The most attractive job candidates are the ones with a wide range of skills, and that’s all the more true when jobs are scarce. Even if your job seems fairly safe, it makes sense to be always extending your career skills. You probably already keep on top of the latest web development techniques or are learning a new language, but the savvier geeks are looking to enhance and complement their existing technical strengths.

So today, we’ll look at some career skills that will add depth to a geeky CV, build a name for yourself in the industry, and maybe even make you some extra cash on the side.

Jump On a Soapbox

Geeks love a cool presentation. A talented speaker can turn a presentation about a dry, boring topic into a memorable, fun experience. While some people are able to take a roomful of strangers in stride and charm the pants off them without even trying, the rest of us have to work at it — and the way to do that is through practice and feedback.

How do you start? Well, you could practice speaking to your dog or talk to yourself in the car, but it’s the feedback that will help you improve those skills. For that, you need to speak to people. Consider approaching the organizer of a local industry or user group to speak about a favorite topic at an upcoming meeting. Lightning talks, tutorials, and demonstrations are often welcome, and speaking to your peers in an informal environment is a great way to practise your speaking skills.

If that has no appeal for you, or if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of speaking in front of a group, you could record yourself speaking about a subject you know well and post it on your blog as a video or audio podcast. If you’re employed by a company, you could ask to present a small talk to your co-workers.

Either way, be sure to request feedback from those who are listening to you: ask what they liked, and what they thought you could have done better. While you’re speaking, try and pay attention to what your audience is doing. Did they laugh? Are people nodding or scribbling notes? As you practise, you’ll soon learn what your audience enjoys.

If there’s time in your schedule, you could join public speaking groups such as Toastmasters or the Association of Speaking Clubs, where the focus is on improving your speaking technique. You could even approach it laterally and dive into a performance group, such as improvisational theater. Naturally, you can learn a lot from observation. Go to talks or download videos of your favorite speakers, and keep a close eye on what the presenter does.

The more confident you are at speaking, the better your product demonstrations or client meetings will be. What’s more, if you choose to speak among your techie peers, you’ll be expanding your professional network and developing valuable industry credibility. Maybe we’ll see your name on the list at the next Web Directions conference!

Take on a Training Workshop

We’re in an industry that requires constant learning. There’ll never be a shortage of newcomers to web development, and if your colleagues already approach you for advice or ideas, it’s likely that you’re already quite good at explaining difficult concepts. So, perhaps it’s time to develop your training and workshop delivery skills.

One simple way to build training skills is to develop and run a small workshop about a topic you’re comfortable with. Whether it’s using Perl, making use of social media, operating a digital camera, or building a PC from scratch, there are people in your community who are interested in learning more about it. Investigate organizations such as your local user group, community college, or adult education school — you could approach them and offer your workshop to a beginners’ group. If there’s a new hobby you’ve been meaning to learn about, you might want to take some courses of your own; as well as learning a fun new skill, you’ll find out what works for you, what the other course participants like, and how your training facilitator explains tricky concepts.

There’s a wealth of information about how to run a workshop online, but as with speaking, you’ll learn best by asking your workshop participants for feedback. Pay careful attention to questions they ask or problems they encounter, and consider adjusting your workshop to incorporate those concerns. If a participant asks you a curly question, you might even learn a new approach or two yourself!

People with training skills are in demand for tasks such as mentoring new employees, showing clients how to drive the shiny new content management system you built for them, or giving workshops at conferences. And if you find you’ve acquired the taste for training, all kinds of vendors from Apple to Zend can certify you as a trainer. Sweet!

Polish Those Writing Skills

Writing clearly and effectively is a great way to show off what you have stashed away in that brain of yours. Even in these days of 140-characters-or-less, podcasts, and YouTube, there’ll always be a place for solid writing skills. If you’re a web developer, then the most readily useful writing skills are in creating content for the Web or communicating with your clients and colleagues in writing — usually via email. You’ll find stacks of information online about both these topics, including a number of articles and blog posts right here at SitePoint. If you learn best by being taught rather than working on your own, a course is a handy way to learn; a quick Google search will most likely uncover a course near you. You can also pick up useful techniques from creative writing, feature writing, or business communication courses.

