The Hidden Tech Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Business

Building an app or scaling your business with tech sounds exciting… until it isn’t.

What most founders don’t realize is that the biggest risks aren’t just financial—they’re legal, operational, and sometimes irreversible.

In this episode of The Karas Wright Show, Karas Wright sits down with Rea Hailley, CEO of New

Idea Machine, to break down the real pitfalls business owners face when building tech. From

having your idea stolen to losing control of your own platform, this conversation pulls back the curtain on what actually happens behind the scenes—and how to protect yourself.

If you’re a founder, entrepreneur, or business owner thinking about building an app, investing in tech, or scaling your operations, this episode will give you the clarity and confidence to do it the right way.

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

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→ Why skipping an NDA can cost you your entire idea

→ The hidden costs of building before security and compliance

→ How founders accidentally lose ownership of their own platforms

→ The difference between a vendor and a true partner

→ Why fixed pricing can end up costing you more

→ How to avoid getting locked into bad contracts

→ The importance of technical requirements before building anything

00:00 Introduction

00:02 Meet Rea Hailley and New Idea Machine

00:03 What most business owners struggle with in tech 00:07 Scarcity mindset vs collaboration in business 00:10 How founders get their ideas stolen

00:12 Why NDAs and protection matter

00:14 The true cost of ignoring security and compliance 00:17 Who to talk to before building your app

00:21 Contracts, ownership, and protecting your code 00:27 What happens when an app doesn’t work 00:33 Why technical requirements are critical

00:38 Final advice for founders

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ABOUT REA HAILLEY

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Rea Hailley is the CEO of New Idea Machine, helping non-technical founders and business owners navigate the world of tech through automation, integrations, and custom software. Her mission is to simplify complex systems so businesses can scale efficiently and avoid costly mistakes.

Website: newideamachine.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/newideamachine/posts/?feedView=all

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IF THIS HELPED YOU

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If this conversation helped you better understand how to protect your business while building and scaling, make sure to like, comment, and subscribe.

Share this episode with a founder or business owner who needs to hear this.

#businessgrowth #entrepreneurmindset #appdevelopment #startuptips #businessstrategy #techforbusiness #founders #leadership #smallbusiness #canadianbusiness

"The Hidden Tech Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Business"

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The owner, like the entrepreneur, the business owner, the uh the founder needs to own every line of code from the very beginning. You know, this is not something that you should ever have to ask for from your developer. Because what happens if that developer wins the lottery and moves to Hawaii? You never hear from them again.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Or there's a breakdown in relationships. I've heard some horror stories recently, not just of app developers, but web developers that have held websites hostage, that have held other um IP hostage because the A, the contract was uh uh was restrictive, but also they didn't actually understand what to ask for and take ownership of it and then give access to the other individual. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

And you don't need to understand how it works. You just need to have the keys to your own kingdom. And if you don't have that, you know, you're leaving yourself wide open.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Welcome to the Karis Wright Show. I'm Karis Wright, and we're gonna have a really candid conversation today. And it is built off of a couple of things that I've noticed as I'm talking with business owners and founders over the last couple of weeks, is we're still running. We're running on fumes, we're running on empty. And a lot of that's stemming from not having direction, direction in the strategy that you're wanting, direction in the systems that you're needing to keep yourself accountable, but also in the tech when you have a brilliant idea. And so I have Rhea Haley here from the CEO of New Idea Machine. And I'm so excited for this conversation, Rhea, because we have had some great interactions over the last little bit about some of the pitfalls business owners are really finding themselves in and the importance of providing value before you start working with them. Yes. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me, Kara. Excited to be here. Yeah. Before we dive into the pitfalls, though, tell me about yourself, new idea machine. Um, give me the rundown.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yes. So uh I always tell people that I consider myself the accidental CEO because I never expected to be here. Uh and and I'm not technical myself. Uh, my first pivot into tech was uh working with Shopify and working with high-value merchants, um, around that$50 million mark annually. And um working there, it was like drinking from a fire hose. There was so much to learn every day. I felt like I was constantly learning a new language, um, but I'm uh I'm an overachiever. So I couldn't, you know, failure just wasn't an option. And uh I did rather well and grew my portfolio to 90 million within the first year. Um, and then it was time for me to leave Shopify because I was quickly burning out. And um a few years before that, during the pandemic, uh, you know, my partner and I were on a walk and uh he was complaining about how difficult it is for non-technical business owners to do anything with tech to help their business because they just don't know what questions to ask or where to turn. And um, you know, I I wanted him to just do something about it. So I so I just said to him, just do something about it. And and he looked at me and he said, Well, only if you do it with me. And I thought, oh gosh, okay, I again I can't, I can't let him, you know, I can't back out now. So of course I had to say, yes, I'll do something. Um, and so we launched New Idea Machine specifically to help non-technical founders and business owners navigate the world of tech so that they can grow their business. And fast forward five years, here we are.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

