Jimmy the Phone Guy - the Saga Begins

Jimmy the Phone Guy - the Saga Begins - Lessons Learned

If you read Cloud Services in a Month, you might remember Jimmy the Phone Guy. The name is real. I didn't change it because I don't care if he knows I'm talking about him. 

I met Jimmy when he was a contractor for one of my favorite early clients. I was in charge of Internet operations and worked closely with the guy in charge of the the Novell network and the entire internal wiring, including fibre channel.

Jimmy literally pulled the wires. And he was good. Some phone techs don't seem to actually care. They put connections in stupid places, don't label anything, and some don't even test their wiring when they're done. Jimmy did a beautiful job.

The office I worked in was actually about fifty employees spread across three small-ish buildings. So "wiring" included buried pipes between buildings so that the network could be shared and the wires were secured. It was a sweet setup for 1996.

At that time, I "specialized" in getting people connected to this new thing called the Internet. And that quickly morphed into the real opportunity: Bringing networks into small businesses. Jimmy and I got along and he saw that I had some skills with networking.

One day, he invited me to be a subcontractor on a two-day job in the Bay Area. He had the then-rare skill of setting up network and phone wiring together, and making it perfect. He had sold a client on the concept of not just phones, but also a network. He needed me to sell a server, several desktops, and all the stuff it took to make them talk to each other, and the Internet.

On the second day of that job, Jimmy told me flat out, "Someday, I'm going to take all your clients." Wow, I thought. So I asked him to explain.

His vision was that, just like the current job, he would start with a phone referral. Then he would add the network. And all he had to do was to learn how to make Windows computers talk to each other and he'd be set. My only response was, "Bring it on."

As Jimmy explained it, he was already in every office. He was already in their billing system. He was already a contractor for them. And his work was rock solid, so most people never needed him except if they needed to change the phone tree of run lines for a new phone extension. He had a good reputation.

"All" he needed to learn was Windows networking, TCP/IP, NetBEUI, IPX/SPX, plus operating systems such as Windows server, Windows desktop, Novell services. Oh, and printing protocols and troubleshooting all of the above.  

Here's the lesson I learned, which I still find truth in today. When you do your job well, it looks easy to other people. Eventually, this evolved into what I can The Paradox of Simplicity. 

The Paradox of Simplicity simply states: Everyone thinks they can do everyone else's job. Not great. Not as well. But enough to get by. For example, with Photoshop, I can do some graphic (see this blog). I wouldn't try to sell any graphic work I've done. But it's good enough. I certainly wouldn't create my own book cover.

We download legal agreements we don't understand rather than hire a lawyer. We take pictures with our cell phones rather than hire a photographer. We buy a do-it-yourself kit rather than hire a professional for just about everything. 

But thinking you can do something good enough won't cut it when your business is on the line. 

Jimmy also opened my eyes to something I had done a little of and would do a lot more of: sub-contracting with people who sold other services to small businesses. Sometimes, I just networked with people who could be a source of lead referrals. Sometimes, I hired other IT consultants to help with large jobs. Sometimes, I found specialists who allowed me to expand my offering without learning a new skill (e.g., printer repair).

Working with others in the field, and in adjacent fields, is a great way to keep your fingers on the pulse of small business technology. It help you to focus on the nature of the changing business environment you work in. See yesterday's blog post (You won't be taken out by a competitor; You'll be taken out by a new business model).

Jimmy and I did a few jobs together. But that client, Debbie, signed a contract with me to provide support for her new server, desktops, laptops, and the entire network. She was one of our longest-standing clients until I sold the business. But I still manage a few things for her. In fact, I just sent her an invoice to renew her domain registration. So she's still a client in a small way.

There's more to the Jimmy story. But I'll tell you that story another day.

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This Episode is part of the ongoing Lessons Learned series. For all the information, and an index of Lessons Learned episodes, go to the Lessons Learned Page. 

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