“Business Ethics” Doesn’t Have to Be an Oxymoron.

American business ethics have devolved into a quagmire where short term profits reign supreme. Promises are made to close a deal, not to be kept.  Fine print additions are cloaked inside contracts that nullify the original intent and meaning. The value set that anything is acceptable as long as it generates profits and you don’t get caught has become the standard. Business intelligence is sadly judged by how much you make, not on how you made it. We reject this trend of amoral and immoral business values. This is a climate that thinks morals are paintings on walls and scruples are Russian money. Even though we must interact in this environment, we still intend to conduct ourselves and our business within a more positive value climate: On this page, you will find out how.
 

On Business Ethics
The Web Fin Way of Doing Business. “Web Fin believes in the Golden Rule. We treat our clients and partners like we wish to be treated. It may sound old-fashioned, but we are unable to accept any other way for us to do business.”

Keeping Promises - Another throwback belief of ours is that our word is our bond. If we promise you something, we will deliver. No excuses. If we miss a scheduled meeting with you, call 911 because we died, which is the only acceptable excuse for missing a meeting.

On the Proper Treatment of Clients
Client Numbers - As a matter of policy, we choose to limit our clientele to a small number of loyal customers. This allows us to provide more quality contact time and individual attention to each customer.

Selecting Clients - We base our business dealings on the principles of honesty, integrity, and keeping our commitments and we expect the same from our clients and vendors, As a result, we end up with fewer clients and vendors than we could, but our relationships with them will be much more satisfying for both them and us. Customers and vendors who do not share our business ethics beliefs are politely referred to other companies.

Retaining Clients - There’s a high cost to obtain new customers.  Retaining them is done simply by treating them right. We aim to do just that.

Privacy - We don’t like web sites we buy from or companies we deal with to send our name to junk email firms, and we don’t do that to our clients. We also don’t reveal confidential information you share with us ( Trade secrets, Strategic planning, etc.) and we expect that you won’t reveal confidential information we share with you.
 

On Business Methods
Product Sales - When a client needs new hardware or software, our role is to recommend products that meet their needs and budget and, if needed, acquire those products for our clients. Products supplied by Web Fin are not marked up. This leads to objectivity. Web Fin serves as a developer and consultant, not as a vendor. This allows us to shop intelligently on behalf of clients, leveraging our buying power and technical knowledge to their advantage.

Responsibility - Web Fin is a total solutions provider. This includes ongoing maintenance and improvement as well as initial development or setup. When a problem arises, there’s only one number you need to call. The buck stops at Web Fin. If you find problems with our work, you can call our CEO directly. We have a vested interest in assuring things are going well.  We value specific feedback about problems with our work so they can be fixed and avoided in the future. With Web Fin, you have the ear of the top officers and they will get things done. No layers of bureaucrats whose sole purpose is to insulate the CEO from clients and customers.

Advertising - We aim to significantly reduce marketing and advertising costs. We prefer to rely on word of mouth and cross company referrals. We use word of mouth and excellent treatment of our clients as advertising. We spend our marketing budget on improving service and better addressing the needs of our clients. Future business wil take care of itself if we do this properly.
 

Our Business Plan
Growth and Company Size - We’re not in this for an IPO or to be acquired by a larger company in a few years.  We have no exit strategy and we don’t intend to create one. We want to establish lasting, mutually prosperous long term relationships with our clients and partners. Like the Marines, we’re looking for a few good customers who are looking for a few good vendors.

Overhead - We believe in keeping our overhead low. We do this through the judicious use and sharing of office space, flexible staff scheduling, use of subcontracted specialists, and minimizing advertising and marketing costs.

On Staffing
Staff Values - Web Fin employees are rewarded for providing superior service, honest effort, and honest, reliable feedback to clients and other staff. They are rewarded for providing individual attention to each client’s needs. Happy clients treated well means repeat business.  Bonuses are paid based on client satisfaction. Artificial bonus criteria like commissions on sales promote selling customers more than they need and is counterproductive to building long term relationships based on trust, honesty, and integrity.

Staffing - We believe that employing a smaller number of staff members results in more qualified individuals.  Web Fin won’t expand staff numbers with unqualified people.  We’ll turn down business instead.

Training - Significant regular employee training improves staff skill sets and versatility.  Tuition reimbursement as well as company-funded professional training seminars and workshops keep our staff knowledgeable and focussed on continual improvement. We ask staff to reciprocate by commiting to longer employment terms in exchange. We believe the more knowledgeable our staff becomes, the better it is for them, us, and our clients.

Adding Staff - We add new employees only when we are unable to meet the needs of our clients. We use select subcontractors, provide schedule flexibility and good pay to those whose work is superior. Those who prove effective and honest are offered future work and are candidates for full time positions when they become available.  Those who display a negative concern for Web Fin’s customers or values are not considered for future projects.
 

On Financial Matters
Project Agreements - Benchmark points are spelled out specifically in a project agreement signed by each party prior to any work commencing. This agreement clarifies what each party expects and avoids any misunderstandings that might occur later on in the project. Each agreement will also specify procedures for changes via work orders when additional tasks are needed to take advantage of new opportunities. Too many potentially positive business relataionships have been ruined due to disputes about late payments or dissatisfaction with work done upon completion of the project. We have found that many disagreements are due not to bad intentions or ill will, but rather to misunderstandings or differences in memories and interpretations. The use of a project agreement minimizes many of these potential pitfalls and clearly delineates the specific details of the project to everyone.

Payment Procedures - To avoid payment problems, all Web Fin projects are quoted with a payment schedule that specifically delineates when payments are due and what work must be done satisfactorily to receive that partial payment. We structure projects with clear cut benchmark points at which specific tasks must be completed and when partial payments will be due prior to proceeding to the next benchmark point. This protects both our clients and ourselves and assures satisfactory results at each step of a project.
 

On Business Relationships
Customer Relationships - Web Fin seeks customers looking for a mutual long term, honest, trusting relationship with computer and technology consultants and developers. Our goal is to build these positive long term relationships with our clients. This may be contrary to many current businesses who focus on, and adjust rewards based on, short term profitability. We believe this to be a major error in strategy

Partnerships - None of us is as smart as all of us. We believe that. We look for partners who can add to what we do and vice versa. The concept of synergy, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, comprises the philosophical underpinnings of all Web Fin companies, including us.  Each Web Fin company is a partner of all the other Web Fin companies, and operate according to the same philosophy you read here.

Joint Ventures - We can enable businesses to make money utilizing the Internet and save money using it. In some instances, we might be interested in sharing  the incremental revenues our internet development efforts may generate. These situations also motivate us to make sure the venture succeeds. For companies with business philosophies compatibile  to ours,  we may be open to web-enabling their business as our part of a joint venture.   This dramatically reduces our partner’s risk and exposure and allows them to profitably participate in the internet revolution with a partner expert in the technology. We, in turn, benefit from our partner’s expertise and familiarity with their vertical market. We search out these type of win-win situations.
 

Epilogue
There you have it. This is how we do business.  No surprises, no hidden agendas. Those of you who have read all this now know what to expect when doing business with us. If any difficulties arise, just show us this page and we will live up to our word. Consider this a guarantee of sorts as well as a reward for your patience and due diligence in reading what we say about how we do business. If you like what you just read and believe it to be in sync with your beliefs and how you do business, give us a call or send us an email.  If not, we wish you the best of luck navigating the new world of internet-enabled business.  With the prevalence of sharks in the modern business world, we believe you will need it.