It's such a needed thing.

unknown 4:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Now, for those who aren't familiar with New Idea Machine, what do you do?

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Yeah, so that's a really good question. So uh to sum it up, it's automations, integrations, and custom software development. Um now, for your average business owner, they don't really care about any of those things. They just think that I have a I have a bottleneck, I have um work backing up, I'm wasting time on administrative tasks, and um I'm really tired of overpaying for these subscriptions um, you know, for off-the-shelf tools. I just need somebody to help me, help me make sense of this mess. And um, and that's okay. You know, if if that's as far as their knowledge goes, that's perfectly okay. Uh, we can certainly go in and and help them identify how to streamline their workflow so that they can scale without necessarily having to hire additional staff.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

One of the conversations that you and I had off-camera just before we started was the importance of providing value. And you and I are both in alignment where there's a lot of businesses out there and saying, I'll help you, but you've got to pay me this much first before I'll even give you a hint. Yeah. And even your eye flutter there is like, oh, that is not resonating.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Yes. I I cannot stand that. As a business owner myself, I know that there are areas that we need help with. And I don't always have time to seek service providers out. Usually, you know, they they come my way and I look into them. Um and more often than not, they say to me, Well, I can help you. I'm not gonna tell you how, but I can help you. And all you have to do is hire me for a day or so and we'll do a deep dive into your business. Um, and then I will show you how I can help you. But then it's, you know, you have to commit to me for several months and um and I'll help you get to where you want to be. There are no guarantees. You're just gonna have to trust me and take a gamble. And to me, that's not okay. Like I that's not how I believe business should be done. You know, with our clients or anyone that comes to speak to us, we go above and beyond in providing them the information they need and the tools they need completely free of charge just to help them. And if it's not the right time for us to work together, that's okay. And also if there's someone else that can help them better than we can, I will happily make that recommendation because I believe that, you know, when when the time is right, everything will line up and the right clients will come our way and the partnership will be beautiful and go very smoothly and everyone will be happy. And and those are the type those are the types of situations I want to be in, the types of clients I want to have. I never want to have a client um with us if they're not happy with us. You know, I I want them to succeed and and thrive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

The philosophy I take is that there comes a point in time in every business owner where you've got to move. You're either at that, I need to do it myself, either because I need the knowledge, um, there's a financial constraint, or something else is in mind. And so the ability to have that information accessible until they're ready to make that next step is really, really important. So I love how for you, you've got that on your website in terms of the resources. I have a business reality check that gives that opportunity to go and find those bottlenecks in the business and kind of go, okay, here's that. And then the next step, because the reality is we also make need to put food on the shelf and keep our lights running. So there is a value exchange that happens, but it's also making sure that until you get to that point, we want to make sure you're you're covered. And I love I um had read something from Alex Hermose who was actually talking about a lot of billionaires will do that in a really easy way by either here's the audible, here's a book that you can buy for$50 to help you until you get to that point. Or here's resources that we have on the website that are free. And those are ways of helping. And I don't think we always think of it in that way. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Yes. And it's needed because when, you know, more and more businesses succeed, we all benefit.

