I absolutely agree with your views and its really hard to get ” good ” internet marketers .

Regards
Salwin

Also, by working in an agency that is experiencing growth, I am faced with the task of hiring Internet marketers so I deal with this dilemma at work. It is a tough task when funds are limited because you are then forced to train which can take time. Then once you train someone, you face losing them to a company who will pay double what you can afford. Or you face the possibility that they will go off on their own as many are doing these days.

The thing that I do, and learned to do from my previous boss (you know who you are) is to encourage my employees to make money on the side. I always take time during the week to encourage them to create and market their own sites and then show them ways to improve it and make more money for themselves. It’s like the Google rule of 80/20. 80% of your time is dedicated to the tasks of your job and 20% dedicated to other personal endeavors.

This does a couple of things. First it shows that I am not some anal boss who stares over you to finish your work and allow some flexibility. It also gives a little extra income to make that employee a little more satisfied and they can somewhat contribute that money to work b/c I am the one showing them what road to go down. The other thing it does, is helps to train them. You learn more and work harder when your own money and well-being are on the line. This helps speed up the training process b/c this employee is now going to take more time outside of work to read and try new things with their personal sites. This then translates into better work for our clients b/c this employee can apply things learned from personal experience to our clients.

Now, there does come a point where when they are really good at this now and have pleny of other opportunities for them to take. This is where it gets hard and comes back to personal relationships, good pay, and just giving someone a place that they want to come to everyday to support a company and its ideals. Hopefully I will have luck with my employees when this point is reached.

While I was concerned originally about finding a new full-time job with benefits, I see now that the potential for this “new” career is unlimited and, in the long run, I’d be foolish to start looking for a salaried position since I’d probably end up wanting to go back out on my own anyway.

My business is at the point now where I need to hire subcontractors to keep up with my workload and you’re right - good talent is not yet easy to find in this business, so I end up outsourcing basic tasks and continue to do the more advanced tasks myself. However, I’m optimistic that in time, as the career field blossoms and additional educational opportunities become available and the benefits of pursuing the field as a career become more widely known, the availability of decent talent is bound to improve.

What has to be encouraging for people who want to enter the business and secure permanent employment is the availability of “senior” positions for those with only about 2 years experience. That would also support your position that good talent is hard to find in this nascent industry.

Randy