Saying "No"
I was recently approached by a local company who wanted me to work as a subcontractor providing IT support to their customers. I would have to appear to be part of their company and not use my own company name and they wanted me to substantially discount my prices so they could resell my service at a profit and they would sign up the customer to a 1 year contract. The carrot they dangled was that there could be ten to twenty support contracts within a year. I considered the offer long and hard and eventually turned them down. You might think I'm crazy at this point - and I must admit I'm still not certain I made the right decision - so why did I turn down the opportunity?
Well, several reasons. I wouldn't be able to pick which customers I deal with or develop my own relationship with them. I would essentially end up being "just" a technician working for another company. There were other reasons, but in the end that was the show-stopper. I have my own business ethics (for example I don't tie my customers into a long term contract) and I need to be free to develop a relationship with my clients. I can't stomach being resold as a commodity. I aim to provide a premium service and that's reflected in my prices - "you can have it good or you can have it cheap". In the end, I guess I am a control freak. That's why I started my own business. I don't think I would have been comfortable working in those circumstances and ultimately I don't think it would have been in the long term interests of TiGra Networks.
It's not that I can't work with other companies. I have and still do work with other SBSCs and other local IT companies, but they have been people I feel a natural synergy with - people I know and trust and respect and who have treated me as a partner and not just a commodity to be resold.
Did I do the right thing? You tell me.