A case of ethics

I work for a small graphic design agency, and as such the money isn't great. I have been offered some side jobs doing graphic design work for some small companies who can't afford to pay the prices that the company that I work for charge, as such I am thinking of setting up on the side and offering low price design.

I have spoke to a number of people about this, with mixed views.
Just want to know what you all think, is it wrong to do this?

Cheers
Dave

 

[Jayne]

Look at it this way, if these customers cannot aford the firm you work for, they will not use them. So you may as well do it because they'll only find someone else if you don't.

Jayne

 

[New Business]

but can you afford doing a low cost design company

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

I personally would fire anyone that was doing part time work that competed with their day job.

Employees are meant to tempt clients to use the company by their behaviour, manners and professionalism.
And no matter how it was explained I simply would not have 100% faith that the employee was doing their best to show the client value and do their best to promote the company to the client instead of maybe offering to do it cheaper themselves.

If a client cannot afford our services let them go elsewhere and get a lower quality job at a lower price.

 

[mumper]

A lot of people start their own business because they can supply a cheaper service than the company they work for. I personally don't see anything wrong with this as long as it is taken seriously and a good service is supplied.
If you can fill a gap in the market by doing a job cheaper then go for it - as Jayne rightly points out, if you don't someone else will - good luck.

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

A lot of people start their own business because they can supply a cheaper service than the company they work for. I personally don't see anything wrong with this as long as it is taken seriously and a good service is supplied.
If you can fill a gap in the market by doing a job cheaper then go for it - as Jayne rightly points out, if you don't someone else will - good luck.

There is a difference between starting a company and going it alone, and actively competing with your employer.

Word of mouth is a great thing, but when it starts being "Don't go to abc Ltd for your ******* contact John Doe instead, he works for them and you would get the same quality for less £'s" it is certainly not good......

 

[Marina Stone]

If the potential customer called the company you work for, it was your employer's business who got them there, whether it was through marketing, PR or a good reputation. It would be unfair for you to personally benefit from that and during the time when you should be working!

I would fire an employee if I found out they were giving my customers a lower price, in effect competing with my business.

However, if you decided to leave your current position and start up a new business off your own back, then good luck.
Marina

 

[Jayne]

I personally would fire anyone that was doing part time work that competed with their day job.

Employees are meant to tempt clients to use the company by their behaviour, manners and professionalism.
And no matter how it was explained I simply would not have 100% faith that the employee was doing their best to show the client value and do their best to promote the company to the client instead of maybe offering to do it cheaper themselves.

If a client cannot afford our services let them go elsewhere and get a lower quality job at a lower price.

Sorry Tony, didn't think of it that way. Good point.

Jayne

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

Marina, We are going to have to stop agreeing with each other all the time, people might start talking.......

 

[Jayne]

If the potential customer called the company you work for, it was your employer's business who got them there, whether it was through marketing, PR or a good reputation. It would be unfair for you to personally benefit from that and during the time when you should be working!

I would fire an employee if I found out they were giving my customers a lower price, in effect competing with my business.

However, if you decided to leave your current position and start up a new business off your own back, then good luck.
Marina

Sorry to you too, didn't mean to upset anyone.

Jayne

 

[Marina Stone]

Marina, We are going to have to stop agreeing with each other all the time, people might start talking.......

Yes, I had thought that.... :wink:

 

I agree with the argument that if they can't afford the companies charges then they are not going to use them anyway, so the company would not see them as potential clients, so what will happen to them?
Well they will go elsewhere and look for someone like you somewhere else. So take advantage of your situation, if your badly paid, are you losing too much anyway??

Michael

 

[SuffolkDesigns]

I agree with the argument that if they can't afford the companies charges then they are not going to use them anyway, so the company would not see them as potential clients

Not necessarily, they might come back 1 month or one year later when they can afford it, but they won't now as it was already done cheaper by one of your employee's.

I expect and demand 100% loyalty and dedication from my employees, in return for which they get paid very well and lot's of perks. If an employee wants to leave and set up a competing business then they should go for it, I would even offer advise if asked.

I am paying them for their skills and charge prices accordingly, taking into account my overheads (offices, hardware, etc etc) and I do not expect them to compete with me on any level what so ever.

 

[Cornish Steve]

Right now, your current employer is turning away business by choice. The business is there, but your employer does not wish to accept it, which is quite justifiable. They have a target market, a target price, target margins, and so on, and wish to meet those targets.

As others have said, it would be difficult for you to pursue that business without your employer knowing about it. No matter how well you work for your employer, your practice on the side would be perceived as a conflict of interest. In this case, perception is everthing.

As I see it, you have two options:

1) Speak to your company management about it. Mention that you believe there's a business case to be made for accepting some work at a lower price. You have an idea for winning the business and making it a profitable business. You could even offer to create a separate company unit for this line of business only.

2) Leave your company and, provided that it doesn't conflict with your contract with them, pursue the other line of business yourself. You'd better be pretty darned confident that you'll generate enough revenue and enough profit. That means careful planning in advance to know your costs and your cash flow.

I hope this helps.

 

[mumper]

vshosting wrote

There is a difference between starting a company and going it alone, and actively competing with your employer.

Yes I agree, my comment was meant to refer to Dave going it alone and not in direct competition with his employer.

 

Thanks for your comments, I am actually talking to my boss in an hour about the situation. He is a fair guy and am sure that he will see the error that we have made in only targeting medium-large businesses.

Once again, thanks for the advice

- David

 

[Cornish Steve]

Thanks for your comments, I am actually talking to my boss in an hour about the situation. He is a fair guy and am sure that he will see the error that we have made in only targeting medium-large businesses.

Once again, thanks for the advice

- David

How did it go?

 

Basically he told me that we weren't interested in any contract that was under 2k and also that it would not be in my best interests to go ahead with creating a smaller company.

I even showed him that if we picked up some smaller contracts we could actually make more than just waiting for the big ones, but he wasn't interested.... Some people just can't see a good thing.

 

[SillyJokes]

Maybe he started out like you on low cost jobs, but soon found out that these jobs can often be the biggest pain because they want more than they can afford so can never be satisfied with the job supplied.

Therefore he has learnt not to get out of bed for less than £2K.

He knows his market, has positioned his business to a certain price band and is doing good business. These low cost jobs are someone else's field where they would be competing with people like your self offering it for cheap.

Incidentally if I was in his shoes and someone working for me and started doing cheap side jobs they would be out.