Car Inspector
I took my car into a mechanic recently and, no surprise, turns out there's a lot that's wrong with it, and a lot of things that need fixing. Nothing urgent, they tell me, but if anything ever goes wrong, the insinuation is that I'll only have myself to blame...
The problem with these kinds of situations is that the person who's giving us advice is also the person that has something to sell us. So when you're dealing with strangers, it's natural to recognize that they have an incentive to be dishonest and approach the situation with caution. It could be one person throwing up mirrors and blowing the smoke at the same time.
I try to do my part by being honest. People often find out I do web development and say, "Hey, I need a website!" or "I have one, but it looks terrible! Can you help me?" Generally, I ask them: "Do you want the site to look great? Is design a big part of it?" Usually they respond in the affirmative, at which point I inform them that I'm actually a pretty lousy designer, but that I'm good at the nerdy database stuff, and this is seldom what they need.
But what about those times I meet someone who actually needs someone like me to help them out with their website? How do they know they can trust me? Simple answer: they can't.
There is a pain point here, and it's also an opportunity. An objective third-party can't be brought into every situation to give their advice, but in larger ones, it happens all the time. When you buy a home, you hire an inspector to check for dry rot, black mold, or whatever else sends up red flags to home inspectors. It's a small price to pay to avoid an expensive problem later on.
My guess is that there's a lot of out-of-work mechanics, particularly in Detroit, right now. Here's the thing: when I'm shopping around for cars on Craigslist, and I go to meet the seller and look at the car, I don't know how to evaluate a car. I'd gladly pay someone $50 bucks for 30 minutes to an hour of their time to come with me and tell me if I'm about to buy a lemon. Mechanics probably do these kinds of evaluations for close friends for free; I think it's a business waiting to happen. Set up a website, then advertise yourself to local people on Carfax.
But how do you know if you need a lawyer? You have to talk to a lawyer. Bummer how that works.
The problem with these kinds of situations is that the person who's giving us advice is also the person that has something to sell us. So when you're dealing with strangers, it's natural to recognize that they have an incentive to be dishonest and approach the situation with caution. It could be one person throwing up mirrors and blowing the smoke at the same time.
I try to do my part by being honest. People often find out I do web development and say, "Hey, I need a website!" or "I have one, but it looks terrible! Can you help me?" Generally, I ask them: "Do you want the site to look great? Is design a big part of it?" Usually they respond in the affirmative, at which point I inform them that I'm actually a pretty lousy designer, but that I'm good at the nerdy database stuff, and this is seldom what they need.
But what about those times I meet someone who actually needs someone like me to help them out with their website? How do they know they can trust me? Simple answer: they can't.
There is a pain point here, and it's also an opportunity. An objective third-party can't be brought into every situation to give their advice, but in larger ones, it happens all the time. When you buy a home, you hire an inspector to check for dry rot, black mold, or whatever else sends up red flags to home inspectors. It's a small price to pay to avoid an expensive problem later on.
My guess is that there's a lot of out-of-work mechanics, particularly in Detroit, right now. Here's the thing: when I'm shopping around for cars on Craigslist, and I go to meet the seller and look at the car, I don't know how to evaluate a car. I'd gladly pay someone $50 bucks for 30 minutes to an hour of their time to come with me and tell me if I'm about to buy a lemon. Mechanics probably do these kinds of evaluations for close friends for free; I think it's a business waiting to happen. Set up a website, then advertise yourself to local people on Carfax.
But how do you know if you need a lawyer? You have to talk to a lawyer. Bummer how that works.