Third Year Annual Review
Exactly three years ago on the 4th July 2006 we all set out on an adventure. With a clear vision, a lot of time and money and WDANZ was born! Some of us grabbed the chance to be seen as professionals and thought-leaders in the industry. We threw our weight behind anything that was going and generally we all got the returns we sought. Others stood back and said "We'll see how it goes", and joined us later. Others were simply not interested for whatever reason. The initial negativity from a few of the PHP boys is long gone with only positive press in the last couple of years.Certainly, three years down the track and we have helped many in the industry in dozens of different ways. While of course I'd like things to be better in some areas, overall given what we've achieved, I'm actually pretty happy!
Here's my analysis of our achievements:
Overall
Overall 2009 has been a plateau. Membership has remained stable but I have spent most of my energies in the second quarter working in my own web development business, establishing Agencies around the country. We have managed to tuck in a few Internet UNMASKED!! and Emerging Talent events here and there as they fitted into my travelling schedule. Working with the government agencies, and other industry groups however has been a pretty up and down experience as they've come and gone and members have variously shown interest then no interest in what we've done.A very strong brand.
This is the area that I'm most pleased about our achievements and which endorses the original decision to establish WDANZ as a commercial operation rather than as a committee. WDANZ is now increasingly recognised in the business community as a bone fide business representing web developers in New Zealand. It is not enormously well known outside of the industry but it always receives wide acceptance in the role that it performs - an association of New Zealand web developers who just wish to be seen as professionals.Business brokerage.
Believe it or not, to date this has one of the most successful aspects of the WDANZ operation. Buying and selling a business is not a public thing. One doesn't put a sign up and say "I want out of the industry! Who wants to buy me?" Web developers wanting to buy or sell their business often require assistance - not only in valuing their business but often more importantly HOW to value their business. We have assisted many people from both sides of the equation - buying and selling - actually completing sales in some cases and facilitating others.Dispute resolution.
Anyone who has been in the industry for more than 6 months knows how easy it is to end up in a conflict situation. There are a lot of "gotchas" in our industry and WDANZ provides a lot of valuable assistance to both the public and the industry. In most cases we have been assisting people who have not used a WDANZ member - as you would expect. We have provided evidence for court hearings, full and partial mediation and given a truckload of technical advice to many grateful people. Some of this has been gratis and some of it on a commercial basis. We have also arranged complimentary website development from our members for people who have had their fingers burned in some way. Again this is not the sort of thing that you shout about "Hey, we had a fight with a customer, and WDANZ helped get us out of a pickle!" is not really the sort of thing you normally shout about when it happens!Support & Networking.
Many of our members say that just knowing that there is someone there at the end of the phone when or if they need help is just great. We work as a sounding board, referral centre and networking coordinators. In some areas like the middle of the North Island we are strong and have members always keen to be involved. In the lower North Island we are a little weaker, but the support service is there all the same. The South Island is growing but a little more conservative.Sales Lead Generation Events.
The Internet UNMASKED!! book and events have been very successful at generating goodwill, sales leads and networking for the members who wanted to be involved. Events take a lot of effort to organise, market and run, and WDANZ has gradually gone from a proactive role to more passive role in co-ordinating members. While we did regular conferences to start, our conferences have changed more to a "catch-up of anyone interested" when someone is in town and to telephone introductions between members who have needs of some sort. We help members attending trade shows and running their own events. There are still a few copies of the book available and they really do generate a lot of goodwill with clients.Emerging Talent.
We've been gradually building a service helping those entering the industry and dozens of NatColl and other students have benefited from our training. We have a good relationship with our friends at NatColl and it is important for us to help and encourage people into our industry.DomainMasters.
Domainmasters has been up and running this year and currently lists bulk names from selected Domainers. It generates steady enquiries without promotion but we have yet to appoint someone to run the business. When we do it will become a specialist "listing and trading" website that we think has a lot of potential. It currently lists 2,209 domain names with asking prices of $5m and an estimated value of over $4m. Keep it in mind for your clients who recognise the value of a good Domain Name.Moving forward
The WDANZ website we've had for the last couple of years has been taken down recently and replaced with a simpler one (design-wise) but it uses my own company's technology that I know and can work with easily. A big thanks to Vaughan and Karen from Contegro who have looked after us for the last couple of years. This change is also in preparation for a move to a more active, and inclusive offering with members able to contribute to the website.We will also have slightly changed membership offerings. Before the end of 2009, we will be dropping the price of all membership categories, and opening up a public listing service of members to the web. Membership billing for the last year has been frozen so that we can backdate this decrease for the last a year. (Have you ever heard of that business practice before - freezing membership billing and backdating a decrease?)
I'll be sharing more on this in due course, but WDANZ is more and more being asked to perform a simple listing/communications service to the industry and our wish is to list the details of all web developers. In time, QuoteMasters will become more of an optional service for those that want help locating the right person for the job rather than as a source of all new business for our members.
Again, thanks to all involved with WDANZ. Make sure that you get involved when and where you can.
Your support is appreciated.
Tagwords: annual review
Posted by Dennis A Smith ~ Saturday 4 July 2009