unknown 8:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

You know, and there's so much um work out there that I don't think we ever have to approach it with that scarcity mindset. You know, like there's more than enough for everybody. Um, but also why not focus on what you're great at and, you know, provide that to your clients and let other people who are better at other things provide those services to your clients as well. I love collaboration. I love working with like-minded values-first service providers. And I will happily recommend clients to them because I know that they will be well looked after and taken care of. And again, I it's to me, it's all about, you know, how how is the client benefiting? Like I want them to succeed as quickly as possible, as cost-effectively as possible. And it does take a village. Like I can't, and I can't do it on my own. I need other service providers to help our clients get to where they want to be.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah. Uh it's so true. In you're bringing up a reminding me of a story. My dad in one of his retirement jobs worked at Home Depot and would constantly refer people over to other uh organizations or other businesses if they didn't have it. His bosses would constantly come and go, Dick, what are you doing? And he'd be like, Well, they're they're gonna come back. Just trust me. Yeah. And guaranteed they would come back to see him to do the next thing over and over again. And so that really stuck in my mind as a business owner, um, even when I worked in corporate uh and as a bank manager, that you give out more, it is gonna come back in return. Yes. And so I have a lot of other coaches look at me, go, why do you partner with so many business coaches? Why do you have so many business coaches on your podcast? Well, it's because of I I don't believe in a scarcity mindset. I believe that we all have value to drive. And where my expertise ends, somebody else is gonna pick up. Yes. So I I really applaud you for taking a look at that. We how can we all succeed together?

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Yes. And I think there's a massive shift happening where, you know, we're definitely leaning more towards that. I think before it was um every person for themselves, um, you know, sales first instead of uh, you know, being of service first. But there's definitely a shift happening and um and I'm glad. Like I it should have happened a long, long time ago.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

I agree. I agree. And I'm so excited to see this come into business. I'm also excited that you sent me uh nine common pitfalls that you see come in here. And as I was reading through this, these translate into many industries, not just the tech industry. So, do you want to play a little bit? Yes. All right. So the first thing you wrote down here and shared with us is that common pitfall um is that having um having their idea stolen.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yes. So this is a big one. Um and it's no fault of the founder or the business owner. But before you talk to someone about your idea or how you're how you run your business, that's your intellectual property. You want to protect it. So the person that you're speaking to should always offer to have you sign a non-disclosure agreement or a mutual non-disclosure agreement. This is critical. Like we will not speak to anyone about anything sensitive without having this signed first. Um, if a service provider does not offer you that, ask for it. And if they can't provide one, then please do not discuss your idea. It's just not worth it. Um, also be very cautious if you are working with anyone overseas, because North American laws do not apply outside of North America. Um, so that means your idea is not necessarily protected. I don't know how that would work if you do sign an NDA with them. It may or may not be protected. Unfortunately, I've spoken to founders who have had their ideas stolen. Um, they've they paid quite a bit of money and um went in with good faith, believing that some of this agency was building their application. Um, and$100,000 in, the agency ghosted them and they lost everything.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

That's such a horrible feeling. What I want to add to that is having the structures in place and the systems in place to be able to follow all of those. So having a central source where you are keeping all your NDAs, um, where you are categorizing what that conversation was, documenting the information, also translating that information to other areas of business. So anytime you're dealing outside of your jurisdiction, take the time to research and understand. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Yes. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I love what you had written there, building overseas and no DNA or no NDA, like such an important, important aspect. The second thing that you bring up is paying twice for their app. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Compliance and security. Yes. So this is this one is is often overlooked. And I don't think it's done maliciously. Um, you know, software developers are there to build. So when you speak to an agency or a firm or even an individual software developer, they're very good at building software. They usually do not have the business background that's needed. And so they are trusting everything you're telling them. So they're basically order takers. So if you say build this feature, they say absolutely and they build it. They will not question whether or not that feature is needed or if it's better pushed off to version two or three because it'll be more cost-effective to build it sustainably. Um so you really need to be cautious when it comes to how you're building your application. Um, compliance and security is often something that is an afterthought. So founders will think, well, I'll just build my minimum viable product and then I'll worry about security and compliance. The problem with that is that you are now substantially increasing your costs. So, for example, doing security and compliance after you build your minimum viable product, you're looking at$30,000 or more, doing it prior to development. So before a single line of code is built, you might be spending three to four thousand dollars. And that's because the expert who needs to be independent, not the developer, somebody who's certified in this area, um, will tell the developer how to build the application so that it is very, very secure. And if you're handling anything sensitive like financial information, medical information, anything that you would be mortified if it was leaked, um, you need to have that independent audit done.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