It’s easy to imagine that our favorite writers can just effortlessly bash out some text and knock off before lunchtime, but the truth is that great writing can only come with — you guessed it — practice. This time, it’s okay to keep your practice to yourself, at least at first. Many writers recommend writing rough, scrappy pieces every day, just to stay in the habit of writing. Keep a notebook, or stash away some text files on your hard drive. Spend some time writing every day, and write about whatever comes to mind, even if it’s completely different to what you write for work. Treat your practice writing as the roughest of drafts; when there’s no expectation of perfection, you’re able to concentrate on what you’re writing instead.

Once you’re ready to reveal your new, improved writing prowess to the world at large, it’s easy to put it out there — email it to friends, place it on a blog, or even pitch it as a guest post on a site you like to read. (Shameless, yet useful tip: consider writing an article for us!) Ask for feedback and read it all carefully: you’ll learn a lot from what people say. I’m sure all of us here at SitePoint agree that our readers are quite forthright about letting us know what they think, good and bad!

Skillful writers will find that their expertise is sought in just about every possible geeky occupation. Web apps need clear documentation, both for developers and users; blog posts should excite readers and provoke conversation; press releases and marketing materials have to communicate important information to customers. If the writing bug bites you hard, perhaps you could look into freelance writing — now’s the time to find ways to pad your pay packet, even if it’s only a little extra cash.

Keep Looking, Keep Learning!

If none of these ideas appeal to you, there’s still plenty of other new skills to explore — perhaps you could learn about project management, develop your photography techniques, become an expert on all things marketing 2.0, or find out how to edit video. In fact, there are dozens of ways to spread your wings a bit outside the realm of pure geekdom. Regardless of what you choose to do, it’s sure to make you a much more valuable employee, contractor, or freelancer.

(Photo by woodsy on stock.xchng)

Some time ago in the SitePoint Forums, johnyboy came up with a “mad crazy payment scheme idea” for discussion in the forums. It attracted a bit of interest and some terrific responses.

johnyboy’s idea was to build clients’ sites for free, with payment being a percentage of the sales. I really like how he’s applying alternative thinking to construct a different business model for future enterprises.

But here’s some advice from someone who’s been there: the concept may sound okay, but in practice it might end up being the worst thing he’s ever done.

Several years ago, I took a vastly reduced payment from a client by accepting a percentage of sales instead; this involved developing the site as well as marketing it. The first month was fine and I was paid. In the second month, sales went through the roof so the client owed me quite a chunk of change. Conveniently, the client now failed to see what I’d provided for the money owed, and refused to pay.

The coda to this is that stupid me agreed to a similar deal with another client a year later. Needless to say, I was done over again!

I have never, ever seen this sort of arrangement work effectively. There are too many factors out of the web developer’s control; while measurement is one thing, actual payment is quite another!

Having said that, I’d still encourage anyone to re-examine their business model or billing and payment practices; indeed, anything that might make a difference to your bottom line is worth investigating.

Brainstorming ideas, like johnyboy has done, can lead to innovative practices that help your business cash flow and generate long-term business success.

Stephen Collins is recognized as one of Australia’s leading proponents of participatory culture, advising businesses and government on Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, and social networking. He has extensive consulting experience for a diverse client base across the public and private sectors.

Stephen took time out from his hectic schedule to speak to us about Web 2.0 and social media.

Hi Stephen. You recently co-presented a Web 2.0 university workshop in Australia. What is it about Web 2.0 that makes it special enough to gain the attention it’s been receiving?

Some people, especially those with old-school mindsets, think the whole revolution around Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 — and it is a revolution — is about all the great tools we can use. My view is that the tools themselves are the least important part of the package. What the 2.0 change is all about is people and culture, which is the message communicated by The Cluetrain Manifesto ten years ago.

If you had one piece of advice for someone outside the web industry looking to embrace the ideas of Web 2.0, what would it be?

Open up and go public. Empower people. Be human. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Be respectful.

So, as a web freelancer or web company, what can we do to start embracing Web 2.0 ideas within our own businesses?

Start off by reading or rereading The Cluetrain Manifesto and start practising what it preaches. Then, just embrace the 2.0 way of doing business. Do business this way. It can and does work. Maybe even sign and use something like the Company-Customer Pact.

There are a bunch of other great books worth reading that any business looking to “go 2.0″ (my goodness, that’s a dorky phrase) should be putting on every employees’ desk. In no particular order (just looking at my bookcase):

• Cubicle Commando by Lisa Messenger and Zern Liew
• Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony Wiliams
• Purple Cow by Seth Godin
• Fish! by Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen
• The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
• The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom
• Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

Much attention with Web 2.0 is given to social media. This is a dual-edged sword for companies though, isn’t it? One minute, a company could be the flavor of the “social sphere” and the next, they could be on the outer. What can they do to avoid being on the wrong end?

