Most people think they're paying for expertise.
For the solution. For someone who knows how to build the thing.
That's not what you're paying for.
The Thing Most Consultants Get Wrong
Here's what I see constantly in this industry.
Consultants trying to squeeze every dollar out of a single project. Charging for every discovery call. Billing for every hour. Optimizing for the transaction, not the relationship.
They think you're paying them for the technical work. For building things. For clicking buttons.
That's backwards.
The technical solution isn't the value. Understanding your business is.
I can teach someone the technical parts. How to build automation, how to connect systems, how to use AI tools. That's learnable.
What's not learnable quickly? Understanding how a business actually works. Spotting opportunities the owner is missing because they're too deep in the day-to-day. Thinking strategically about what actually makes sense for where the business is headed.
That's the value. And most consultants aren't delivering it.
What I'm Actually Selling
When you hire me, you're not just buying automation or software.
You're buying someone who takes time to understand how your business actually works. Who asks questions about your workflow until they actually get it. Who spots the pain points costing you time and money every single day.
You're buying someone who thinks about where you're actually trying to go, not just what you think you need built.
Even if we're only working together on a one-off project, I'm thinking strategically. What sets you up for success long-term? What makes sense for your business as it grows? Not just what checks a box today.
And if we work together multiple times? That's when the real compounding value happens.
Because I already understand your business. I know your workflow. I know what you've tried before. I can see opportunities faster. Build solutions that integrate with what's already there instead of creating more complexity.
That accumulates. That's worth way more than the individual projects.
Why I Give Strategy Away For Free
Every proposal I send includes a complete project plan.
The approach. The technical architecture. The potential gotchas. The inevitable forks in the road we might face. Hidden costs you probably haven't considered. A complete solution outline.
All free. No contract required.
Other consultants think I'm crazy. "Why are you giving away the strategy? That's the valuable part."
No it's not. The strategy is table stakes.
If I can't figure out the right approach for free, I don't deserve to build it for money.
The value isn't knowing what should be built. The value is actually building it right. Testing it thoroughly. Handling edge cases. Documenting it properly. Making sure it works after I'm gone.
That's what you're paying for. Execution, not ideas.
So I give away the ideas. Because that builds trust. And trust is what actually matters in this business.
The Relationship Is The Asset
You don't build a business on transactions. You build it on relationships.
I've had clients I've worked with multiple times over years. Not because they're constantly breaking things. Because as their business evolves, they come back for the next automation opportunity.
That's the model I want. Long-term relationships where I'm genuinely invested in their success.
Not "here's your automation, good luck, never talk to you again."
I want to know if the thing I built is still working six months later. I want to hear when it saved them from a crisis. I want them to call me when they're thinking about their next growth phase.
That only happens if you're actually invested in someone else's success. If you care whether it works after you're gone. If you're transparent about what will work and what won't.
You can't fake that. Clients can tell the difference between someone who's just trying to close a deal and someone who genuinely cares if the solution actually helps.
What This Looks Like In Practice
I had a potential client reach out about building a complex CRM integration.
We talked for an hour. I asked questions about their workflow. How their team actually uses data. What they're trying to accomplish.
Then I told them they didn't need what they asked for. They needed something simpler. Something that would cost half as much and deliver more value.
Most consultants would have built what was requested. Taken the money. Delivered something that technically worked but didn't actually help.
I walked them through what they actually needed. Sent a proposal for the simpler solution. Explained why this was better for their business.
They hired me. Not because I was the cheapest. Because I was honest about what would actually work.
That's the relationship I'm trying to build. Every single time.
The Part That's Uncomfortable To Say
If you're looking for the cheapest option, I'm not your person.
I don't compete on price. I compete on value.
The cheapest consultant will build what you ask for and disappear. They'll optimize for getting paid quickly and moving to the next client.
I'm optimizing for building something that actually works and starting a relationship that lasts.
That costs more upfront. But it's worth more long-term.
I've seen clients pay cheap consultants three times to fix the same problem because nobody built it right the first time. They would have spent less hiring someone who cared about getting it right initially.
That's the tradeoff. Cheap and fast, or right and lasting.
What I'm Actually Building
I'm not trying to build a consulting business that does 100 one-off projects a year.
I'm trying to build a consulting business with 20-30 clients I work with repeatedly over years. Where I understand their business well enough to deliver value quickly. Where they trust me enough to call when they're thinking about growth, not just when something's broken.
That's a different model. It requires thinking long-term. It requires genuine investment in client success. It requires transparency even when it costs you a sale.
But it's the only model that actually works if you care about the work you're doing.
I've done the transactional consulting thing. Take the project, build the thing, get paid, move on. It's soul-crushing. You never see if anything you built actually mattered.
This model is different. You see the impact. You watch businesses grow because of systems you built. You get calls months later with "that automation you built just saved us during a crisis."
That's worth more than maximizing revenue per project.
The Bottom Line
When you hire me, you're not just paying for automation or software.
You're paying for someone who thinks about your business like it's their own. Who leads with generosity. Who's building something that lasts.
Someone who shows up and actually cares if the solution works after they're gone.
That's what Forte Web Designs is about. That's what every project and every conversation reflects.
It's not a philosophy. It's just how I work.
If that resonates, we should talk. You'll see exactly what I mean in the first conversation.
If you're optimizing for lowest cost? There are plenty of other consultants who'll give you that. No hard feelings.
But if you're looking for someone genuinely invested in your success? Someone who thinks strategically about where your business is going? Someone who builds relationships, not just projects?
Then let's talk.