I what's coming up for me as I'm thinking about this is actually not just the post cost if you do it afterwards, but also the potential legal ramifications. Oh, yes. Reputational risk. And it may be greater than that$30,000. Absolutely. It may cost you your actual business.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Oh, 100%. And fines, uh lawsuits. So you may have heard of the tea app fiasco that happened last year in the States.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Um, expand on that just for folks who don't know it.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

If somebody had built um a ride-sharing app for women, um, you know, good intentions behind it. They wanted women to get from point A to point B safely while giving other women a source of income, um, but they built it themselves using AI. So they vibe-coded it. They were not developers. They did not consider security or compliance whatsoever. And in order to use this app, you had to upload government-issued ID, so driver's license or passport. Um, and they were hacked. They had over a thousand users. They were hacked, and every woman's uh uh every user's profile was leaked onto the dark web. So their names, their passport numbers, their addresses. Um, of course, that business had to be shut down. I'm not sure. I haven't followed up lately to see if there's any lawsuits, but I wouldn't be surprised. So, yeah, you're definitely gambling with your business and your clients' lives if you avoid this critical step.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Also, that extends if you become somebody who's using, or if you have a business that has an app and you're extending that to others. Yes. That's that's huge. That risk amplifies. Yes. And so let's step before they even start doing that first line of coding. You mentioned going and having that expert individual look at the safety or at the uh compliance aspect of things. But who else would you recommend a business owner sit down and talk to before they even come and see an expert to build out their app? Or if they are wanting to venture on doing it their own, that they need to take into consideration?

SPEAKER_00 18:02

You need to speak to someone who is not afraid to tell you uh it's a bad idea or give you critical feedback uh as to how to build it better. Um, that is something we do when people come and speak to us uh long before they become clients. We will look at the business aspect of what they're building. We will look at budgeting, we will look at um the architecture, what's the most cost-effective way to build this, and we will always tell them to focus on the absolutely necessary features to make the application work, to test it out. Everything else can come later. You do not want to put all your eggs in one basket. You definitely focus on uh what's needed to to bring you revenue immediately. And then you can always iterate as many times as needed.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

So you need a thought partner that's gonna challenge you. Yeah. So whether that's a business advisor, whether that's your spouse, your brother, like probably not your spouse and brother, but somebody that you know is gonna push back on you.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

You need to have maybe a conversation with legal, a compliance and security person that you trust.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Uh yes. Or or if they come and speak to us, we will put them in touch with someone.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

So you've got a you've got a suite of partners.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Yes, absolutely. Um, and of course, they're more than welcome to find their own as well.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Amazing. So the third thing that you wrote down here is missing out on government funding and who doesn't need help and support with grants.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

Yes. And this is something that business owners don't know. Founders may have heard of it. You know, um, there's always government funding available and it's non-dilutive. So you do not have to give up a part of your business to tap into this. Um, there is a process to apply. You can certainly apply on your own. You just need to do a bit of research. If it's something you don't wish to take on, there's lots of people in the industry that will help with that. You know, we can certainly recommend a few people that we found very trustworthy. Um, and there's also shred credits if you're if they're in Canada. So the federal government will actually provide a rebate of up to 33% on innovative builds. And innovative builds, it basically it's anything that doesn't exist. So even something as common as a CRM can qualify for shred credits if it follows your particular workflow. Um, so you know, I we built our own CRM because I didn't like what was out there. Um, Salesforce was just too much of a beast for what I needed to do, and I have a very particular process. So we built a CRM that follows that process. And I thought there's no way possible that this CRM would be eligible for shred credits. Turns out it is. Um, so if you can get some of that money back, why not?