I think the notion of social media as a risk is false. It’s only a risk if you go in underdone. You wouldn’t make other business decisions without consideration, would you? Choose the right people to be the evangelists and mentors for your brand online. Empower them to engage in the conversation and make it a part of their everyday job — not an additional task. Progressively give everyone in the business that wants to take part the skills they need and then let them fly!

Brands that do this well have great success using social media. You’d be hard put to find a bad word from the community about Zappos, for example. And the mood around brands like Comcast and Dell is moving in a very positive direction since they’ve implemented good, well-planned social media approaches. Well-planned doesn’t need to mean slow or corporate; it’s about choosing the right channels and the right people, and letting them get on with it.

I help many clients with a social media strategy. It shouldn’t be done lightly and it does take some thinking. But you can’t take your time with this — your competitors have probably already spoken to me, or one of the other smart people who do work similar to mine.

The Web is certainly changing. Do you believe those of us building web sites need to adapt our services, or will there still be clients looking for standard web sites in another five or ten years?

The brochure web site will probably still be around in five years, but maybe not ten. At least, not in the developed world. Clients more and more are looking for full-service approaches: brand strategy, marketing, social media, communications, and the rest. The big agencies already do this, but I think that their product is not always as good as those delivered by smaller, boutique businesses.

I think those of us operating small businesses in the web industry — whether it’s design, development, or strategy — need to start teaming up in an informal way to compete with the big agencies. Better still if the agencies recognize that some of the boutique and specialist companies should be on their go-to list for expert advice.

There’s more than enough work for everyone, even in these odd economic times, but we should all be playing together more often and not trying to shut each other out. That’s very 2.0 of me, isn’t it?

Thanks for your time Stephen.

My pleasure Miles!

Amazing. I go away and leave the place unattended for a few weeks and the whole world economy comes crashing down!

What this means for many people are job losses, salary cuts, less spending, and more expenses.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, particularly for web-based businesses or web developers. All it takes is a realignment of your focus, and your business can be doing better than ever.

If you sell products online, you often have a significant pricing advantage that enables you to sell cheaper–and that’s what many people will be looking for. So perhaps it’s time to start pushing that.

If you’re a web developer, many businesses will be looking to increase their customer numbers any way they can–and that will include paying more attention to their online efforts. Why don’t you start telling this to your potential market? Remember, advertising costs will come down, so developers can advertise more for less.

• Ramp up your marketing: Most businesses cut costs when the economy goes bad. Don’t do that–now is the time to get noticed, and it should be easier than ever, with less cost and less competition for attention.
• Change the focus of your marketing: People will be looking for bargains, so offer 2-for-1 deals, free giveaways with purchases, and anything else that will appeal to the budget-conscious.
• Be flexible: Be prepared to alter your business model to maintain cash flow and keep the wolf from the door.

By playing your cards right, it’s possible to not only weather the economic downturn, but capitalize on it!

Here’s a question for you. When your last project finished, what was the final communication the client received from you? Was it a bottle of wine and card, a “Thanks for the work, call me if you need anything,” or just an invoice in the mail?

It seems to be very common for us designers, developers, freelancers, and businesses to be keen to talk at the start of a project, but shy to speak at the end.

What we really need to do at the completion stage of projects is to thank the client for their business, and then ask them some hard questions.

Why do I say hard? Well, maybe it’s the human condition, but we as service providers don’t like to imagine that clients are ever anything but absolutely impressed with our work — but I have to tell you, the truth is that they often aren’t.

Think back to the last time you were out for a meal. When you paid, the waitperson probably asked you about your experience. In answer to “How was everything?”, you probably mumbled something like, “It was good, thanks” — even if you didn’t feel that way.

Why? Few of us like confrontation. We don’t like to give neutral or negative feedback (unless it’s within the relative anonymity of an online auction web site!) and we don’t like receiving it, either.

However, feedback is very important to us, as individuals and as businesses, in order to grow and improve — even if that does mean we open our ears to possibly negative feedback as well.

The next time a project wraps up, consider emailing your client a link to an online survey. I have found people are far more willing to be honest completing a form instead of speaking directly to you.

Ask them what they liked most about the project — and then ask them what they liked least. You really do want to know. It could be something really simple that you or your firm is doing over and over, with every project, assuming clients like it when in fact they don’t. This habit or process could be holding you back from success!

