#276 Perspective

From our AirBnB in Dusseldorf, Germany.

I'm sitting on an Air Berlin flight to Germany right now. We have a 23-hour-layover in Dusseldorf where we've got a nice little AirBnB apartment downtown. The following day we fly to Naples, Italy where we'll be for the rest of the month. 

Recently, someone online commented that I've got a pretty exciting life. The tone is what really stuck out in my head and is what's keeping me awake right now.

Let me back up a bit to when I was a field tech in my first year of work.

About eight months after I started in CRM I was working for a company out of Tampa, Florida on a project that took us in different areas north and south of Lake Okeechobee. It was miserable work with crappy pay, practically no per diem, and double occupancy hotel rooms. It's the kind of thing I rail against on the podcast now and a situation that I'd never put my employees in. Aside from the bugs, snakes, alligators, wild boars, and shitty weather, we didn't really find anything in our 50x50cm shovel tests. At least we were digging in sand.

I was so poor on that project that I didn't want to pay for a hotel room on the weekends. We worked Monday through Friday. On a couple of the weekends a coworker let me stay at her house. I was very grateful to have a comfortable place to stay but I always felt weird about it. I just don't like imposing on people. So, for a few of the weekends I camped. In Florida. In July and August. 

On one particular weekend I remember having a campsite at a state park near Jupiter, FL. I'd purchased a small water heater and a small fan; my tent spot had power. The water heater was for my coffee in the morning and the fan was to keep me from dying. It was so hot and sticky from the humidity that the temperature overnight never really got very low and I didn't sleep much. I relied on the weekly hotel rooms to catch up on my sleep. I was miserable, had no friends, and didn't even have a computer.

In my off time I tried to ride my road bike and read a lot. I wasn't reading blogs or listening to podcasts - mostly because they didn't really exist yet. I just worked, went home, had a meal, watched TV, whatever, and did it all over again.

There were a few times while I was driving that I seriously thought about swerving into the relentless traffic. End it all right there. I was 31 years old, divorced, in serious debt, and didn't have a clear picture as to how the rest of my pathetic life was going to go.

This isn't some feel-good story of how I made it. Even though I own a couple companies and play a significant role in a few others, I still don't think I've "made it". I talk to people sometimes, though, that seem to think I've got it all figured out. Well, I don't. In fact, I really can't tell you how I got here. Honestly, I just kept going and kept looking up. I have a personality that makes me want to lead, to be in charge, and to make the decisions. There isn't a real reason for it - it's just how I'm wired. So, I constantly put myself in positions where I could gain some leadership experience or experience that would help me out later on. I realized at some point that most people in the lower levels of CRM don't really know more than they have to. It's just a fact. By learning a little bit about using a Trimble or a total station I made myself more marketable. By volunteering for things and always stepping forward when asked I made myself an asset. Before I knew it I was getting crew chief positions more than field tech ones.

I saw getting a master's degree as the next logical step in the upward process. So, I started looking, but not too seriously, for graduate schools. Just in case, I took the GREs. One year, a former professor of mine told me about a new one-year MS at the University of Georgia. I applied and got in. I wasn't concerned with cost. That would sort itself out. The degree took me 12 months and cost me $33,000. Still paying it off, of course. That's on top of my remaining $50,000 from my undergrad (I was an aviation major for a while - it's expensive).

At some point after graduating I got a project manager spot. It didn't last long because I was laid off. I took that as a sign to start my own thing and the rest is history.

So, have I made it because I get to go to Italy and work on software that will help archaeologists across the planet do their jobs better? No - I worked hard for this and at some point you realize that the work is never done. I'll have made it when I'm suddenly dead and my legacy lives on. I won't care, though, because I'll have been plasticized into a position where I’m digging a unit while recording a podcast.

I don't know what the point of this post is. I think I just get irritated when people look at my situation and make assumptions as to how I got there and where I'm going. Being a CRM Archaeologist is HARD work and you have to make yourself a career that you're happy with. No one is going to do it for you and because of the nature of our work you could easily end up a field tech for the rest of your life with no change in lifestyle or situation. Maybe you're cool with that, I don't know. If you're constantly complaining about money, benefits, and lack of work, though, you have no one to blame but yourself. Get off your ass and make something happen, no matter how ridiculous. That's it - they're serving breakfast soon and I haven't slept yet.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the field.