SPEAKER_01 20:49

I love the personal example of that. And then now I've got a few ideas churning in my head as well. Um, and I think it's that missing out on government funding is something that we all need to actually take a look at regularly because it changes frequently. Yes. Uh so looking at and tapping into different individuals. We have, I have an individual that I partner with oddly is here in Opetoks, who will help source out that grant funding. Nice, which is fantastic. Um, the next one that you've got written down here is fixed pricing, scope creep, and change order fees. You're bringing me back to my old banker uh build, like a build construction. So same thing in houses as it is building apps.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

Yes. Yes. Psychologically, it's always uh it feels better to know that I'm only going to have to pay this much to get what I want. The reality of it is um fixed fees usually have a 30% padding in there for unknowns. And also, if there's any pivots that are required along the way, there are challenges. Change order fees for that. So, you know, the entrepreneur is going into this agreement thinking I only have to pay this much money, but by the end of it, they've paid a whole lot more. So I have found that a better approach is to pay for time and material only. So if you need to pivot five different times or a hundred times, it doesn't matter because you're only paying for time and material and you have control over how much you're spending. Um, which brings me to the other point. But uh, you know, when it comes to contracts, and you know, this is another this fits in beautifully because if you're entering a contract that locks you in for any amount of time, what happens when that relationship goes south? You're on the line for those monthly payments. And so now you're being forced to work with a team that may not necessarily understand your vision or your business, and you can't back out. So you definitely want the contract to be flexible to protect yourself. You need to be able to walk away at any point in time for any reason without penalty and without your code being held hostage, which brings me to another point. Um, the owner, like the entrepreneur or the business owner, the uh the founder needs to own every line of code from the very beginning. You know, this is not something that you should ever have to ask for from your developer. Because what happens if that developer wins the lottery and moves to Hawaii? You never hear from them again.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Or there's a breakdown in relationships. I've heard some horror stories recently, not just of app developers, but web developers that have held websites hostage, that have held other um IP hostage because the A, the contract was uh was restrictive, but also they didn't actually understand what to ask for and take ownership of it and then give access to the other individual. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

And you don't need to understand how it works. You just need to have the keys to your own kingdom. And if you don't have that, you know, you're leaving yourself wide open. Um, and unfortunately, you know, and I've I've heard horror stories as well, Karis, and I can share one um with the this is definitely the worst horror story I've heard. Um I spoke to a founder who's, you know, top of her field, brilliant, brilliant woman. And uh she hired a developer that she trusted, and that was highly recommended, you know, did sign the non-disclosure agreement, entered into this contract, um, and but unfortunately, the developer built her platform on his server. And he controls her email. So she later discovered that he was using her platform to build and run a competing business against her. And she cannot access her platform whatsoever. She has no idea where it's being stored, how to, how to get it. And she blamed herself. And this is the part that really upset me. She blamed herself for being non-technical. And it is not her fault whatsoever. No. She trusted someone. It's their job as a service provider to act in good faith and to educate her and let her know what she needs to know and actually say to her, I should not be owning this. You should have control over this, and I'll show you how to give me access.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

There's so much there. I I want to take a step back with the shame that uh happened and that she was experiencing in this moment where she was really truly just trusting someone that she felt was uh worthy of supporting her and was betrayed. Yes. How does somebody come back from some when they are bamboozled the word that's coming to mind?

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Yes. It's very, very hard. Uh so if you can financially recover from that, most people cannot, um, then you have a lot of trauma to deal with and you need to find somebody who will now basically rescue the project. And, you know, this is why I went out of my way to create resources to teach people what types of signs they need to watch out for and what questions they need to ask, even if they're not technical. Because knowing what to ask will give you that peace of mind and will help you understand the process that you are entering into. Without that knowledge, you're really going in blind and you just can't do that, especially when there's money on the line. So that's just the financial aspect of it.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

But there's also the emotional uh aftermath that comes. So you've got to come bounce back from that.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Yes. Yes. And I don't, and it takes time. It takes a lot of time. We've had to, we've rescued a few projects, and the the clients that we work with really do have PTSD. So it takes, it takes us two to three times longer to earn their trust and and prove that we're not going to hurt them. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

I have experienced that being a coach and consultant, both on the leadership and on the business side, because they're, you know, there's great people that uh in any industry, doesn't matter what industry, there are great experts. And then there are unfortunately the shadow side that um are not doing things for the right reasons, are really uh not the best individuals. I'm trying, I'm trying to censor myself here a little bit. But we need to take that time. And so for those individuals, it is gonna take longer. We need to be patient, we need to be respectful, but also to say not everybody's bad.