In my business, we’ve been seeking feedback in this way for a few years now. We get some great feedback, both positive and negative, which helps us tune our processes and our services to better suit the next customer. We’ve had some really crazy input, too — for example, our coffees were too strong, or we were so good that the client was going to miss our weekly meetings!

There are countless survey software systems available, many of which have a free plan. Alternatively, it’s a trivial matter to whip up your own web-to-email form. The trick is to avoid asking questions that are too leading: “Did you find our design team very enthusiastic?”, or that allow for only yes or no answers — keep questions open. Keep the form brief, too — if it goes on for pages and pages, clients will be hesitant to complete it.

The next important step is to act on the feedback. It may warrant a call or meeting with the customer for further details, or speaking to team members (or yourself) if there was something amiss. And remember to give praise where it’s due — we all enjoy a pat on the back from time to time!

I’ve spoken before about conversation fizzers: egomaniacs who are their own favorite topic. We all know someone like that, right? But are we in danger of coming across that way in our sales proposals?

Pardon, I hear you cry! How could we sound like this? Well, for a start, do you spend the first few pages covering all the awards you have won, and the bright history of your team? How far into the document before you learn what the prospect wants? Are the prospect’s objectives even covered in your proposal?

I’ve read many sales proposals from web companies over the last decade or so, and it still amazes me when I come across this type of example: a mind-numbing twenty pages in length, with pages 1 to 16 about the web company, and page 17 the first sign of discovering what the prospect wanted.

How did I get my hands on this proposal? Well, our company won a job, and the client gave me this blundering document to show what not to do in business. We shared a laugh reading through the novel-length sales pitch together—where they also took the liberty of misspelling the client’s name on the covering page!

The secret of successful proposals is to focus on what the prospect wants to hear. They want solutions to their problems, benefits for their projects, and most of all, they want to be convinced that you understand what they need. Sixteen pages talking about yourself (especially at the beginning) is subconsciously stating that you believe you are far more important than their project!

You should mention who you are and what you do, but after their project details, and one or two pages should suffice. Or perhaps make it a separate document entirely.

Make sure you’ve included the basics: timeline, budget, and deliverables. Reiterate your understanding of the prospect’s requirements, and make sure your proposal clarifies how your solution will help them.

Spell-check, then spell-check again—misspelling a prospect’s name is just plain lazy. Use short sentences, avoid long paragraphs, and keep the entire proposal succinct; a technical specifications document can run to dozens of pages, but a sales proposal shouldn’t. Speaking of technical, don’t get all abbreviated on the client. The average prospect doesn’t know what half the abbreviations we use mean, and we shouldn’t expect them to, either.

Sell benefits, not products. You may have a great content management system, email gateway, or other product, but talk about the benefits of these, not the product features.

Include testimonials or links to similar projects if you can. This shows you have a proven track record, and understand their requirements.

If you lack any design skills, ask a colleague to give the document some sparkle, and then use this as a template. A polished document is clearly marked with headings, sub-headings, and block quotes (if required).

Conclude the proposal with a call to action. Don’t just end it with a price for the job. State what the terms are, and make it easy for the prospect to action the starting process. For example: "Send this page back, signed and dated, and we can commence immediately" is far better than a dollar figure on the last line.

A few weeks ago — September 5 to be exact — I ordered myself a shiny new car.

The experience went along these lines. First, I did lots of research and decided on my ideal vehicle make and model. Then, I went to the only dealership in my city that sells this type of car.

I met one of the salespeople, we took it for a drive, I looked at all the options and discussed all the features, and pretty much made up my mind. This process took a few visits, and then we got down to negotiating the two big questions: cost and delivery date.

Those of you who’ve worked in the Web for some time will have become accustomed to expecting everything instantly, as I have; however, when we reached this stage, the salesman had some bad news.

He first started by saying that it could take anywhere from two to six months to take delivery of the car, depending on the model and options that I decided on. After a few phone calls, he was pleased to announce that he’d found the exact model and options I wanted on the other side of the country, and that he could offer me a six-to-eight week window for delivery.

I was crestfallen — I wanted the car right then, or next week at the latest. Then I realized this really did boil down to just my own impatience. I decided to go ahead with the purchase anyway, given that I was already in love with the features and the idea of driving the car, and placed my order.