#266 Small Business and the Nightmare of Payroll

When I started my company three years ago I thought, this is my change to show everyone how it can be done. This is my chance to do it right! I probably thought that owning a CRM firm was really just doing good, ethical archaeology. Right? Isn’t that all it is? Everything else will fall in line and just — happen?

Not so much.

Sleeping - Or Not

Up until 2015 I only really had one employee — me. For one project I had help from a friend but that was only for a few weeks. In April I hired six people, mostly friends, for a 15,000 acre survey in an area in which I’d never worked. To start the project with some working capital (aka lots of money) I took out an SBA loan for $50,000.

That lasted about a month.

After the money was gone I had to essentially beg my prime contractor to pay on invoices quicker than they usually do. If they hadn’t been good about sending me checks every couple weeks over the past nine months then I’d be in a world of trouble. Still, though, sleeping is tough.

My payroll runs every two weeks and pays on a Friday. On the Tuesday before, I log in to the system and enter all the hours. By Wednesday I get the report that says how much I need to put into my payroll account for the direct deposit withdrawals. That amount not only includes the net amount for each check but the taxes that everyone pays, the taxes I pay (which are equal to what my employees pay) and the fees to the payroll company to keep it all straight.

For a staff of six people, including per diem of $130 a day for that project and $110 for the following project, my bi-weekly payout was about $23,000. So, for the 11 days before I had to submit payroll on Tuesday (I allowed myself one day to not think about it — never worked) my thoughts before going to bed and while trying to sleep were:

payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll payroll…

Hiring your Friends

CRM is a small industry and chances are you know someone in just about every region that you can call on for help. I haven’t had to hire too many people that I don’t know, which is really nice. You get a quality person that you know you can count on. However, it piles on that much more guilt and anxiety when you know they’re counting on you to pay their bills and support their family. They’re counting on that paycheck to be on time and that per diem to be there at the beginning of the session. I know. I’ve been there.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t hire friends again, but, I might wait until things are a little more stable so I don't feel guilty when my heart stops in bed from anxiety and no one gets paid.

The Solution

If I knew the solution I wouldn’t have had to write this post! Seriously though, the solution is to have the money it will take to cover expenses for a project in the account BEFORE the project starts. This is where large engineering firms have an advantage. They can shuffle money between departments quite easily and can keep projects going. Invoices often take a while to get paid and often they’re not paid out until the fieldwork, or even the final report, are completed. That can be a massive financial strain for any small business.

My Priorities

Simply put, my priorities have always been my people. I put money in the payroll account and get the cash out for per diem before I pay my bills, my credit cards, and myself. If you don’t pay your people, what do you have? I can’t do this by myself. I guess I use the Vulcan theory on this one (yes, huge Star Trek nerd), “The good of the many outweighs the good of the one.” So, if I can relieve my employee’s financial worries and take it on myself, that’s fine. If I can always ensure that their pay is on time and their per diem is on time then they have no reason to think anything is amiss. That’s how I’d prefer it. They have a job to do and they don’t need any distractions.

I hope I can get the Archaeology Podcast Network and a couple other side projects monetized so DIGTECH doesn’t have to rely on CRM as it’s sole source of income. I have no desire to be a large engineering or environmental firm so I can’t count on that. Diversifying and increasing income in other departments is the way to go, though.

Also, hiring someone, anyone, that really knows anything about business development is a top priority for DIGTECH.crm. Problem is, I can’t afford to pay them what they deserve right now. That’s a real crappy situation. I need money to pay the person that will bring in the money. WTF? Any business developers out there work on commission???

Any other small business owners out there experiencing the same thing? I can’t be the only one that doesn’t have a clue!

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the field!!

#264 DIGTECH - 2015 By the Numbers

Well, DIGTECH is dangerously close to celebrating three years since founding (January 8th). How have we done so far? Let's run down the numbers for this year:

• Payroll - $167,114
• Per Diem - $69,911
• Employees - 10
• Permanent Employees - 1 (No, not me)
• Acres Surveyed - 45,000
• Sites Recorded - About 250
• Isolates - About 1200
• iPads - 9
• iPads given to employees - 7
• Trimbles - 2
• Trimbles destroyed - 1 ($550 repair cost)
• Overall, we didn't do too bad.

