I said a year ago I would blog about anything: the technical, the mundane, announcements, etc, etc. I’ve strayed a bit away from the technical…I’ve really been doing more announcements and mundane type things. I’ve been extremely busy with work – it’s a good thing compared to last year.
I have been told that you need about two years of full-time attention to get a business rolling. At that point you’ve still got another two to three before you’re “out of the woods” (if ever). So I’ve been pushing hard…and really I’ve been pushing less harder than normal. It seems to be rolling a bit on its own. That’s a good feeling. It’s like watching your kid walk for the first time. For me (and I guess for parents) you know at that point things are changing. Mostly the change is good, but the business can walk away from you before you know it if you aren’t careful.
If you dig back through this blog I’ve mentioned “The Plan”. I had this business plan laid out of what I wanted to do and what I wanted to happen. It’s changed – it’s a living breathing plan. It also doesn’t change a lot. It got me through a rough patch of personal issues two years ago by not changing…it got me through a rough patch of business issues last year by changing. Plan 2 has more or less solidified and it’s a bit more elastic.
One of the things I did in the beginning was to align this company with ESRI. I train (and you can see where I vented about that a few posts down) and I’m also a business partner. I’ve been exceptionally torn about both in the last year. In some ways it’s good to be aligned with them…in some ways I think it’s not so good. I received my renewal letter in January for the BP program or the new ESRI Partners Program – whatever it’s called these days. I’ve read through it…really I just skimmed it…..and I sat on it. There are changes both good and bad with the program. I wrestled with the issue and decided to renew – I’m now a “silver” partner. Most likely if they had an aluminum or plastic partner I would do that instead. I’ve also decided they need to impress me this year. I’m going to do everything I can to make it beneficial. Yes – I’m going to pay them money and then work to make the money I paid them be beneficial to me…but if in a year we don’t see eye to eye – it’s time to move on. Change…do something differently. It’s a dance. You choose your partners. I have chosen. I chose again. I will choose in the future….
So anyway – North River Geographic Systems, Inc is still an ESRI Business Partner. Hopefully next year I can head to Palm Springs for the Conference and lean a bit more of what is going on….If not…hey…GIS is a big exciting world full of opportunites.