I’ve been thinking about this experience over the last few weeks, in terms of what a close analogy this situation offers to most web site projects. I’m talking about the common scenario where the client (in this case, myself) becomes sold on the concept of you doing the work, loves the options you’ve offered them, and they want the finished product right now — but of course, it’s impossible to have that site or feature built until after their ideal deadline.

I felt for the poor sales guy at the dealership, who could see my disappointment, and resigned myself to the fact I wouldn’t be getting behind the wheel of this vehicle until mid-to-late October.

So you can imagine my delight when I got a call last Friday to say I could pick the car up the following Tuesday, only three-and-a-half weeks after I placed the order!

Not only has it made me super-pleased with the product, but very appreciative towards the sales guy and the dealership. The cynic in me wonders if perhaps they always intended to have the car sooner, but they always add some leeway to their timelines, just in case.

The result of this situation is that they have broken their own promised deadline by weeks, and their business now has a very big fan. With that in mind, look at your own projects — how hard would it be for you to add a few weeks or a month to the deadlines you promise, and then work hard as you can to meet the original date anyway?

We’ve all heard that cliche about under-promising and over-delivering, but when you’re the client, it certainly feels like a great result! Try this theory with your next project, and let me know how it goes — I’m very confident that your next client will become your biggest fan if you manage to deliver quicker than planned.

On the eve of flying to Sydney for the Web Directions South conference, I thought I’d focus on the topic of conferences—I believe you should attend at least two every year.

So why attend a conference? Let’s start with education. You’ll learn more from attending one conference than all the books and blog posts you can read in one month. This may sound like a tall order, but seriously, if you are actively listening to the presenter, it’s hard not to learn more than by simply being there.

Secondly, the fact that you are there in person (as opposed to, say, listening to a podcast) means that you participate in the full experience; non-verbal cues (such as body language or facial expressions), as well as presentation slides and Q&A sessions that are normally cut from the podcast, are all factors that can make a session more rewarding, and provide valuable insights too.

Then there’s the networking. Some may derisively call it schmoozing, however, this is a very important benefit of conferences that should not be underestimated. The contacts that you can make by grabbing a meal or a coffee during a break can be worth the cost of the conference alone. I’ve won at least $50,000 worth of business just by attending the last two Web Directions South conferences–and that’s without even really trying!

I’ve also found that by socializing with the presenters, I learn more about their areas of expertise than by just watching them on stage. I’ve become friends with a few speakers as a result, and have regular email dialogue now with my international contacts.

So how can you benefit the most from attending a conference? Here are seven tips:

1. Gain as much advance notice of the schedule as you can. Normally, with more than one stream, you’ll need to make some decisions–which presentations to watch and which ones to miss. You’ll want to read up on the presentation topics to ensure you make the best choices. Bring along a list of your preferred schedule to avoid missing an important session.
2. Make contact beforehand with other delegates you know personally. If you’re going by yourself, you can arrange to meet for coffees and not feel so isolated. If you don’t know anyone attending, you might like to introduce yourself on the conference blog, or alternatively, search the blog posts for other like-minded attendees and arrange to meet up with them.
3. Stay for the whole conference. Don’t get the day two doldrums and skip sessions. It goes without saying that the presentation you miss will be the one everyone raves about afterwards.
4. Don’t be hesitant to ask questions. If they don’t cater for question time during the presentation, seek out the presenter at the break and ask them; you’ll be amazed at how approachable they are.
5. Schmooze. You’ll meet loads of new people at the social events that accompany these conferences, who may eventually become friends, colleagues, employers, or clients. Be genuine though, and don’t set out to “work the room.”
6. Buy the book. If they are selling books, get hold of the ones you believe you’ll benefit most from, and get them signed whilst you’re there. It’s a great souvenir of the conference and a valuable education tool as well.
7. Find accommodation in the conference’s vicinity. You don’t want to be traipsing across a busy city every day, and you’ll probably need to charge that laptop or digital camera every so often.

Upcoming Conferences

Here are just 15 web conferences around the globe that are happening over the next six months. Choosing an event away from home also gives you a welcome opportunity (and excuse!) to travel.

