THE DOORS OF MIS-CONSTRUCTION

There’re a few things about myself I am certain about. I’m a father and husband, first and foremost. After that, I’m the CEO of a digital marketing company.

As of late, though, a title I’d never earn came to light: expert handyman.

Over the course of the last four Saturdays, I undertook the responsibility of replacing and hanging eight doors in my home because that’s the manly thing to do, right? Rather than pay a professional for the material and labor, I opted to save a few bucks and do the work myself.

The way I’m seeing this right now, I have as much business hanging doors as Willie Nelson and Wesley Snipes have handling my taxes. Also, I now see why those home repair rescue shows my wife watches that air ad nauseum on HGTV and the D.I.Y. Network are successful.

Only two of the eight doors have gone up in the last four Saturdays, and quality-wise, I give my work a B-minus at best. One door had to be chucked completely, and my wife and I went without a bedroom door for a week. With teenagers running around, that’s not a situation you want to find yourself in; there’s no escape.

I have bumps and bruises on parts of my body that never saw bumps and bruises (and this is coming from a former college football player, mind you), and I’ve spewed out expletives that would offend my wife, kids and even Lisa Lampanelli, had they been around to hear them. In the end, the money I may save may be little, especially factoring in time spent.

My current adventures in door replacement remind me of CEOs and business owners who consider the digital marketing options for their companies, but opt to formulate and execute a program in-house. They, too, spend a lot of energy on creating a viable presence for themselves online, but with little, if any, return on their hard work.

Access to the 101s regarding digital marketing tools, strategy and terminology are readily available to anyone with access to the Internet, regardless of their position with their company. There’s no shortage of DIY digital marketing books on Amazon. And regardless of the time he or she may put into learning the marketing basics, the actual implementation and execution of a program tailor-made to their company is, like brace and bridgework, best left to the pros. Over the years, I’ve seen more than my share of executives that, despite the noble effort on their part, come up empty handed when self-navigating the digital marketing seas.

Here at Leverage, we welcome informed prospects and, in many cases, the enthusiasm they bring to the table makes the process even more rewarding for them as well as us. We welcome ideas and input from our clients and keep them in the loop at all stages of the process. When placed in our care, we set our clients on a course that met or, as is usually the case, surpassed their expectations both technically and fiscally.

That said, we’re looking at Saturday number five over here on door duty. Perhaps I should practice what I preach at this juncture and call in some pros before I’m forced to watch HGTV ad nauseum…