Question: I’ve recently been bombarded with headhunters recruiting me for Internet startups. I’m not unhappy at my current job, but I’m not ecstatic either. What should I look for in making the leap?
Answer: You need to go fishing not just for answers about the firm seeking your services but also to figure out what will make you ecstatic.
I always start out by considering what I love to do and what gets me fired up in the morning. So you need to discover that for yourself.
Then test your own level of risk-taking. Changing jobs can be exciting but also disruptive. People normally dislike change. So just the notion of moving from one place to another can be traumatic. Do you have a sense for adventure? Because if you don’t, you may not enjoy changing careers or companies.
Next you need to check out the new firm. Who are the managers? What is their track record? What are they willing to offer you in the way of pay, benefits and of course equity? How are they capitalized? When do they expect to go public? How much input will you have in shaping the company?
These are just some considerations. Only you can decide if you’re up to the challenge.
Q: My husband and I have worked in our family’s construction business since we were in our teens. It’s been kind of a tradition. Now our children have joined us as well. There are all kinds of problems, as you can imagine, but the one we’re facing today is rating performance. Our daughter is the eldest and her brother essentially works for her. We’ve asked her to evaluate her staff, including her brother. What type of advice should we give her to help her through this process?
A: Wow! That’s a tough one. Sibling rivalry is tough enough at home. Dealing with it in business makes things really tricky. Factor in that performance reviews in general are a difficult management challenge, and you’ve got a real dilemma.
Let’s try and attack this from a family perspective. I would first consider not having your daughter evaluate her brother at all. She should give him the benefit of the doubt and automatically assume he will do the right thing without the normal appraisals or assessments.
I would strongly recommend that she treat him more like an equal. Ask him to help her assess the others on their team and provide him with the tools necessary to do so. This can also help her to mentor him while he feels a part of the process.
If this doesn’t work, I would suggest taking the burden off your daughter and depersonalizing the process by having another manager evaluate your son.
Q: Our Web site has been a blessing and a curse. I never dreamt I would be complaining about getting too many orders. But I just can’t fill them on a timely basis with my current distribution system. Any thoughts?
A: If you’re trying to establish a real e-commerce site, it has to be more than just a catalog and shopping cart. You must have the ability to seamlessly integrate the taking of orders with an inventory and warehouse system. This will allow your products to be shipped almost automatically without a lot of trouble.
You may want to consider hiring a systems integrator someone who specializes in building e-commerce Web sites. The person can make sure that everything works smoothly between your company’s server and its legacy system also known as the inventory information system.
There are many systems integrators to choose from. Ask one of your computer-savvy friends or talk to the folks who manage your Web site. They may have referrals. You can also get referrals from the Informational Technology Industry Association of America at www.itaa.org.
After you get your system integrated, you’ll also need to choose a warehouse service or fulfillment company that is technologically able to handle your e-commerce business. So you may want to find a distributor who has lots of work centers around the country to service customers.
For more information about the best way to set up your back-end infrastructure, go to www.clearcommerce.comeguide.
Q: How can I capture some of the business that falls through the more broadly defined Web portals?
A: Identify and build communities. Many of the larger portals are discovering that people really do like niches. But they could have learned that from history. Remember how boutiques became the trend over department stores, and targeted publications took away subscribers from general magazines? So too will it happen on the Net.
Finding a place where people of common interests want to spend their time will also lead them to spend their money. If done properly, this approach could help you target strategic partners and advertisers who want to reach a particular marketplace.
The big portals are just opening up the doors (no pun intended) to community networks by getting viewers and consumers used to coming to their computer to buy, watch, listen, work and play. You can take them to the next step.
Lorraine Spurge is a personal finance advisor, author of “Money Clips: 365 Tips That Will Pay One Day at a Time,” and business news commentator. She can be reached at (818) 705-3740 or by e-mail at [email protected].
