Being a child of the ’70s and ’80s you tend to learn many random and inane quotes that may or may not serve a real purpose in a social setting fit for adults. However, when people often ask me what I do for a living I am pretty sure that they hear what Lloyd Dobler, played by John Cusack, said in Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything…
For the uninitiated, Lloyd is sitting uncomfortably at dinner with his girlfriend and her father. The father asks what he wants to do in the future. Lloyd clearly answers him with, “I don’t want to sell anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed, or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know as a career, I don’t want to do that.” I am almost positive this is what many people hear when they ask me, “What do you do for a living?”
After fourteen plus years, I have learned through networking events, social media, dinner parties, vendor shows and chats around the soccer fields across the South that it’s often easier to simply say, “I. AM. THE. IT. FINANCE. GUY.” I usually follow it up with…I can finance anything that you can put between four walls and in that secret closet down the hall that only your IT guys know about – servers, storage, software, desktops, laptops, tablets, telephony, A/V, installations, servicing, etc. Believe it or not – this works as most people grasp it by about tablets! Now, when I attend events in Nashville people simply say, “Your the IT finance guy, right?” That is good enough for me…I am doing my job when I am being recognized as that guy!
Amazingly, my career is foreign to most as it’s a niche job. You just don’t run into many people that truly have a vested interest in a company selling widgets and the company buying the widgets. I am he, he is me. I view myself as brand agnostic, vendor agnostic and customer centric – because if the customer isn’t happy we all lose. Simply put, I am a financial conduit to help both parties get from point A to B. I serve both parties with equal enthusiasm. My end game is to build trust with IT partners and C-level partners. I am unique as I can serve both parties fairly and still add value. Now that I think about it, maybe I should change my name to Switzerland…
The. IT. Finance. Guy. 