Managed development read: expensive and deceptively advantageous

2) Short Project “hacking” with quick single-purpose applications to solve client’s business problems…can be useful, but you have to keep it low cost because the effects aren’t dramatic.

3) Commitment contract with client to automate their business operations over time. Most difficult to bid, most difficult to acheive, high payoff for the client and great spin-offs for you in terms of the other services you will get with a happy client that trusts you since your software and experts are enabling their business.

IM<>HO

Reply To: IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I think that you are on the right track, however, I think that you will do better attempting to find a freelancer and do work on a per diem basis before contacting a company that may be sending the programming overseas.

They wind up billing you the rate for a programmer, then taking 70% of the profit. While I don’t see anything wrong with that, you will find that when it does happen, you tend to have it done twice rather than once.

Like so many have said before, they would rather have a programmer where they can come in and give direction, than give company the changing needs and have problems with them. Perhaps an Independent Freelancer is your best solution until business picks up to have staff on full time.

What to do

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

If you’re truly looking for another source of revenue and have a clientele that trusts you and your efforts, contact me to discuss power protections systems integration.

subcontract

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Find someone you know (or is certified), find out what they would charge and charge more. If you get the job, it’s money. If not, then you didn’t lose anything. $$

software outsourcing and subcontracting

In reply to subcontract

Hey I’m trying to partner with I.T. consultants from all over so since i specialize in custom software and websites.

I’ll give any and all legitamite I.T. consultants a 5 page static web site (you provide the verbage) with 1 year hosting for re-sell or there new business site for $225.00 u.s. These sites can be resold for 800 dollars or more. The alternative is i will give you 10 software development hours for $225.00 for your software project. If your interested email me at
marcus_macd(at)hotmail.com .

This is First come first serve i will only be giving this away at this price to a limited number of I.T. consultants. When there gone there gone.

(I reserve the right to refuse work that i find offensive, illegal or unethical, all websites will use templates from existing inventory any special templates will have to be
paid for seperatly. This offer applies to html templates only, flash and other templates are extra)

If you have a question or 2 don’t be shy!

The difference between…

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

owning a business and being self-employed depends on the answer to this question…

If you are sick, tired, or take a vacation – does your income stop?? If it does, you ARE self-employed.

To make more money and provide more complete service for your customers, you need to find some partners who can fill in FIRST in the areas that you don’t know (programming) and later in the stuff that you do know.

Rememeber that there are only 168 hours in a week and you can’t work all of them…

The way to make money is to have people working for you. They could sub-contract. You bill them at $x + $10 and pay them $x. If you get a lot of them, you can make a bunch of money without actually doing the work.

Make sure they are good…

Reply To: IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Hi,

a friend of mine is running a small company here in india called xtendtechnologies, http://www.xtendtech.com. They are mvp’s in VC++ . well have a look at their web site and please let me know.

Tell your friend to go and

In reply to Reply To: IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

start doing business with Chinese or Koreans will you?

IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Donald, I feel your pain. As a small business owner (ERP Consulting) I understand your challenge. I too have looked for ways to expand my business but find it difficult due to the fact that I am so specialized that I cannot move vertically. I have looked into expanding services but find it difficult. I have spoken with several individuals who offer off shore programming services. I have not found a way to utilize their services but if this is of interest to you, you may email me at mristic@cinci.rr.com.

Best of luck,
Mike

Add people

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Best way to add services that you don’t have is to add people who provide those services. Logical and inexpensive. By developing a network of people (who are also consultants in their own speciality) you would be able to quote on and accept jobs beyond your scope by developing a list of other consultants in the same boat as you. When needed, you contact the appropriate person to subcontract to you for the specific job. This is a tit for tat scenario where they also do the same with you as one of their available contacts / sub contractors. Everyone wins..

Branching Out

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

Networking to custom applications is not branching out, it’s leaping blindfolded from tree to tree.

First, to address some others’ suggestions: if you make referrals, make sure they can and will do the job. Otherwise, identify multiple custom programmers to your clients. If you take on employees or partners to do the programming, they then become part of the success or failure of your business. Engage them cautiously, while protecting your business.

You talk about offering more services. Consider offering those services that interest you most and most closely connect to your networking business. Maybe it’s security or business continuity or wireless service. Maybe that path is networking to Microsoft server to MS-Access.

If your customer wants a custom application, make sure they don’t really want someone to do the data work for them, or a scapegoat for their tech inadequacies. No one can develop a fool-proof custom application. The fools are just too good.
Instead get the customer involved in the application. You won’t lose future business, you will lose headaches.

How about overseas programmers

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

I am also an independent consultant since 1989, with resources overseas. I want to hook up with additional consultants to generate more work.

what was your experience with Branded Technology?

In reply to IT consultants, I would like your feedback or thoughts

just curious.

Thanks

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