SPEAKER_00 28:00

Yes, that is true. Not everyone's bad. Not everyone. Um, and it's unfortunate that you know they've had a bad experience, but you can definitely come back from it.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

Yeah. So I want to just kind of um level set here because we just covered off long-term contracts, proprietary software lock-in. Um let's talk about number seven, which is receiving an app that doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Yes. So okay, I'll share a real story. Um, last year we had a we had someone come our way and they said we've we've been having this app built for a year now. We've spent$150,000 and we feel something's off. We can't prove it. But you know, every time that we're given uh we the new features added and we're testing it, it's not working and it doesn't carry you over to other parts of the application. And after$150,000 in a year of time, this should not be happening. Um, could you help us look under the hood and see what's going on? And so we did, and it it we we were just shocked. So their project manager, who was local, the development team was overseas, um assured the client that, you know, security is taken care of, all the features are implemented, everything is just A-OK, and even provided documents, um AI-generated documents, by the way, that said everything's fantastic. But when you, when one of our senior developers was looking at it, none of it added up. None of it. And um, and he went back to the client and said, I'm really sorry to say the report is completely false. Here are all the security holes, here are all the problems. Um and and of course, they were devastated. Like they knew they knew enough to have to seek a second opinion. Um, so one way to protect yourself around that is to be a part of the development process every step of the way. You should be having weekly or bi-weekly check-ins. You should be able to tinker with the application yourself and you should be trying to break it. Why not? Find the, find the holes, find the bugs before you release it to your clients. And that's something that we absolutely insist on. We know we ask the client to be as involved in the process as they want to. We strongly encourage them to be fully involved so that they're constantly speaking to the developer directly and testing what's being built. Because if there is a problem, we want to address it immediately rather than after the product is released.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

So I want to dig in on this on the psychological side of things, because people may be thinking that's micromanaging. And I want to be really clear that it is not. That is oversight and there is a clear difference on it. Yes. Oversight is the matter of checking in to make sure that you are getting the results that uh you expect. Yes. Inspect what you expect is really an important aspect of that. Whether it's a project that you are hiring out on somebody or whether it's a part of your own team. Oversight versus micromanaging is completely different. You also mentioned like peeking under the hood. And I love this concept because it allows and gives business owners that opportunity to double check on their contract workers that they are hiring out. And so that really resonates with me because I'm working on a project with a business management group called Chaos. And we are bringing something to life that actually does that in accounting. Um, also in people management in the operation side and whatnot is that ability just to take a look at what is somebody else doing so that we can make sure, is it working? And if it is, great. And if it's not, here's some of the questions that you need to ask.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

Yes, and and address it now before it becomes a bigger problem.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Yes. And then I think the other aspect is like you're hiring out a business to do something for you. And so you have absolutely every right to question what's happening. Definitely. Question it, play around with it, try to break it. I'm the best beta tester ever. We get if you ever need somebody to beta test, I will find a way to break it. You have every opportunity to go in and do that. And if they're questioning that, that's a red flag.

SPEAKER_00 32:45

It is. It is. And there's a difference between a vendor and a partner. Yeah. So a vendor will, you know, happily take your money and give you something that may or may not be exactly what you want. A partner will work with you to get you exactly what you want.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

I love that. That is such an important distinction because sometimes we we we misinterpret that. But also a lot of business owners are fearful of stepping in and asking for that check-in because they're worried that something's gonna happen. And it is absolutely okay to do that.

SPEAKER_00 33:21

Yes. And that goes back to that contract, right? So the contract needs to protect both parties, not just the service provider. So if you're checking in and the person you're working with is pushing back or ghosting, why? Right. Like they're then they're not in it for the right reasons and you're better off cutting your losses now and moving on.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

And yeah, and licking your wounds, but also asking yourself, okay, what did I learn from that experience so that I don't repeat that?

SPEAKER_00 33:48

Yes. And it happens to all of us. It's happened to me a few times. You know, you just trust the wrong people, um, but you definitely learn from it. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

So we talked also about the um the importance of owning your own code. And I think that extends on absolutely anything. Um, code, your own website, your own um everything.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

Yes, even where your documents are being stored. So if someone's helping you with your business, are your are is your information, that proprietary information being stored on their drive or your drive? You know, like being aware of that is is crucial because hacks do happen. And I'm sure you don't want that information in your competitors' hands. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 34:33

And so that leads to number nine, lack of technical requirements.

