Official Opening
I have just got back from the official opening for one of my larger clients. While I have several business interests, my primary business is running my IT company. This business focuses on SME’s, Government, Universities and Education institutes and National Franchise operations, among others. The company provides services ranging from consulting to total infrastructure and IT management.
Today’s opening was for a client that began a couple of years ago as a small government organisation. I was initially approached by an acquaintance to see if I could assist the client with their IT needs. As can happen many times, the organisation had established themselves and purchased there IT infrastructure from a company that did not have the expertise to undertake the job appropriately.
The job was never completed properly and there were significant issues with their primary domain and email server. At the time, I think the staffing level consisted of a manager and 4 part time staff.
There were several issues with the organisation that would normally have flagged it as a poor prospect.
- It was government funded, which can mean it will take a while for payment.
- They had used up nearly all of there allocated budget for the year.
- The setup was so poorly configured that it basically required a complete rebuild.
- There was no money available to pay for software licenses the organisation required. The initial company had failed to mention this fact.
- The organisation was very small and outwardly would appear to offer little growth potential.
- It was for a group that is under valued and under serviced and not attractive to most IT companies.
What this basically meant was that there was no money to pay me for the value of my work, or to pay for the software required for the organisation to function. However, there were some things in favour for this company.
- The manager impressed me as an honest and very switched on individual.
- He had a lot of ideas for developing the reach and expansion of the orgnisation.
- We mapped out a way to achieve these goals.
Essentially, based on gut instinct I took the organisation on as a client and proceeded to work through their issues. As money was not available for licenses, I migrated them to a temporary Linux setup until the next round of funding. This kept them operational, while not breaking any laws. All worked well and the relationship was developed.
To jump ahead slightly, that small beginning has developed into something far more substantial. The organisatin has undergone significant growth and expanded into other areas and is still doing so. The manager has employed other capable people to compliment his abilities. The official opening today was for an entirely new area of business for the group. There were local dignitaries, media and members of Government present.
Due to my relationship with the group, my company gets all of the IT work without competition. This is a goodwill exercise which works well for both. I now meet with other Government departments and I am working with them towards some new areas of business.
The salient points from all of this are:
- I got my foot in the door due to an acquaintance. (Networking)
- I made a judgment call on the viability of the ogranisation based upon the impression I received from the manager. (Emotion)
- I looked at the bigger picture rather then any short term financial return. (Opportunity)
- I developed a relationship that serves both parties well. (Success)
- It has opened doors into other areas. (Marketing)
It has been good to see the success of others first hand, while also gaining success for my business due to the development of a mutually beneficial business relationship that began on what many would have seen as less then ideal ground.
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