In 2013 DIGTECH did about $13,000 in business. In 2014 we did about $40,000. This year we did about $407,000. Doing the simple math from above you'll see that there is about $170,000 left from the project budgets. A little lesson in business will tell you that much of that went to other expenses and payroll taxes. There will be about $50,000 left to pay me, finally, and to be prepared for more work. Also, I had to take out a $50,000 SBA loan to start the season and I had to buy a new field vehicle. So yeah...not too much of a profit, but, we don't do this for the money.

What do I get out of this?

What do I get? I get to hire my friends and see them pay their bills, enjoy themselves, and get one step closer to fulfilling their dreams. That's what I get and that's why I do this.

What's in store for 2016?

Well, we've got a few irons in the fire for DIGTECH.crm. I really think that this is the year that DIGTECH.media will be on fire, though. The Archaeology Podcast Network has over 16,000 monthly subscribers as of December 2015 and our numbers keep going up. We're poised to get some real money from advertising which will allow us to pursue more show opportunities. My focus has always been on education and outreach. The APN is my outlet for this.

I've also got plans for a new book, published in a new way. More details on that are to come soon.

New Chief of Operations

This blog post will stand as the official announcement of our new Chief of Operations: Deanna Dytchkowskyj! I've known Deanna for about five years now. She's a great person that is very organized and detail oriented. As the COO she'll eventually be in charge of making sure all the departments within DIGTECH are on track with their missions and that things are proceeding according to plan.

Hear's to 2016 and great things to come!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the field!!

#236 Uncontrollable Forces in CRMArch

I’m currently about to participate in a three week testing project where DIGTECH was hired basically as the excavation crew. For this project, I had to hire my first temporary employee. I’m going to present the challenges this entire operation presents. Keep in mind, I’m one person hiring one other person. The challenges I’m going to present are magnified many times with larger companies, but, they are still pretty much the same.

Timing

Since I’m not in total control of this project and was subcontracted by another CRM firm to do the fieldwork, I have very little control over the flow of information. The client for the project is actually a county in California. One challenge that presents is that they have a lot of bureaucracy to get through before they can approve the project.

First, the county asked for a proposal from my client. My client then asked for a proposal from me. Once they had the complete proposal the CRM firm sent it to the county. The county had some changes and sent it back. The firm signed it and sent it back up to the county. Now, the county has to send it to a “Consent Meeting” where it is voted on. When it’s accepted we have five days to get in the field.

The employee I wanted to hire is a long-time friend who was on a project in the upper midwest. He was looking to come back this direction so was a perfect fit. Of course, he had to give notice at that company and then make the drive back to Nevada. I got a start date of July 14 from my client. What I didn’t know was that was on the assumption that the consent meeting would have taken place by then. Well, it didn’t happen. 

So, I pushed the start date back one week. Luckily, the meeting happened the following week and we’re slated to start now.

A big complaint I often hear from field techs is that companies jerk them around on start times for projects. I’d say that most of the time the firm would like to start as soon as possible because they don’t get paid until many months after the start of the fieldwork, typically. Some projects invoice monthly and some are based on passing milestones (like finishing fieldwork, etc.). Either way, the company has to have a date in mind so people can make arrangements to get there on time. This doesn’t always work out and start dates have to move.

My advice to the field tech would be to understand this problem. Be flexible and responsible by having some money in the bank that you can live on for a few weeks without pay. If you don’t you’ll just end up getting frustrated and working at the Gap. Nobody wants that.

Payroll

If you’re running a small business then you’re worried about payroll. Period. The tough thing about payroll in CRM is that the company might have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars before the contract’s client ever pays out. So, they either need to have a bunch of money in the bank, a line of credit, or a loan.

In my case, I haven’t done much work on the CRM side of the company lately because I’ve been focused on other projects. As a consequence I don’t currently have the money to cover payroll. What will this three-week project cost me?

