[Hidden-tech] Thanks to all those great Web designers - curious about the new generation/work expectations

[Town Websites]

I'm trying to establish a business that provides municipal websites with
high service and low cost to very small towns.  Something I've thought about
is how I could possibly scale this business up if it is successful enough to
exceed my own not-quite-infinite pool of low cost labor.

One idea I've been mulling over is figuring out how to use elders who would
like some work, who have professional and personal skills appropriate for
the work, as a low cost workforce, perhaps using a franchise model; my
company would develop tools to make it very easy to maintain small municipal
websites, along with processes for providing those services to small towns,
a nationally recognized name, and assistance identifying prospective
clients.  The business would be more or less a vertical market providing
specialized reseller services, with the personal service provided locally,
mostly by elders.

I don't know if that can square my circle of high service and low-enough
cost, but I suspect there is some opportunity for developing a very skilled,
very patient workforce looking for personally satisfying work at about the
same wages as could be earned bagging groceries, among professional elders
who would otherwise be somewhere between the ranks of retirees and those
identified in the BLS statistics as discouraged workers were they not
already classified as "beyond legal employment age".

I suspect that isn't quite the level of compensation most Hidden Tech-ers
are conceptualizing when trying to put a value on their experience, so
perhaps I should put the proper spin on it and call it an active older
adults' entrepreneurial opportunity :)

Charlie Heath
Town Websites



-----Original Message-----
From: Lynne Rudié [mailto:lynnerudie at verizon.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 12:01 PM
To: nestor at fuzzy-math.com
Cc: Town Websites; 'hidden-discuss'
Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Thanks to all those great Web designers - curious
about the new generation/work expectations

This is a really interesting thread, much to think about.

One of the challenges for us "seasoned" professionals is in how to put  
a value on our experience. My days as a whiz kid are long gone, and at  
this point there will always be people who are more state-of-the-art  
with their software than I am. But I know how to meet a deadline and  
manage a budget, I know how to make and maintain relationships, and I  
do good teamwork. I also know lots of people and give good advice. My  
experience is valuable to me too, in terms of being able to decide who  
I want to work with and knowing what I'm good at. Some things you can  
learn in school and some things you can only learn by doing them. Some  
clients know that you get what you pay for, and some don't.

It's a big world. There's room for everybody.
	Lynne