First, let me state that I love the way my company has been growing and expanding over the past 5 or so years. I can't say I feel easy about everything, what with the economy tanking in so many areas. Last time we had this type of economy (2001) my company got knocked to the floor - and it took us several years just to start getting back up. We had to let go 20% of our staff (OK - that's one person.) We ran up an obscene amount of debt, and my business partner and I went without a salary for 14 of 24 months to make sure our employees would get paid.
People say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's absolutely true. Our business focus is much sharper and decisive. Pretty much every dollar we spend is based on short/long term investments: people, gear, marketing. If it'll help grow or sustain the company, we invest in it. If not, then we don't Sounds like real basic business management, and it is, but in the heady days of the dot.com economy, these basics got overlooked... ignored outright. And we payed the price.
Today, we have 6 employees (a 50% growth!) and we're considering at least one, maybe two more positions. We provide family health insurance for every employee, retirement benefits and cell phones for employee and their spouses. We've had our busiest 18 months ever, and this Fall looks to be possibly more business than we can manage, again. The oddest feeling - I'm completely paranoid about the economy while facing our largest jump in business ever. I'm trying to manage growth beyond our ability to contend with while waiting for that 'shoe' to drop.
One other oddity - up until last summer, I had never been out of the country for work. I had 4 trips overseas last year, and I am looking at traveling to Zurich Switzerland next week. It's seems amazing that we might have built up enough trust and satisfaction with our clients for them to cover international travel expenses without much concern. I know with my exceptionally talented and driven co-workers, and our almost obsessive focus on client satisfaction and success, we are providing real value for their dollars. However, I still pause at the worth of my traveling overseas for what sometimes seems like pretty basic work. Of course, there's a catch.
Here's the catch: we are the cheapest option. Even when considering all travel expenses, added management and time required of me and my team, we're still more affordable than our European counterparts. Ever since 2001, we have always tried to walk that narrow balance between getting paid as much per job as possible while staying within our market price range. We're actually towards the top of the 'price per' in our local market, and except for Boston and New York work, we are within the range of the national market. We have become the cheap labor pool. Made in America now takes on the connotations of Made In China.
People wonder when our status in the world markets will start declining... when we will become a second rate economic state. I have no idea if we are there yet, but being the cheapest guys on the block has never been our intention, but it's simply the product of other countries over taking the US in so many ways.
When I start getting work overseas solely for use overseas, then I know we will have fully dropped to that second class level. Until then, I'll watch all this with a lot of interest. It's an odd view of what other cheap labor countries must feel. Who can complain about the success of so much work? We're making good money (here) and our business is growing, but that comfort seems extremely shallow when I know why that success is at our door. China might very well be our main competitor in the global market, but not just because they are moving upwards.