The county set per diem at $165. I’ve set wages for myself at $25 and for my tech at $20. For 15 days thats a total of $2475 in per diem, EACH, in cash, and up front. For pay that will be, before taxes, $3000 for me and $2400 for my tech. The total payroll is up to $10,350. That’s just for two people for three weeks! So, assuming I don’t pay myself a dime right away, which is common, I’m now responsible for $4875. I have to get the per diem before we start. They pay can wait a couple weeks after the end of the project. That’s fairly typical.

Where is this money going to come from? I have a few sources that I’m going to tap. Either way, it’s stressful. I’d love to just have the money on hand, but, I don’t. I’d love it if my tech would take the pay portion when I get paid for the project, but, that’s not fair to ask and I wouldn’t want to put that financial burden on him anyway. So, a loan it is.

I haven’t even talked about the actual process of running payroll yet: taxes, W-2s, etc. That’s because I haven’t figured it out yet.

Logistics

I have two logistical concerns: lodging and travel. For lodging we’re staying at a nice RV resort and campground on a lake. It’s reasonably priced, has Wifi, showers, and power at the sites, and is only a few miles from the project area. The problem is that they need seven days lead time for cancelations. Since it’s summertime camping I wanted to get a reservation in early to ensure a spot. Of course, I had to move the reservation a couple times and luckily they let me. It’s apparently only cancelations that they have a problem with.

My other concern is travel. My wife and I have one vehicle. We’re working on getting a second, but for now that’s off the table. So, I rent vehicles for projects. It doesn’t really matter since you bill the cost of a vehicle into the project anyway. I still have to deal with vehicle availability and canceling or changing reservations. All of these little details just pile on the stress.

Final Thoughts

So, the next time you’re criticizing a firm for playing with the start date and other logistics, keep in mind that there are factors at play that you are not privy to. There is always a strong chance that the person in charge is just a terrible manager, but, that doesn’t take away the challenges I’ve mentioned. It just changes the way they handle them.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the field; if this damn project ever starts!

#230 - Bad Businessman

So, I might be just a bad businessman, or, I’m going to change the world. Either way, here are some thoughts on business and pricing in CRM and, really, everything.

There is a pretty good chance that DIGTECH is going to be merging with another company soon. We’re joining forces because the leadership of the other company are getting on in age and are looking to keep their legacy going. First, I really respect them for making this decision. There is no reason to let something you’ve built for the past 30+ years just die. That being said, there are some decisions that will have to be made.

DIGTECH Pricing Schedule

When I first started my company I was really stressing out over what to charge for my services. There are essentially four levels that need to be priced: Principal Investigator, Project Manager, Crew Chief, and Field Technician. The price you put on proposals is called the billable rate and it’s intended to cover all of your operating expenses (overhead) and is the source of your profit.

A number of companies I’ve worked for have a billable rate for PI that ranges from $85 to $150 per hour. I’ve seen an average for field technician of about $50-$60 per hour. Some companies charge more, some less. The rate is often decided by using a multiple of 2.0 to 3.0. For example, if you want to pay your field technicians $18 per hour, then multiply that by 2.5, for example, to get the billable rate ($45 in this example). Again, that rate should cover overhead and give you some profit at the same time.

Of course, I don’t really have much overhead. I’m completely digital and don’t have offices to pay for. So, do I use a multiplier that’s under 2, or, do I use a standard multiplier so I can stay up with everyone else and just make more money? That’s the big question, isn’t it?

Undercutting, or, Efficiency?

My big question is: what is the price point I can choose that pays my people well, gives the client a fair price, turns a profit, and is respectable? That last one is tricky. If your prices are too low you won’t be taken seriously; too high and you won’t win any projects.  The prices need to be somewhere in the middle.

If my prices are too low I could also be seen as undercutting by the competition. That’s a sore point with me too. Is it undercutting to work more efficiently by completely rethinking the entire business and how we do it? I don’t think so. If I’m paying my people well and growing the company while giving my clients a fair price then I’m happy. If other companies can’t compete with that then that’s not really my problem. Sounds harsh, but, times are changing and you either adapt and overcome or move out of the way.

Joint Venture Pricing

So, If I join forces with a company that’s been in business for 30+ years, what do we charge? Also, we’ll be working in both California and Nevada. Do multi-state companies have different pricing structures for different areas? You would think they do to remain competitive, but, they still have the same overhead to pay. Bringing in another, established, company will give me some of the experience I simply don’t have.