• Sept 23-26, 2008 Web Directions South 2008 Sydney, Australia
• Oct 13-14, 2008 An Event Apart Chicago Chicago, USA
• Oct 15-16, 2008 WDDC 2008 Orlando, Florida, USA
• Oct 24, 2008 BLOG08 Amsterdam
• Oct 24-26, 2008 <head> Conference global (online)
• Nov 3-4, 2008 Mexico Web 2.0 Cancún, Mexico
• Nov 3-4, 2008 Future of Web Design New York, USA
• Nov 5-7, 2008 Web 2.0 Summit San Francisco, USA
• Nov 6-7, 2008 Edge of the Web 2008 Perth, Australia
• Nov 7-9, 2008 Web Directions East Tokyo, Japan
• Nov 12-14, 2008 IceWeb 2008 Reykjavik, Iceland
• Feb 2009 (TBC) Web Directions North Vancouver, Canada
• Feb 16-20, 2009 Webstock 2009 Wellington, NZ
• Mar 13-17, 2009 SXSW Interactive Austin, Texas, USA
• Mar 18-20, 2009 MIX09 Las Vegas, USA

Know of other web industry conferences? Please send the conference URL and any information to tribune@sitepoint.com for future editions. And if you are attending Web Directions South later this week, be sure to come up and say hi to myself and the rest of the SitePoint team.

Learn to Say Sorry

Earlier this year, I organized a loan for my new house with my usual bank. All went well, they approved it quickly and before long, I had removalists at my door.

Then the trouble began … payments not deducted, double payments deducted from the wrong accounts, inept bank employees who tried to argue with me, more double deductions … the list goes on.

After a while, I was close to giving up–even considering changing banks and organizing new loans. Then, one day I got a telephone call from one of the handful of managers who handle this bank’s business in my state.

He opened with “I owe you an apology.” I was over the moon! This manager had taken the time to phone me and say that he’d heard about my plight; he wanted to assure me they didn’t believe anyone should be treated the way I was.

Not once did he even attempt an excuse, nor blame others. Here was an executive who was in charge of dozens of bank branches and yet, he took it upon himself to call and say that he and the rest of the organization he works for were sorry.

This manager was attentive and keen to hear my views. We ended the call fifteen minutes later with him providing his cell phone number, and asking me to call if other issues arose.

We’ve all been there. A web site project goes awry or one of your team makes a mistake, and before you know it, you are metaphorically huddled under your desk, frightened that the client will call.

What your client wants to hear is “sorry.” Everyone is human and when mistakes do happen, what we all want is for our suppliers to recognize when they have erred and offer a simple apology.

It costs you nothing besides a few minutes of your time, and believe me, you’ll feel better being proactive and apologizing before the client gets a chance to be angry.

So, swallow that ego and make the call–you’ll be relieved afterwards, and your client will respect you for it.

I’m still with that bank and the service has improved. I’ve even recommended them to my colleagues, based on that manager’s one call. Wouldn’t you rather your clients do the same?

Edion ran hard and fast from the beginning, clocking up over $1 million in sales in year one, and around $3 million in year two. However our sales plateaued and I simply couldn’t solve the problem.

After much deep thought and discussion with customers, I came to the conclusion that our customers weren’t purchasing our service; instead they were purchasing our people.

My people had serious reputations and that’s what was being chased by my customers; who would rather wait until a consultant became available (in one case up to six months) rather than use someone else.

I didn’t know how to solve this problem of scalability, it seemed to be inherent in the business. And that was my clue.

On discussing the issue with a psychologist friend of mine, he suggested something that has stayed with me ever since. Maybe Edion wasn’t meant to be expandable; maybe I should just extract maximum cash from it and invest those funds into something else.

I have realized since that I wasn’t an orphan with this problem, in fact I often run into people that are selling a product or service and finding it hard work. They seem to have three main problems:

1. One unit of effort returns one unit of reward, and when they stop selling they stop getting paid.
2. They find it nigh on impossible to get good people to increase the scale of the business.
3. They find that they, as the founder, are responsible for 90% of sales.

If this sounds like you, then this strategy advice could come in handy.

1. Stop fighting it and accept the fact that you have a non-scalable business; it’s not the end of the world though, rather the beginning of an exciting new phase.
2. Stop trying to grow this business because it’s a waste of your intelligence and energy. With the time and energy you just freed up, you can focus on maximizing profit from this non-scalable business. For instance stop investing in systems for growth and in fact pare it back to a bare minimum, and get rid of those ineffective salespeople.
3. Use the free cash flow now generated to invest in building products in a new business. One what’s complementary to the existing business but scalable.

What makes for a scalable business is a different discussion, however it’s not that hard to figure out. Have a look around at any business that has made an idiot wealthy and you will spot most of the attributes of a scalable business (such as mobile phones, fast food, ISPs, petrol).