And this is how my ‘showing off’ went:

Okay, I’ll look up ‘iPad’, then find some question I can swoop in and answer. I’ll be a star!

Uh oh. There are people here listed as ‘evangelists’, ‘sensei’, and ‘knowledge expert’! Um, well, I don’t think I qualify as any of those. So I’ll just skulk out of here with my tail tucked between my legs.

Hopefully no one noticed I was there.

Then I got to thinking (after my little pity party). I don’t have to be a sensei to the 60 million users of LinkedIn. I can continue to learn, research, and share my knowledge with my own circle – clients, friends, other business owners. To many of them, I am the knowledge expert, if only because I do my darndest to stay ahead of the tech curve. I work to find information and solutions, and I share that knowledge in one-on-one training sessions and seminars. When I find something I really like, something that will really help others, then I too become an evangelist.

I guess what it comes down to is this – I love my job. If I can’t help the whole World Wide Web, I can certainly help my personal Web, and be happy to do it!

Let me back up a bit.

I want an iPad. I am monetarily restricted. So, I went looking for a less expensive solution than my local Apple store. I started on Craigslist. The ad I responded to ‘had already sold it, but here’s where I got it….’. That should have stopped me cold, but I am nothing if not persistent.

I headed to the suggested online auction house and (here’s where my inner bookie took over) boy, what great savings! I mean, seriously? A real iPad for less than $100? Wow! Sign me up.

No, literally, I had to sign up. Then I had to buy my bids. Say what? It would seem that in order to receive the honor to bid on an item I would first have to pay for the bids. In packages. Of at least 50. At $.65 per bid. Okay, I’m game (and my inner bookie is warming up).

I fork over my money and get ready to bid. Hmmmm, which one to choose? There are so many. Here’s one – let’s go. And we’re off!

I was told the trick was to wait until there were only 4 seconds left on the clock. I can do that. 5, 4, 3, and I hit the bid button. Woohoo! I scored! Wait, what? The clock restarts? What the hell? That gives all those other jokers time to bid – and they do! Dammit, can’t they see I really want this iPad?!

What’s this bit over here? A ‘bid agent’? I can set it up so that it will bid for me? I just set the parameters, number of bids and highest amount I’m willing to pay (my inner bookie is now drooling) and it will do the bidding for me. Just like all the other schmucks bidding on MY iPad!

Soon enough I realize I don’t have enough bids. I need more bids! Hang on, you can bid on bid packages?! I am going to use the last of my bids to buy more bids! Then I’ll use all those bids to outbid everyone else! Bwahahahaha, I’m a genius!

Did I forget to mention that the bids increase in increments of $.01? Yes, one penny increases. Of course, my bid cost me $.65. You can see where the house is happy, happy, happy with all these itsy-bitsy bids. In fact, there’s a running scoreboard on the page to show me exactly where my money is going (inner bookie is rationalizing now). It takes very little time for the house to make it’s money on an item.

Needless to say, I did not win my bids or my iPad. The house won all my money (inner bookie is sulking) and all I have to show for it is this little story. Not even a t-shirt. Ooooo, can I bid on a t-shirt?

While I have been contemplating that, I have also begun thinking about what I do – the services I offer. Do I want to be McDonalds or In-and-Out? Many things or just a few? One suggestion from the group was to do a better job of targeting. Find out what my prospect does, then cater my elevator speech to fit. One would think that would be a ‘duh’ moment, but I honestly hadn’t though of doing that.

The group asked me what I like to do best. I really had to stop and think. I realized I like doing all kinds of things, but in a project format. Give me what you want done, any necessary instructions, then let me get it done.

Maybe ‘Virtual Project Assistant’ or ‘Virtual Project Manager’ would fit better? ‘Personal Project Manager’ – hmmmm, I like that one. Means lots of changes to site, letterhead, etc. More research and soul searching is necessary.

Image my pleasant surprise when she came to the meeting! And, she was as gracious and lovely as always. I might have known. She is and always has been a true professional. Warm and inviting, willing to go all out for her clients with nary a nasty word to say about the awful ones. She can always find a nice side, a silver lining. She can put herself in that position and see more sides than I knew existed!

I remember now why I was first drawn to her in the group. And why I would like to be more like her.

My response? Yes, you may be right. But let’s make sure we’re comparing apples to apples.

• Do they offer the same level of expertise and experience? Or are you hoping to get a ‘good buy’ – a worker with experience that you can afford?
• What’s your cost to hire an employee? Do you have to train them? If so, you’re not making money during that training period.
• Are they billing only for the hours being used? Or, are you paying for breaks, sick days, vacations, etc.?
• Can you track what they’re doing? Maybe so, if you are micro-managing your employee and not getting your work done.

I have no problem with full-time employees – I have been one most of my career – but I firmly believe that I offer a strong, competitive advantage for small business owners.

Here is an article I’ve found offering further ‘proof’ of my hypothesis: Why a $14/hour employee really costs $20

A big corporation recently hired several cannibals. “You are all part of our team now,” said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing. “You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don’t eat any of the other employees.” The cannibals promised they would not. Four weeks later their boss remarked, “You’re all working very hard, and I’m quite satisfied with you. However, one of our Secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?” The cannibals all shook their heads no. After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals asked the others, “Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?” A hand raised hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, “You fool! For four weeks we’ve been eating supervisors and no one noticed anything, but noooooo, you had to go and eat someone important.”