I’ve been building DIGTECH by the seat of my pants. In reality, I don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to business development. I’ve simply never done it before. What I do have is drive, ambition, and a desire to do things better and more efficiently than they’ve been done in the past.

On the last episode of the CRM Archaeology Podcast (Episode 36) we interviewed firm owner Sonia Hutmacher. Sonia said that she recommends you start a company with $30-$50k. I started with $7k and a credit card. Still in business, though.

Anyway, we have some decisions to make over the next few months. In the end I think it will be great for both companies.

That’s about it for now. I’ve been a bit absent since my other company, Field Tech Designs LLC, has been taking up a massive amount of my time. We’re creating digital field forms for other companies and our application for Android, and eventually iOS, is well underway with development. Since the dev company is in India there are a lot of late night calls so I can work with the development team. There will be many more details to come.

Also, I'm likely starting a new business for aerial drone surveys. We'll be taking aerial photos for large mine complexes, pipelines, utility lines, archaeological excavations, road surveys, and everything else. Sure, it's illegal now, but, hopefully the FAA gets their head out of their collective...well, you know.

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From XKCD, of course.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the field!

#203 Veteran-Owned Small Business

As of November 27, 2013 Digital Technologies in Archaeological Consulting LLC is a certified Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB). What the heck does that mean, how do you get certified if you're a veteran and a business owner, and what will it mean for DIGTECH? Read on for stimulating answers.

Veteran-Owned Small Business

To be counted as a VOSB a company has to meet two primary requirements: it has to be small, and, it has to be at least 51 percent owned by a veteran or veterans.

Whether you count as a small business depends on the NAICS codes (North American Industry Classification System) you associate with your business. The ones DIGTECH uses — 541620, 541690, and 541720 — puts the small business threshold for my company at $14,000,000 a year. That means I'm counted as a small business if I do less than $14,000,000 a year in business. To me, that's a bit absurd. It makes nearly every CRM firm that is not a massive engineering company, or a huge environmental firm, a small business. So much for competition.

The business also has to be 51 percent owned by veterans. If you're the only owner then that's easy. If you have a partnership and one of you isn't a veteran then you have a sticky situation. The veteran needs to have the controlling stake of at least 51%. If you have three or more people, it gets trickier. You can each have 33.3 percent, but, two of you had better be veterans. See how that works? If there are multiple owners, the total ownership of they're veterans needs to be at least 51 percent.

Why Do It?

A number of federal contracts come with a requirement to give a small percentage of the contract to VOSB and SDVOSB (same thing, but for service-disabled veterans) companies. For anyone familiar with losing federal jobs to veterans because they get extra points on the application, this should be familiar. This is the same thing, but for companies. Well, it’s a little different, but it’s the same concept.

In short, do it. It can’t hurt, and in fact, can only help your company. Also, it lets clients know that you served your country. That’s something to be proud of, regardless of your political affiliation.

What’s the Process?

First, go to the Veteran’s Information Pages website (www.vip.vetbiz.gov). For some reason I get a security warning on my Chrome browser every time I go there. It’s legit, though. Click on “Register” in the upper right-hand corner. Once you go through all the pages of information, you’ll have to upload a number of documents. Trust me when I say this. It’s a lot. If there is a document requirement that doesn’t apply to your business for some reason, you’ll have to upload a letter of explanation (LOE).

I started this process back in September. Most of the documents required didn’t apply to my business since it’s knew and I haven’t done much business yet. So, I uploaded a lot of LOEs. After the first submission, you’ll eventually get an email from the VIP people telling you exactly what you did wrong and what they need clarification on. The people that look these over try to make sure that your package is perfect before they submit it for evaluation. It took me three or four rounds of writing and re-writing LOEs before my application was submitted. The guy that kept calling me was very patient, even when I wasn’t.

Once the application was submitted it only took a couple weeks before I was “verified”. Now I can put the VOSB logo on my business cards, website, and capabilities statement. Keep in mind, this process is entirely free. Well, you have to serve your country for four plus years and give up your Constitutional rights for a while. Aside from that, it’s free!

