This is a bit embarrassing, but for the past 17 months, we have been working on a new website. Why 17 months you ask? Because we did not follow our own advice. We tried to go it alone.
It wasn’t a conscious decision or even financially based. We thought we were starting to create our website. And, even though the release date kept slipping, we thought we were moving forward. It took us over a year to acknowledge that we needed to hire a designer and someone to keep us on track with the project.
If you are wondering whether you should hire Mersky, Jaffe & Associates as campaign consultants or to help with an executive search, please
Learn from our cautionary tale:
- We didn’t have dedicated staff for this project, but more importantly, we didn’t have someone whose job it was to keep us on track.
- Websites, blogs and whitepapers can only take you so far. Sometimes you need to call in the experts
- We eventually hired someone because our virtual assistant looked at the site and saw code flaws. What I thought was best practice would have caused visual problems as well as potential security issues. Please see #2.
- Have we lost clients because of our delay? We don’t know, but we do know we are still asking site visitors to work harder than is needed in today’s world. Don’t make anyone who wants to give you money work harder.
- We are spending money to make money. That is the way of the world. Time is no longer free. What I spent creating the website could have been used on helping clients achieve their visions, marketing our site and/or learning new pieces of the business. Not learning how to design a website which I will never have to do again.
If I were going back 17 months I would hire help from the beginning. And, since I often share what I learn, I am hoping our realization can help you understand why using a consultant for a capital campaign, executive search, or strengthen your board may not be optional. Hiring Mersky, Jaffe & Associates might be. But only might be.
Look for our new site in Spring of 2019.
And if you would like to talk through your questions about hiring a nonprofit consultant, Email Abigail today.