The Chairman
Chairman of the Board
I have read all twelve pages of this thread with interest and not a small amount of bemusement. Having worked 15 years for a major automotive company, thirty years total in the automotive field and having very little to show for it, I started to work on my own a couple of years ago as a Network consultant. It HAS been an eye opener, but there are some great points being made here.
1) We all agree (with our employer or clients) to trade our time for nickels. Make sure you get as many nickels as the traffic will bear. I now make a good deal more in only 20 hours a week as I did while working 60+ hour weeks. I truly believe that my clients get more than they pay for! No, I refuse to tell any one how I do it. You would lose all respect for me!
2) Many people love the "all inclusive" package deals. Give it to them and you will be rewarded. Being rewarded is not a bad thing.
3) Making money off of the rich gives me time and resources to give to the not so rich. I give a boatload of time and money to the Boy Scouts of America. I plan on starting a Venture crew this December after I finish my IDC. I do not plan on charging the kids, but I have many of my current clients who would LOVE for me to teach them SCUBA at an exotic location. Consequently, I will be borrowing from some of the concepts in this thread to make sure I provide a great service to my clients.
4) Your actual attitude about your customers will endear you to them or drive them away. People can sense when you are truly genuine in your dealings with them. They will reward you with loyalty only if you are loyal to them first. Never, EVER compromise your clients trust in you. Once gone, it is not easily restored. This includes condescension behind closed doors. Only a fool feels he can fool others successfully.
5) Dont lose the message in the messenger. Arrogant, abusive language will always detract from good ideas. The trick is to discern which ones are right for you (if any), and toss the rest. I have always been able to learn from my harshest critics. Sometimes there are salient messages hidden within their venom. Not all of us will see value in what any particular person has to say. It makes us neither right nor wrong just different.
6) Good ideas do not need to be proved to be good. That being said, it still takes only one cogent fact to destroy a great theory. Inherent logic and reasoning are sometimes good enough. A person need not justify his actions or beliefs to me. If they do, I see it as a bonus! Not every idea is beneficial, nor can all ideas be bogus. There are always gems in the matrix if you know how to look for them.
This has been one of the livelier threads on the board. Yet, the Mod Squad has left it generally intact. Our goal is to not create a homogenous board where we all espouse the same opinions, but rather to provide an open forum that is free from verbal abuse. We got close to that line many times here, and possibly stepped over it once or twenty times. Still, the thrust of these posts were still anchored in an open discussion. That can only be healthy for our board.
Sorry this post was sooooo long; I guess I am starting to sound like Iggy!
:tease:
1) We all agree (with our employer or clients) to trade our time for nickels. Make sure you get as many nickels as the traffic will bear. I now make a good deal more in only 20 hours a week as I did while working 60+ hour weeks. I truly believe that my clients get more than they pay for! No, I refuse to tell any one how I do it. You would lose all respect for me!
2) Many people love the "all inclusive" package deals. Give it to them and you will be rewarded. Being rewarded is not a bad thing.
3) Making money off of the rich gives me time and resources to give to the not so rich. I give a boatload of time and money to the Boy Scouts of America. I plan on starting a Venture crew this December after I finish my IDC. I do not plan on charging the kids, but I have many of my current clients who would LOVE for me to teach them SCUBA at an exotic location. Consequently, I will be borrowing from some of the concepts in this thread to make sure I provide a great service to my clients.
4) Your actual attitude about your customers will endear you to them or drive them away. People can sense when you are truly genuine in your dealings with them. They will reward you with loyalty only if you are loyal to them first. Never, EVER compromise your clients trust in you. Once gone, it is not easily restored. This includes condescension behind closed doors. Only a fool feels he can fool others successfully.
5) Dont lose the message in the messenger. Arrogant, abusive language will always detract from good ideas. The trick is to discern which ones are right for you (if any), and toss the rest. I have always been able to learn from my harshest critics. Sometimes there are salient messages hidden within their venom. Not all of us will see value in what any particular person has to say. It makes us neither right nor wrong just different.
6) Good ideas do not need to be proved to be good. That being said, it still takes only one cogent fact to destroy a great theory. Inherent logic and reasoning are sometimes good enough. A person need not justify his actions or beliefs to me. If they do, I see it as a bonus! Not every idea is beneficial, nor can all ideas be bogus. There are always gems in the matrix if you know how to look for them.
This has been one of the livelier threads on the board. Yet, the Mod Squad has left it generally intact. Our goal is to not create a homogenous board where we all espouse the same opinions, but rather to provide an open forum that is free from verbal abuse. We got close to that line many times here, and possibly stepped over it once or twenty times. Still, the thrust of these posts were still anchored in an open discussion. That can only be healthy for our board.
Sorry this post was sooooo long; I guess I am starting to sound like Iggy!
:tease:
eace:
