Shop Around and Ask Around
I always like to encourage my clients to look around before committing to contracting for services or purchasing products.
The online age has brought a whole slew of alternative competitors in almost every category. For many operational items, you can now get some remarkable solutions at price point you'll love. Plus, there's the option of hosted models vs. server based which can offload the support infrastructure.
Just the other day someone told me about a site where you can buy a complete corporate identity and web site template at prices as low as $69.00 US – just 2-3 years ago, you could pay $10-15K for the same thing. And we’re talking slick, professional looking designs (check out http://www.steves-templates.com)
The new breed of entrepreneurs are also becoming procurement specialists on e-Bay, negotiating and buying items at a fraction of the list prices.
Here's another one I recently was introduced to - http://www.evalueserve.com/ - business and market intelligence being conducted globally - their proposition is customized quality research at 50% of the cost of other research firms. You can view samples of their research work on their web site.
So Shop Around before you leap in to a project.
And, Ask Around – we as a society don’t ask enough questions – so ask, ask, ask -- and yes, ask your peers, but also your neighbor, ask your dentist, ask people you want to get to know (it’s a great icebreaker) --asking beyond your immediate circle might surprise and delight you with some creative options.
You will, I hope, be pleasantly surprised with the options to get something remarkable at a great price point.
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