SPEAKER_00 34:37

Yes. So this is a big one. Um business owners and founders will come to us and say, build me, build me this application. Um and we do, absolutely. But we also provide technical requirements because um, what's that expression? You you eat your own, I'm gonna say baking instead of dog food. Um if at any point the the client wants to walk away for any reason and have someone else pick up where we left off, it's their legal right to do so. They should not be prevented from doing so. But when you have when you have someone else building your application, if they don't talk to you about technical uh requirements and documentation, sorry, I'm gonna come back to technical uh requirements. I got the two mixed up. So if they don't talk to you about technical documentation, yeah, you have to ask why, because you need to be able to go to anywhere anywhere else. But when you're building an application, if I imagine I tell you, Karis, build me a house. And you're like, sure, Rhea, not a problem. And I tell you nothing else. You're just going to build me what you think I want. You have no idea what my real budget is. You have no idea how many bedrooms I want, what kind of accessories or, you know, finishings I want in the house. Um, unless you sit down with me and we go through everything. You know, do you want baseboards? How high? You know, what color exactly? How many windows? What direction do you want them to face? There are all these little things that you have to consider. And if you've ever built a house, um that process is quite unique because they'll even ask you what color grout you want. And I'm like, you want me to think figure out the color of grout? What are you talking about? Um, but building an application is exactly the same. So having someone sit down with you, someone who is technical, and walking through the application to figure out exactly how um it needs to function for every user and for yourself as well. And also how it might need to function in the future. So, one example is reporting. People often forget about reporting. But when it comes to tax time, you need those reports to give to your accountant. Otherwise, your life is going to be very difficult. So, knowing that ahead of time will allow the developer to build your application in a way that can accommodate not just what you need now, but what you need in the future. And again, build it in a in a cost-effective way. Um, but you know, many people skip the technical requirements part because they either don't know about it or they just don't want to pay the fee to get it done. And I can tell you that, you know, having worked with so many different clients, even the most organized clients who've brushed off technical requirements gathering ended up paying more and their application took more time to build than if they had just done the technical requirements. Um, and like yourself, because we lead with value, we've actually built a tool that does that for our clients. And, you know, they don't have to pay for it. It's it's an AI tool, their information remains confidential, um, but it'll walk them through that process just by asking them simple non-technical questions and then pulls all the information together and provides them with the necessary reports that they could take anywhere if they choose to. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 37:52

Such an important aspect. And what you're really talking about is the really the beginning steps of project management. And when you take the time to understand the scope, the parameters, what the end goal is, track back, you're going to actually save time, save money, understand what your responsibility is as a business owner, what your partner's responsibility is to execute on that, understand what are small things along the way that might roadblocks that might pop up that you need to be aware of. Um, and how are you gonna navigate? I I use a lot of travel analogies, right step being the business, but what if your engine breaks down? How are we gonna navigate through that together? Yes. Yes. And so by taking that time up front, you save yourself grief, money, a lot of pain, and you understand what's happening.

SPEAKER_00 38:52

Definitely, definitely. And honestly, you can't run a business any other way. Like if you lead, um, you know, it's it's very easy to get very excited about building something new because you see the potential of, you know, the the new revenue stream or the new scalability or the competitive advantage. And it is exciting. And also you need to slow down and do the proper prep work so that you don't regret it down the road.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

Put the right systems in place, the right structure in place, and you're gonna succeed. Yes. What's one final closing thoughts you want people to know?

SPEAKER_00 39:27

There are no dumb questions. Ask, ask, ask. You know, ask all the questions you can think of, understand the process as much as possible. If you're speaking to the right uh service partner, they will not, you know, push back at all. They will happily answer all your questions because they understand that you're you're making a big decision and this is your business and your money on the line. They get it, and they're going to happily help you. Rhea, thank you so much for joining me today. Where can we find you? Thank you for having me, Keris, at newideamachine.com or reach out to me, Rhea Haley, on LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Hopefully the first of many conversations. Yes. Gonna invite you back. Thank you very much. Thank you so much for showing up on the Karis Rate Show. Thank you.