These are slides from my DrupalCamp Austin session. http://2011.drupalcampaustin.org/sessions/consultant-shop-how-grow-your-drupal-business-without-losing-your-hair-mind-or-bank

1. From a Contractor to a Shop
Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg
Partner | CEO
@AlexU_A

2. About Zivtech
• ~4 year-old company based out of
Philadelphia, PA (& NYC!)
• Currently ~20 people.
• CTO/Co-Founder = Jody Hamilton
• Drupal + other Open Source
• Design + training
• Complex Problems & Cool Clients

3. Starting Out
• What "type" of Drupal/web shop are you? What are
you selling? To whom? Service(s) or product(s)?
• Mission statement: what are your values?
• Business plan.
• Skate to where the puck is!
• Making it official.
• Bootstrapped vs. loans vs. investors
• Don’t fear failure, but try to fail fast.

4. Partners
• It’s a marriage, for better &/or
worse.
• Why bother? Team > sum of its
parts.
• Complimentary Skills = success.
• Split tasks.
• Someone has to focus on the
business itself. (Sales, HR, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bastique/405755376
Legal, Accounting).
• Hold each other accountable.

5. Management
• Remote vs. Office(s).
• Culture matters.
• Motivating developers = herding cats.
• More and longer term engagements.
• Balancing contribution & business dev w/ client work.
• Outsourcing & Offshoring

6. Building a Team
• Developing vs. Hiring Talent.
• Smart > experienced.
• Team player > raw skill.
• Chaos is ok, internal disruption
is not.
• HIRE PROJECT MANAGERS!!!
http://egee09.eu-egee.org/?id=674
• One for every 5-8 developers.

7. Cash & Accounting
• Double-entry bookkeeping.
• Accounts Receivable &
Payable.
• Cash flow: if the bucket runs
dry, your biz is dead.
• Taxes (ouch!).
http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2011/06/theres-hole-in-my-bucket-dear-liza.html

8. Clients
• Relationships drive your business.
• Clients as partners.
• Worth maintaining bad ones?
• Long term clients drive growth.
• How much does it cost to develop
one?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amagill/362201147

9. Sales & Marketing
• Sales cycles
• Request & proposal processes.
• “Win w/out pitching”
• MeetUps, Camps, & Cons
• Contribute!!! Open source =
publish or perish!
• Develop or claim modules in
desired verticals.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kdinuraj/3583955785

10. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tabor-roeder/5554047867
LAWYER UP!!!!

11. Legal
• Contracts: better fences make better
neighbors.
• Fixed bid vs. time & material.
• Protect your neck: get insured.
• Who owns your code? Work for hire?
• “Law of the land”
• Employees vs. Contractors,
unemployment, taxes, etc. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brymo/1014496150

12. Tools
• Estimation
• Project Management
• Time tracking
• Customer / Sales Tools
• Reporting

13. Got help?
• SCORE, SBA, Business Schools
• Collaborate with other Drupal
shops as well as design,
marketing, & IT consulting
companies.
• Drupal.org -> Consultants list,
Groups.Drupal.org, Drupal.org
Marketplace.
• VC blogs.
•
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/2410866650
AVC’s “MBA mondays”

14. THANKS!
http://zivte.ch/AUA-DCNYC10