Marketing or IT or IT Marketing
Dealing with a Client lately made me think; as this Client has an “IT” contract with me but is continuously asking me questions that are more and more related to “Marketing”. Of course I’m nice about my answers, but I gotta say that in the back of my head I’m saying, “Gee, dude! You hired me for IT not Marketing — maybe I need to charge you more money?”
Yet, it is dawning on me more and more that many of the ‘Marketing’ questions he’s asking me are based on the technology available to him; which can arguably be more than what he’s be privy to normally due to having “me” as his IT consultant. Yet, I think we’re way too early in the new tech game for anyone, (meaning current and/or potential Clients), to recognize that there is a difference between straight IT consulting and IT Marketing consulting.
Not to mention IT Management consulting or IT Accounting consulting or …
Seems the more that IT becomes the mainstream of business, the more the IT Consultant has to know about all the other departments and how they work. hmm.. maybe I should be charging more money! 
A Perfect Pear
In the midst of all this doom and gloom being reported all over the place about the economy; I ran across a rather inspiring story.
What I learned from this story is that, even in the middle of drastic change and turmoil — perseverance and positive thinking; (coupled with wise risk management and proper research, of course); can produce wonderful results.
If you’re in business or trying to start a business.. or even thinking that being in business for yourself is something you’re interested in — do not allow the nay-sayers to thwart you from your dreams. Do not close a blind eye to the obvious challenges that are before us, at this time either. Yet, do not allow them to dictate negative reactions and/or thinking in you.
You too can have a Perfect Pear!
Eventually I came to appreciate that the people I met ate and drank
only what they grew — what they had. Their genius was taking whatever they could grow and making something wonderful out of it. Poor land that could only support goats led to chevre. Undrinkable ugni blanc wine led to cognac. Small, crummy apples in Normandy led to Calvados. And so on.
Eventually I learned that the Williams pear, which the French, Swiss and Germans made into the fantastic Williams pear schnapps, or eau de vie of poire williams, was the same as our Bartlett pear.