CommerceCubes

Buying Leverage but at what Cost

I always enjoy reading a solid article from Dani (Danielle) Rodgers. Strolling through SmallBusinessBranding.com today I was reading her article about Lessons from the Startup Front > Choosing Hired Guns. Having been a “Hired Gun” on a few occasions in the past I can personally attest to what most small business owners see and feel when they get a hired gun (Consultant, Service Provider, etc) under contract. Past clients of mine have told me about web developers that just couldn’t get it together and deliver the product they promised or it takes the developer forever to finish or they just lose complete contact with a developer.

Originally when I started CommerceCubes I wanted to conquer this problem because to a large existent it’s quite prevalent in the small business world these days. I soon realized that not only was the problem very rampant but I also realized that being one guy taking on this world I felt my days were limited. Plus the additional problem was only being able to help a few people (you cannot be everything to everyone). Needless to say it taught me a lot about what I wanted in a business and what I didn’t want in a business kind of like dating in that you get out and meet people till you find one you’d like to spend the rest of your life with (i know i am not the first one to make this analogy).

I’ve wrote past articles about how to choose a web developer to help business owners new to the scene navigate the waters of hiring help. Sadly the problem is such that there are still developers getting ripped of when it comes to the design of a website. Jason Chance had a recent experience with this tactic of a less then desirable web developer copy cat artist. Getting back to Dani’s article it is well worth a read if you are considering leveraging work to other professionals. Here is passage from the article…

* Are they talking your language? *

When I look back and think of the first marketing/PR woman I hired, I cringe. She was extremely good at self-promotion, and sold me convincingly on her “results-oriented” approach. I presumed, foolishly, that she meant results for me. She didn’t. What she really meant was results for her. i.e., payment of her invoices (on 7 day terms of course) regardless of what results her services yielded for my business. Further down the track I approached another marketing/PR professional, and liked her initial ideas. When I asked her what results I might expect, she launched into explaining what kind of media coverage was likely. As I listened, I realised that “results” in her language meant the amount of press coverage achieved - and stopped there. In my language, results meant return on investment: number of bums on seats resulting from the press coverage. Little step. Big difference.

Source: Danielle Rodgers; SmallBusinessBranding.com

… The article is full of excellent advice on startup issues such as these and I am sure you’ll find it useful in whatever business you are running, planning to business or thinking about.

Luc