This week I am going to work on a series called tips for success. I was going to start it monday but Neil wrote a great post about how a marketer is only as good as their programmer so I thought I would kick it off on a Sunday.
I have 2 employees for the most part. My mother-in-law, Susan Baron, is kind of a hybrid between accountant/personal assistant/travel agent. She really keeps me straight and while she barely had used a computer before working for me her try until you die work ethic is really amazing. Also the level of trust for someone in that position that they will not disclose your business issues or steal from or whatever is of course really important so having a family member at the helm of finance issues is pretty nice. Its not all positives though to have your mother-in-law working for you but we both agreed to be honest with each other when issues arise and that really has made it work well.
My employee/partner David Dellanave aka dillsmack started with me for a very low hourly wage about 2 years ago + some… I think at the time I hired him to do stuff I had just canned about the 5th programmer in a row that had flaked on me. I also had promised myself I would never hire another person that was not local. Dave was really honest and fair from the beginning and its worked out really well. I think for me its more of finding people who are self managed and do not stop until the work is done. Its a rare type of person who wants more then just the 9-5 and is willing to work for it.
I am a SUPER impatient person. I think most people would say I set unrealistic goals and deadlines. It is always interesting when friends work for me or with me in a partnership because I go from being the calm cool headed easy going guy to the insane, unreasonable, guy who cant think about anything else. Needless to say a lot of good friends have been lost when they became business partners. Anyway I got a little off track there but the point is with Dave and Susan I just trust… thats really the best way I can say it… trust.. I trust they will put 200% effort in. I trust they will not rest until the job is complete. I trust them with all financial issues. I trust they will give me honest blunt opinions and not be afraid to speak there minds. The best part is I never have to give this trust a second thought. Its just there.
As far as compensation goes I just always try to do what is “fair”.
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2416 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
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{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Not sure if my mother-in-law could ever work for me. Just kidding
I fully agree with you, as I run into this problem all the time with my team. My lead developer doesn’t seem to think that there is a problem with consistently taking “one or two more days ” to complete projects… The problem is eventually those one or two extra days add up and you could of got a lot more done over lets say 6 months or a year of this…
I know this has come up before…
Your = Belonging to you
You’re = You are
You lost friends over business? Thats bad practice bro.
You’re pretty ballsy for workin with your mother-in-law. I think the secret as you said is being completely honest upfront. And I’m sure that doesn’t end at just what you do to meet your goals, but you both personally work and what to expect from each other. I worked with my mom for a long time, and no one could understand how I did it either. Gl for the future.
I agree with you, but I wont hire family members, not sure how much I need to pay them to keep them happy.
I love the TFS idea and concept. Keep it coming!
Any advice on how a good/great programmer can find a good marketer to team up with.
Yes! Another grammar check!
I have to agree, working with family is tricky because you can’t completely cut off ties if something goes sour… luckily it sounds like the personality match up well and the expectations are all out there.
how did you track your programmer down? i hate working with freelancers over the web so i’d like some tips on finding a good one!
i have staff who aren’t contractually mine (they do random tasks for me etc). I am pretty much a dick when it comes to telling my guys what to do but they get things done :p
So Shoe, how does it work when your demanding to your mother-in-law??
You need a programmer? I need a marketer. You really looking for a coder?
That’s super cool. It’s good to have your “power team”. I do rentals and have some contractors that I really trust that are part of my power team… However one recently dicked me over hard after knowing him 1.5 yrs. I’m super pissed. So now i’m back to being on my guard with these contractors knowing they will rob you blind if you let them.
pretty freaking amazing that you’ve been able to do what you’ve done with a core team of 3 folks. You must have scooped dills right out of college huh?
I agree man. As one person your can only do so much but as a great team you can accomplish SOOOOoooo much more the key is when you find a great designer programmer or whatever hang onto them.
The key to finding a good programmer that will put in 200% for you requires one thing, be fair in compensation and profit sharing. I think you would be amazed at how many businesses think a programmer’s skills are learned in 2 days reading a book.
If you ask for unreasonable things like a custom written CMS for
Damn, looks like my comment got cut off. Basically the rest was pay them what they are worth and find a programmer who is interested in working hard because the better you do, the better they do.
I think the biggest isue for me is, the designer I have is great to work with but he’s always so busy with other projects that it takes forever to get my stuff done… but it’s worth it in the end. I agree tho, I have no patience either, I want everything done as soon as possible at all times.
I’ve found it’s great to have pasionate people working for you. If they LOVE to program they will most likely workout moreso than someone who does it for the money.
Interesting read Jeremy,
It’s nearly a verbatim account of my experience. Ever since I found my current programmer/partner we’ve been an excellent team. Even moving him to the states from Canada to work full time. I wholeheartedly endorse Jeremy’s view on the importance of this kind of relationship.
I agree. I code every day and have yet to get a big pay day for it. I just love to code and create great programs/services. I am trying to find my Shoemoney.
I hate getting involved with friends in business. I have also lost some good friends over doing business together. I dont recommend it to anybody.
Time is money, you may want to look for another design if its taking that long or pay him more to make you priority.
ya, i’ve had some ideas at development and although i know a little code by no means do i claim to be a real coder… it takes an uber dedicated person to really become “intimate” with the code that they work with…
you in Tennessee Link snitch?
Great thoughts. Having a team you can trust makes life so much easier.
I’ve been in business with friends and family before. I woudl never go into business with friends again but I wouldn’t hesitate to get family involved again. Having a partner/employee who really truly wants to see you do well like only blood (or by marriage) could is worth all the hassles.
ahhhh whatever. We know what he’s saying. A copywriter Shoe is not and that’s what keeps me coming back. The content isn’t massaged. It’s shot from the hip and that’s how I take it.
NOT, ddn.
Being self managed is the most important aspect to becoming successfull which is what most people lack or forget.
I hate the 9-5, I need the 6am-12am shift at my computer to stay alive lately, its all I want to do, all I think about, and all I dream about.
If you aren’t willing to put your life into something, you won’t get what you dream out of it!
Working 9-5 is not enough. If you are not willing to put your life into a project, you project will not survive.
If you survive, your business will strive!
Good point… I think as time goes on, I will need to make some changes in the way I do things for sure.
Family members coming from “within” the family are harder to work with than family members that come from “outside” the immediate family, case in point Mother in Law.
agreed.
I’m still searching for the right programmer. It’s true; the programmer must work on my time table and not the other way around. For all my projects, programming is just one part (important but still only one) of many so just as Jeremy said those few days can turn into months and I’m already too old…
I am trying to do everything myself and stay like this, however I think I might need some help with programming I have few ideas in my mind but I need to program some special scripts because I couldnt find them anywhere.
I have to do everything myself I even write my own blog unlike the women that post to shoemoney you can’t argue with me because I a phsycic.