I want to add a pond to our property. Not one of those plastic-lined ones, but a one-acre pond in our watershed that can maintain its own balance—no pumps, no filters, just nature doing its thing. I’ve been having a blast going down a rabbit-hole of research, putting my notes together. Fun, right?
But when I added up what would be required, and started realizing I’m looking at a $45,000 bill, reality set in. I have no idea what I’m doing here, and all the reading in the world won’t turn me into an expert that can avoid a financial disaster. So I started searching for experts who have done this kind of thing before. It took some playing with search terms and asking around for advice, but I found several and selected one I feel really good about. Just one conversation with him revealed to me how much I STILL do not know after all my research.
I keep seeing companies make a similar mistake … building out customized tech stacks, sourcing the wrong CRM and/or ERP systems, and creating solutions that take too much resource to plan, too much time to implement, and spend more than the ROI will justify. When (if) those systems finally hit the real world, they fail to address the business needs sufficiently ... while cost of ownership and management complexity add up and up.
It reminds me of something Forrester said recently: that a third of companies will regret “playing software company.” That phrase stuck with me. So many teams pour time, money, and energy into complex tech plans, only to end up overwhelmed and stuck - sometimes for years.
What’s wild is how often those teams don’t realize there are companies with deep experience identifying the right business systems for each business's unique needs —not focused on selling any specific software, but rather, helping companies grow with the right tools ... all while avoiding reinventing the software wheel.
When we cross paths, I often hear what I heard from a new client yesterday: “What a relief. We didn’t know this kind of help existed.”
It's easy to feel stuck. But the right kind of help can make all the difference. My pond plans are still moving forward. But now I have confidence that I’m doing it the right way, for the right amount of money, and that the results will be the ones I’m looking for.
