I had lunch yesterday with a gentlemen that I probably haven't seen in a decade. We met at Tea's Me, a local cafe that I'm working to introduce to my entire circle of friends. Jim had called me out of the blue to get together and catch up. As we talked about the 18 years that I've been doing small business computer consulting in the Indianapolis area, it struck me that I'm now one of the old guys in the IT services industry. I used to hire a summer intern every other year to study the competitive landscape of Indianapolis computer support. Without fail, my intern would find between 60 and 75 companies that would look to the marketplace like a competitor to Port-to-Port Consulting. The names on the list would change dramatically, but the count remained steady.

When Jim told me that he was surprised and happy to find that Port-to-Port was still providing quality computer outsourcing, it struck me that we are a rare entity in this volatile industry. I imagine that most folks who start IT consulting businesses do it because they don't work well with bosses. In time they realize that they've traded one boss for dozens, or even hundreds, in the form of demanding customers. Others use the consulting title as a way to conduct extended, paid job interviews in hopes of getting hired by one of their clients.
Not us. Port-to-Port continues to exist because we set out to provide technology consulting that benefits our customers and makes them better able to do whatever it is they set out to do. I believe that bigger purpose keeps our doors open while so many others shut down.