No Room For Sentiment in Business ? Big Websites from Little Ones Grow
- 8th Oct 2007
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- Internet Marketing
SEO
Someone once said to me ” There is no room for sentiment in business ” they then smiled wryly. Inside I knew this person was fundamentally wrong and perhaps a victim of their own ego. Sentiment and principles of good business go hand in hand, consideration to others who are struggling in difficult times often brings countless rewards if not for your own feelings of compassion but to your business too.
My point here is this - today competition is sharp and everyone wants to make money but there is also room to help others at the same time.
Would you for example charge a one woman/man business the same price for a 3 page brochure website as you would to do a site for a large corporate? Think about this, what if the smaller business grew and became bigger than the corporate it’s likely they would remember how you helped them in the first place.
Help others to help yourself then ?
I know we all need to make money but isn’t it more rewarding if you can actually help others in the process ? So-called business experts will give you different advice.
Dan Horton SEO
9 Comments | Leave a comment »
Alright, alright,,,, so you may need some money to have a little sentiment first.. for those currently mopping the tears away from their swollen cheeks.
Trouble is, to grow really big often requires a cut-throat approach. I’ll be helpful where I can, but expect no favours in return. It’s part of the sole-trader mentality I never lost. Expect returns and I figure the new big company leaves you protesting yourself as the company saviour to the IT manager who doesn’t give a monkeys. 2c. :)
Nah for us it’s the personal approach that matters if we like you we’ll take it any which way - big corporate or sole trader but if you’re a tosser, forget it.
BTW sorry to hear about Dave’s car.
Its hard because you want to help people succeed but also you need to help your family and your firm.
If you can selfless help others without any return.
Everything will be good.
As and when I can afforded it I do try to help people out, I also work with 2 company were we barter. One does some press and pr work for me as I am not very good at offline stuff and they have some good contacts, it works really well.
Friends I just help out but don’t tell them what i have done.
Heh, very true but when I mailed Dave for help once when I was up shit creek without a paddle no reply :P
There is some people that I will not just deal with if they show an arrogant attitude even if it means financial gain. Some guy from the UK a few weeks ago was so breathtakingly arrogant I let him keep a few 1000 he owed because it gave me high blood pressure every time I had any form of contact with him.
Hi to all,
I completely agree with the sentiment especially when it comes to internet marketing and small businesses that are desperately trying to get a foothold in the market. The way I look at it is from the perspective that it is all a learning process and what little nugget of information I do know I share especially with people who are keen to understand and genuinely want to grow their business irrespective of whether they buy from me or not. I speak to so many companies who get ripped off on a day to day basis through non performing products and inaccurate information.
Another important factor is this, work with them when they are small and you not only have the achievement of being involved in something from the outset you also get that repeat business and long term benefits are what buil;d a solid reputation which is key in this industry, (along with a great deal of charm and knowledge of search!)
I like Nash’s approach to collaboration in business - the ’sum sum’ game where you do what’s best for those around you and yourself rather than the everyman for himself ‘zero sum’ model. In layman’s terms its a ‘pigs for chickens’ or ‘you sratch my back’ way of working.
This has done us loads of favours with the businesses and developers we work with in China. To get us started off with enterprise level web design, our guys over there just did an amazing job for us for the rebranding of a Canadian fair trade coffee company we work with, and in return, we’ll be helping them with their content writing so that they can break the UK market for some of their other ventures. My point is that by cultivating mutually beenficial relationships like this you can achieve much more than you’d otherwise be able to do on your own.