I hope this helps. Go get your certification and let me know if you did it in the comments. Are you a business owner that went through the process? Tell everyone about how it went for you in the comments.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the field!

#199 Teaming

As I build this company I’m finding it difficult to get government contracts because of the requirements. All the requests for qualifications (RFQs) I’ve seen place a heavy emphasis on what they call “Past Performance” (PP). The past performance is like a list of references for your company and often it’s more important than price. I actually lost a proposal to a company that had a much higher price than me because I lacked in the PP area (Wow - that sounds really bad).

Past Performance doesn’t refer to your personal work history either. It only refers to your “Corporate Past Performance”. That means the work your company has performed. Here you can see the dilemma. How can a new company have PP and get new contracts to build PP if they don’t have the PP to begin with to win the contract!? It’s a frustrating and confusing cycle that is tough to break. 

Most of the government RFQs have a provision for not having past performance. Since the PP should be relevant to the project you are trying to win and be current (usually the past three years) sometimes you have to claim “Neutral Past Performance”. This doesn’t really help you all that much. Sure, you’re proposal won’t be thrown in the trash for not meeting the requirements of the RFQ, but, you won’t get a very high score on the PP side of things either. 

Combining Efforts

As far as I can tell there are two ways to add past performance to your proposals. The first is to buy another company and use their past performance. Not really an option for me right now.

The second is to team with other companies that do have past performance and combine your efforts. This is what I’m trying to do right now. A few months ago I was contacted by a GIS firm in San Diego. They do all sorts of environmental things but they don’t have archaeologists on staff. After finding me on LinkedIn we decided to pursue contracts with an archaeology component together. Since they have over 25 years of experience I’m able to piggy back on that a bit. Unfortunately, they don’t have any direct archaeology experience so we are still forced to submit “neutral past performance” (NPP) proposals. 

After the declaration of NPP, however, we have a section called “Relevant Past Performance”. It’s here that the other company, hereafter referred to as the “primary” puts down similar government contracts they’ve one and where I put down projects that I’ve managed for other companies that are similar. It’s not the best solution but it’s better than nothing.

Recently, we’ve added a third company to our team. This is actually an archaeology CRM firm and they’ve been in business for the past 33+ years. They have seen and done it all. Most of the experience is in California, which doesn’t help too much for Nevada, but, they have some great projects that we can put down in the PP section. I’d love to partner with a firm here in the Great Basin but the ones I’ve talked to aren’t interested. Everyone is just interested in making the most money possible and don’t see how a teaming arrangement can actually be better for both companies in some cases. For example, I can do fieldwork at half the cost of some of the larger firms. I can also digitize site forms at half the cost.

Teaming Arrangement

So how does a contract work when you have three companies? Well, it depends on their capabilities. Since the San Diego firm is the primary that means they are dealing with the contract. They except payment from the government and they submit all reports and other deliverables. When they get paid, we get paid. That’s the only real downside. It could take months to get paid for fieldwork or any phase of the project.

For most of the projects we’re teaming on I’ll be responsible for all of the fieldwork and most of the report writing. Since the primary is a GIS firm they will handle all of the site sketch and location maps and any other maps required by the project. That saves me from either doing it myself or sub-contracting the work out. 

The third Arch firm, since they are based in central CA, will handle some report writing and mostly quality assurance. I’m relying on their experience to make sure the report is top notch and as good as it can be. My goal is zero comments on the draft report and I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

These arrangements might change from time to time based on the needs of the project but this is the general layout. For example, some field employees might be employed by the GIS firm and the third arch firm might do some of the fieldwork. 

#Winning

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So, this is my strategy. If I want to win good-sized government contracts this is the only way I can really do it right now. I think teaming is a good way to do it in the future too. We all need to share the wealth and learn to work together. When firms try to do EVERYTHING they end up with expensive employees sucking up profits during slow times. I don’t want a full-time GIS person if I don’t have full-time work for them. I’d rather they stayed busy by working with a number of firms and only work with me when I need it. 

Also, I wouldn’t mind doing fieldwork for a firm that has too many field projects going on and can’t handle one more but won the contract anyway. They can write the report if they want, but, I’ll do the fieldwork. Like I said, we all need to work together to survive.

I’ll let you know how this teaming thing goes and what works and what doesn’t.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in the field.