(Posted with Permission of Webmaster / Luc)
Hello, this message is for everyone who works with Navision and are Independent / Freelance consultants - i.e. work with the product but aren't really tied to an NSC. Also it may be of interest to anyone who is thinking of going the independent route.
I work independently and have joined up with some other freelancers here in the USA and we thought we can help each other out. There are many of us who either support our own clients and / or work through other organizations. The money is usually great working like this, but there are some drawbacks that we are trying to get around. We thought by working together we can all benefit!
Also, if there are end-users or NSC's that need very experienced people to help them, we are compiling a good group of veryexperienced Navision people.
Since MBS doesn't really cater to us, here are some things that by working together our group been able to overcome:
NAVISION LICENSES - How to get a (legal and current) Navision developer licenses to work with.
PARTNERSOURCE / INTRANET - How to get our own (again legal) login to all the internal MBS Navision resources.
I HAVE TOO MUCH WORK / MY CLIENT IS ASKING FOR SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT - For those of us who service our own clients, sometimes we get overburdened or a customer wants a module that we don't know so well. For example, a friend who supports a few Manufacturing and Distribution clients
had one of his clients ask him to implement payroll - luckily I knew someone who had this skill, I put them in touch, and after a few conversations, they worked together to have a happy customer.
I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH WORK - Sometimes we may be between projects with our customers and want to put some extra money in our pocket (or we are just bored!)
ORDERING NEW MODULES - Most of us are supporting clients that have a bad relationship with their NSC, and it is awkward when they want to order new things for their license (users, granules, etc.) We have a good way around this - which also brings in more money!
EVENTS LIKE THE PARTNER CONFERENCE AND TRAINING - Working independently, we sometimes don't know about the upcoming events, and if we want to attend one of those or some training classes, it is difficult to attend.
NEED SALES HELP - Sometimes an existing client may want to look into a big new project (rolling out to other locations, new modules, integrations, etc.) but sales may not be your thing. Me and a few others that I know are technical people that are used to the sales cycle (we are _NOT_ the normal sofware sales people - don't ever call me that!! :> )
LEVEL 2 PROBLEM SOLVING - Sometimes the message boards just aren't enough! Since I have started working with and trusing a few other really good Navision freelancers, they have helped me with at least two complex problems that I was struggling with alone. It's nice to have someone to help work through a problem with.
WORKING IN A GROUP - I really like working for my self and being able to service my own clients, but sometimes it is nice to have other people that are in the same situation.
GO ON A VACATION - Since I met some other independents, I can actually go away for a few days! I call one of the other people I know, and they can help out one of my customers if I go away for a few days and the customer has a show-stopping problem. Then I do the same for them when they go away.
HEALTH INSURANCE, ETC. - If we have enough people that are in the same boat, we could even see about having group health insurance, which is one thing that I really miss from working for an NSC!
If you run across any of these, please send me an e-mail and we can talk further. I have been working with Navision since 1995, and I like working for myself, but am much more comfortable now that I am working with others that have the same goals and challenges that I do.
If there are going to be enough people interested, maybe we can all get together one night during the WW Partner Conference - and if you want to go but don't know how to get yourself a ticket, let me know!
Thanks Everyone,
Michael Anderson
michael@it-force.com
+1-858-405-7172