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Before You Go Out On Your Own – Conflicts of Interest
There are two pieces of advice that are often mentioned here on Technibble. They are:
1. It is a good idea to get experience while working from someone else before you start your business.
2. It is a good idea to build up your client base after hours, until it reaches a point where your day job is affecting your computer repair business. That way, it’s a soft slide into the shallow end rather than a jump into the deep end.
Stand alone, each of these lines are good advice. However, they not good advice if you were to do both of these at the same time. Let me explain.
This topic came up when a member on our forums mentioned that he currently works as a technician for another computer business, while starting up his own computer business on the side. He was trying to do the right thing by keeping his clients and his employer’s clients completely separate, so he wasn’t poaching any clients from his boss. So there shouldn’t be a problem right?
This is what you would call a “conflict of interest” which is defined as “when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other”.
While I highly doubt this forum member would do anything to harm his boss since he already has taken the moral high ground in keeping the clients separate; the potential is always there, even if it’s an unconscious decision.
There are also “insider secrets” that this person could make use of unconsciously. For example, let’s say that his boss had developed a system where they could always fix computers in a very short about of time (shorter than most) and was always cheaper than everyone else.
This gives his boss a competitive advantage over everyone else in the town and since this technician had to made use this system while he was working for his boss, he is obviously going to remember it. Once this technician goes out on his own, I doubt he is going to purposely use a slower and less efficient method to fix computers when he already knows a better way.
Now that there is a competing technician in town that going to do the exact same thing, the boss just lost his competitive advantage. This is why working for someone else as a technician and running your own business on the side is a conflict of interest.
This technician would also need to take a look at his work contract to make sure there is no non-compete clause in there which prevents him from starting up at all. In order for this technician to do the right thing by his boss, it would be better for him to quit his job completely before he starts his business to avoid the conflict of interest – and if his work contract allows it.
So, while working for someone else to gain experience and building up your business on the side are good advice separately, they are not good advice when put together.
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I work as a Network Support Specialist for Illinois State University and I own my own business where the majority of all my clients are university staff. Its easier to do it in a more corporate type of environment. The reason for me saying this is because the IT departments that we have do not focus on fixing personal computer, they are only for university computer. When I’m on site doing job at the university, I have the staff ask me if I could do this type of work on the side and I will pass my info on to the them and they normally call me for a job. So I can take the skills I learn in this environement and apply it to my business because they dont need to compete with anyone, because everything is simply in-house. So it depends on the situation and environment.
I’m working as an intern right now for a group. I would like to get some money coming in though, I saw this as an obvious problem, I thought about it a bit and realized theres a university in town.
Offering cheap repairs and consulting for students be a conflict of interest?
Weird…I’m in this exact situation.
The day after I started to advertise for my own business, I get called in for an interview working for a company that does in home computer repair. I do find it difficult not to tell their clients about my services but at the same time my contract with the company does mention a penalty if I’m found to be soliciting their clients…so I don’t do it.
But not having a full time job and having bills to pay will make people do desperate things.
I was in this same situation, lets just say when my employer found out (which there is always a chance that they will) it got very messy. Luckily for me they didn’t find out until I had left, however they did end up finding out that I had been working for my self in the same business while working for them. I had false accusations made against me about doing jobs for my own customers while working for them, which of course I didn’t do, but none the less it wasn’t vey nice when they found out and they went and told their clients what I had been doing.
I was in the exact same situation. My mom worked for the local hospital so I started just fixing computers for her friends at work while I was working at the other place. One day my bosses mom got sick and he went to the hospital and saw a flyer posted on a board in the nurses station where he wasnt supposed to be. Next thing you know it blew up. Not long after that, after I explained to him that I was only doing work friends and not taking any of his customers, I started up doing a little bit more. His prices are extremely high and people were sick of paying them but he was the only decent shop in town. I originally just started out doing stuff by word of mouth, friends of friends kinda stuff. Eventually, I left that job because we were being really taken advantage of and found a better job in an unrelated field. I kept on doing side jobs. Before you know it I was running into customers that I knew from working at this other place. At first I refused to work with them, but after a few of them kept calling over and over begging me and basically said that there was no way they were bringing it back there due to the prices so i agreed to work with them. Today, I still do not advertise outside of some business cards, all my business is word of mouth and me and my boss are still friends but it was definitely a tuff situation that I recommend all to avoid at all costs. For him its his livlehood and he still has his business that seems to still be doing well but on the other hand this is just extra money for me, one of my three jobs. Once in a while i will run into old customers but most of them dont recognize me all though some still do.
If you want some great business advice, Get into the retirement communities. Most have community papers they hand out or just try and get in by doing a few computers. Word of mouth spreads through there like wildfire!
I like Marcus am a computer technician in an education environment. Most of my side work comes from people I see on a weekly basis, or from people they know. At work I work on the school’s computers, but on the side I work on the teacher’s personal computers. Since there are really no “customers” to steal, there is no conflict of interest.
Qjet, I would talk it over with your supervisor. I am not sure what the university would allow in relation to business relationships and students. Ask them, it could go either way.
James, this sort of situation was the inspiration for the article. Sounds like you took the moral high road and didnt mix things up. However, I can understand your employer going nuts with his mind making up all sorts of things about how you sabotaged him.
Brandon, as a school technician (I am assuming elementry or highschool level) I dont see an issue since there are no “clients”, provided the school doesnt disallow such business relationships.
The non-compete clause is important, and there is normally a length of time associated with it. The other thing to remember, is that just because you signed something, it may or may not necessarily be legally binding. When I took my current contracting job, one of the owners insisted that I signed a non-compete/NDA. The other owner, who is terribly unorganized never followed through. I believe the first owner is under the assumption that I have signed something, and of course, I’m in no hurry to mention it to him (I’ve been with this particular company for almost a year now).
I’m currently preparing to launch a few services of my own (something Technibble has been invaluable for, THANKS!) so these concerns have crossed my mind. I have no intention of poaching clients, and fortunately in my area (NYC area) there are lots of clients and lots of other competition. My theory is this: if you don’t have a non-compete agreement, and your boss is unable to make your current work/compensation attractive enough to keep you there, then you are OBLIGATED to start your own company and do things your own way. If my boss is unhappy with that, I’d be more than willing to do contract jobs with him, but everyone has a right to work on their own terms, especially if you’re willing to absorb the risk and launch your own company. If my boss isn’t happy with those terms, then I must be doing something right.
If my computer repair business gets big enough to hire employees, I may need a Non Compete clause myself.
I live in Pennsylvania (USA) – can anyone suggest something applicable to my local laws ?
Thanks,
-:>Kevin
The forum member took a very honourable approach and should be given credit for that. Unfortunately, the reality is that the employer will still perceive that client were poached, it’s human nature.