If I'm the only person you'll deal with then I better at least introduce myself. I spent a lifetime at Imperial Tobacco working my way into all manner of technical positions. After a while I noticed whenever there was an irate customer or a delicate situation to be resolved, I would be deployed. After getting over the initial sense of persecution I discovered I had found my niche. The practical voice in the room, and the interface between the die hard technical resource and the wider business community.
I don't consider myself a techie, more a normal person that happens to know about computers. That's rarer than you'd think in my line of work. I work on the basis that if someone is using overly technical jargon designed to confuse me, or anyone for that matter, they either don't know their subject or are attempting to overcharge me.
I accept that big companies beat me hands down on raw technical resource, but they also waste a lot of time, money and goodwill on layers of process and bureaucracy that small businesses don't need or want. Why charter the Titanic when a speed boat is required? For me, small is nimble, flexible and hungry. It's the right tool for the right job.
I'm a portfolio landlord, and I built that business from the ground up. I understand what it's like to run a real business with real customers and real bills. When I build a website or a dashboard for a landlord, a lettings agent, a plumber or an electrician, I'm not theorising. I'm building the thing I would have wanted myself.
