Conflicts of Interest

Seldom does a conflict of interest ends up in a profitable situation. However as I find myself in such a situation I felt the need to share this opportunity with you.

As you may already know, the birth of our third daughter Faith resulted in my interrupting international events, training and consulting opportunities. My recent local networking endeavors resulted in several opportunities. Two of which, both competing Tampa based companies are interested in hiring me to advise and implement SEO and SEM strategies on their website. The problem is I can only work with one of them. The question is, which one?

Typically I would prioritize based on faith; Both company owners are Jews. Now what? First come first serve? That would work only in this case, one client would be contracting me directly while the other is a contract through a partner of mine, Peter O’Neill of O’Neill Concepts.

The rule of thumb in this business is based on revenue residuality, meaning I should go with the client that will potentially generate the most revenue over the next few years rather than the client whose initial budget is greater.

Again I face somewhat of a conflict.

Another small business gig would have minute impact on my revenue stream but my new partnership based business with Peter could really use its first contract. An equal part partnership means I will earn half with Peter’s client.

A dilemma? Not really. An opportunity to be a blessing.