Today marks the 4th anniversary of my Internet consultancy, Dunkirk Systems, LLC. As I mentioned in my post last year about the 3rd anniversary it’s the day I was in business in the eyes of infamous Cook County, but in reality the business had been in the pupae stage for years.

When I went on my own, I made 2 statements about my business in general. I have never really talked about these much unless they came up in a conversation, so I thought I’d share them today.

Statement 1 – I don’t have to create every Web site

Where technically this is not possible, it is something that guides my business development. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new project, as well as the excitement of a prospective client. In the end a business decision needs to be made, and in some cases it is myself making it, and in many cases it is the prospective client. When one “gets away” I will think back on this statement, and realize there is a whole world of people and businesses that have a need for my services.

Statement 2 – If I have to do cold calling, I am shutting down my business

I don’t look at this as a cocky statement at all, rather one that truly reflects me and how I want to lead my business. Personally, I don’t like cold calling, both from the aspect of the one making the call and especially from the one receiving it. It is probably one of the most user-unfriendly ways of doing business! Sure, in some cases through cold calling people learn about something they didn’t know about before, and there are people who are extremely successful in business – and rich – as a result of it.

Beyond my personal disdain for cold calling, I feel there are plenty of other avenues available to me for business development. As someone who believes business is about relationships, I have been successful thus far through networking, referrals from existing clients and colleagues, as well as repeat business from clients. I also feel there are many other channels for reaching out to people as well, including blogging, Web sites, public speaking, authoring, conference panels, etc. This latter list I have only dipped my toes into, and is a body of water I am planning on diving in head first when I do.

So no big fanfare and no free coffee like last year. Next year will be 5 years, and maybe we’ll blow a few horns then. Now it’s back to work.

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Announcements • Business • (9) Comments • Permalink

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