Anyone with a boss has likely dreamed of a day when they would someday have no one to report to or have to punch a clock.Working for yourself may seem ideal but it is not without its own responsibilities. Try to look beyond the possibility of having no interoffice politics and think about what you can expect when you are your own boss.Here’s an idea of some of the pros and cons of branching out on your own.Pro: There’s no one breathing down your neck. Micromanaging bosses are the worst. If you have one, you have our sympathies. It can make you hate your job, even if it’s something that you normally would enjoy.Con: There’s no one holding you accountable. This might be the hardest part of running your own business. You have to be completely self-motivated, since everything is riding on what you produce. There’s no one to tell you when or how to do a project. You have to be able to trust your own instincts and experience.Pro: Get paid for what you’re worth. You determine what your salary will be by the quality of your work and how much work you solicit. All the profits go to you since you work for yourself. You can make more money by taking on more work.Con: The pay is not guaranteed. This is a tough one for people to adjust to, when going from working for someone to working for yourself. It’s a huge gamble and it might not pay off. You could go from having expendable income to putting all you have into your business for years before turning a profit.On the positive side, if you come up with a solid business plan and work hard it may work out for you. New businesses start up every day and many of them succeed, there’s no reason why yours can’t be one of them.
Automotive Advertising Agencies And Technology Vendors Consolidate Along With The Auto Industry
The consolidation of the auto industry has forced automotive advertising agencies to take on new areas of responsibility that include integrating sales processes on the virtual showrooms being built on the Internet Super Highway with real world brick and mortar facilities. The internet has sparked new vendor applications and technologies that have forever changed the role of automotive advertising agencies who are challenged to match the message on the street with the message on both the real and virtual showroom floor. Technology has always determined the media used to deliver a targeted marketing message with human nature shaping the messages and methods to deliver it. The Internet and the impact that online social media is having on the shopping and buying habits of consumers is being reflected in the emerging technologies and applications focused on providing efficiencies and short term R.O.I. analytics for advertisers.It is no longer enough for automotive advertising agencies to simply drive customers to their auto dealer client’s websites and/or showrooms. Until and unless their efforts can be sourced to specific vehicle sales and/or repair orders they have not earned their agency fees. Fortunately, new vendor applications have been developed to handle the warp speeds that customers are travelling on the Internet Super Highway. These integrated solutions are being consolidated into comprehensive platforms built on best in class applications that follow customers all the way to the showroom floor and/or the service drive — and beyond with after sales follow up to improve customer satisfaction and retention.Technology vendors that provide specialized applications for the auto industry have been consolidating their products and services to improve selling processes by linking new and pre-owned vehicle sales with fixed operations. Efficiencies in processing customer contacts through integrated ILM and CRM systems tied to in store desking applications and DMS platforms allow automotive advertising agencies to manage and monitor customer contacts with a verifiable R.O.I.. This kind of R.O.I. analysis was not possible when sales and service functions were handled by individual vendor solutions that did not communicate efficiently with each other.The consolidation in the automotive advertising technology sector has been evidenced by the increased market penetration by extensive product suites such as those offered by the ever expanding group of individual vendors that comprise Dominion. The recent acquisitions of Kelley Blue Book and vAuto by Auto Trader represent a recent consolidation of best in class vendor solutions to expand their iconic marketing platform. These complimentary products and services further differentiate Auto Trader from the competition and provide a more comprehensive product suite for the auto dealers that they serve. Similarly, individual vendors have extended their product suites to include applications that compliment their initial offerings such as the expanded marketing services being offered by Higher Gear to extend their CRM application and state of the art mobile applications recently added to eCarlist to compliment their inventory management/marketing platform.These examples of best in class products and services offered by auto industry focused vendors integrated into platform solutions link vehicles sales and fixed operations to improve efficiencies and provide more comprehensive R.O.I. analytics. Auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies that have survived the consolidation in the retail auto industry have turned to these technology providers to leverage their limited resources.The future for auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies clinging to old school business practices without embracing the internet, social media and technologies to maximize the efficiencies that they represent is bleak. Similarly, vendors serving the auto industry must expand their products and services beyond their initial core products to provide complimentary and integrated solutions or they will swept aside by platform solutions that address their auto dealer clients needs in a more comprehensive manner.