Andrew
Carnegie, the Scottish American industrialist who pioneered the expansion of
the American steel industry in the late 19th century, once said, “No person
will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the
credit.”
A few decades later, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Eli Broad (the
only businessman to boast two Fortune 500 companies in separate industries)
declared, “The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with
managers at all levels.” A few months ago, my wife, homemaker extraordinaire, shoved
a print-out from a site called WebInterpret in my face and exclaimed, “If you
learned how to *%@#µ* delegate, I wouldn’t feel so neglected and your children
could grow up knowing that they are more important than your *%@#µ* business!”
Ouch! Harsh
words. But, I have to admit, entirely warranted.
Upon
leaving university in 1997, I set up a sports clothing company in Northern
Vermont specializing in winter sports wear for snowboarders. It had come to my
attention (and that of my snowboarding friends cum business partners) that ski
pants were totally inappropriate for snowboarders. We spent a lot of time on
our knees and wore through our ski pants in no time flat. We also spent more
time sitting (or landing) on our butts in the snow. We needed extra
reinforcement in certain areas and extra insulation in others. Together with
the desire to set ourselves apart esthetically from the skiers, my friends and
I designed a collection of baggy snow pants and put them on the local market.
Business got off to a great start!
Today, 17 years later, we’ve managed to keep up with
an ever-changing market and our large range of winter wear is now available
throughout the US, in bricks and mortar shops scattered throughout the
Northeast and in Colorado, and via Amazon and eBay. We like to think of
ourselves as the anti-posh snow gear company. A couple of years ago we decided
to branch out across seas, in Europe. We were getting great feedback from
foreign visitors to the States who wanted to know where they could buy our gear
back home. That was when I should have called WebInterpret. But, the control
freak in me is incapable of delegating!
I am
tri-lingual. My mother is French, my father is German and I grew up in the US
speaking all three languages. I figured that with my language skills, setting
up shop in Europe would be easy. Time-consuming, but easy. Boy, was I wrong! The
company spent thousands and thousands in travel expenses so that I could go
meet with potential distributers and explore the local markets in the UK,
France and Germany. As a result, I saw my wife and kids at the weekend only. In
the beginning, it was okay – I brought back presents in the form of classy
perfume for my wife and CDs or toys for the kids (thank you Duty Free!) -- but
it soon became tiresome for all. I was never around when it mattered the most –
birthdays, school plays, soccer games – and my wife had to severely cut back
her working hours so she could look after the kids.
Something had to give.
I needed to let go and let other people do the work for me. So I
contacted WebInterpret. If only I had done so sooner! They have an
all-inclusive offer for online traders that makes international business
accessible to everyone. They identify the products that have the highest
international selling potential, localize product information, publish listings
to Amazon and eBay and follow-up with top-notch service. They essentially take
all the hassle out of international expansion.
I have just
finished my one-month, no-risk trial with them. Indeed, WebInterpret is so
confident that their services are worthwhile, they are willing to give a free
30-day trail to developing businesses. It amazes me how much they have been
able to do in such a short period of time. International sales have already
gone up by 22%! I feel quite sheepish when I think that
all my previous efforts could have been economized and put to better use!
General
George Smith Patton Jr once said, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what
to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” With WebInterpret, I
don’t feel I have to be looking over their shoulders on a permanent basis. They
have proven to me that they are experts at what they do. It’s a very liberating
(albeit, sometimes scary) feeling!
