Studio Manager Consultants
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Customizing and Support from Authorized Studio Manager Consultants
Which geographic areas are covered?
Finding an Authorized Studio Manager consultant
Do I have to hire an authorized consultant?
Can you help me find a consultant?
What if I find a FileMaker consultant on my own?
Sharing Resources
Our Consultants Program
Becoming Authorized
Studio Manager Authorized Consultants
People Who Know Studio Manager…
Customizing and Support from Authorized Studio Manager Consultants
Our support services include a program that authorizes qualified FileMaker Pro consultants worldwide as Studio Manager consultants. We do this so that we can have a network of experienced professionals to whom we can refer you for customization and support. Our network of authorized consultants changes over time.
We are constantly seeking to make contact with more consultants who want to install, train, support and/or customize Studio Manager for our customers. If you are a consultant or if you are using the services of a FileMaker Pro expert, please contact us janet@tokerud.com.
Which geographic areas are covered?
Currently we have authorized consultants in San Francisco, Los Angeles (a systems integrator), New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Florida, Utah, New Mexico and Connecticut. We are actively recruiting additional consultants in major metropolitan areas of the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia. Contact us if you are looking for help – we may have a referral for you.
Finding an Authorized Studio Manager consultant
If you are interested in a referral, please contact us by email. Because our list of authorized consultants changes more quickly than this web page, we may be able to refer you to someone in your area or set you up to work remotely with a consultant you like.
Do I have to hire an authorized consultant?
No. Because of our open policy, there is lots of Studio Manager expertise out there that we don’t even know about. Although we believe that there are consultants and in-house experts all over the world who have become proficient in Studio Manager customization, we figure we have identified only about 25% of them so far. We encourage anyone who wishes to work with Studio Manager to learn as much as possible. If they want our support, we gladly provide it. If they want to do it on their own without our input, they are of course free to do so.
Having a local consultant is great and not required. We are proficient at bringing folks with FileMaker Pro experience quickly up to speed with Studio Manager. The way we see it, there are at least 3 types of consultants who may be able to help you.
- Established and dedicated FileMaker Pro consultants. These are the folks like us with careers built around their proficiency with FileMaker.
- IT Professionals tend to work for large companies and some are independent consultants or systems integrators. When they know FileMaker Pro, its because they probably learned it on the job.
- Former Studio Manager super users. These folks may have more expertise in graphic arts than in databases but they have already worked with Studio Manager in one or more shops including installing and customizing it. They are not professional consultants (at least not yet) but are likely to love technology.
Can you help me find a consultant?
Of course we can. Working directly with us or hiring an authorized Studio Manager consultant is only one of the options available for those seeking assistance. There are experienced Filemaker consultants in most metropolitan areas. We know some of them personally via the annual FileMaker Developers Conference. If you want on-site assistance for installation, training, support or customization, we recommend that you contact us first so that we can advise you about what to look for in a consultant.
Once you have identified some possibilities we can help you pick one. We’ll talk to them as well as you and do our best to recommend a good match. We offer this service free of charge because we want your experience with Studio Manager to be easy and successful, and because we want to meet new people who can support our software.
A good way to locate qualified consultants is by searching the FileMaker Business Alliance database: Find an FBA Consultant. These individuals and firms have been authorized by FileMaker. The Platinum members pay extra to be featured. Whether a consultant is currently certified or not may have more to do with how they market their services than the quality of their skill.
What if I find a FileMaker consultant on my own?
Good for you! Virtually anyone with more FileMaker Pro experience than you has the potential to be able to help you with Studio Manager. If you locate a FileMaker consultant you like, we can help you in two ways. First, we can explain to them what is involved in customizing Studio Manager. They may be surprised at how much they can do. Secondly, we can help them get up to speed quickly with the product. It is in our interest to have knowledge of Studio Manager in the heads of as many FileMaker consultants as possible and so we are generous in our support. Please contact us if you are using a consultant, whether we referred them or not.
Sharing Resources
Part of our philosophy here at Tokerud Consulting Group is a commitment to share resources, information and work. We do not ask our authorized consultants for any percentage of their income. Rather, they are requested to provide our customers with the best service possible, at fair rates and with a high level of integrity. We also ask them to give us feedback about their experience with Studio Manager so that we can continue to improve the software.
We are very supportive of our authorized consultants. Our goal is to have more folks using Studio Manager and getting the most out of it. To that end, we do our best to help those who are helping our customers whether it is ensuring an easy start-up or solving complex customization challenges. We make ourselves available to answer questions via phone or email, and if requested, will work closely with any skilled consultant.
Our Consultants Program
Becoming Authorized
If you are a consultant and want more information about becoming authorized, please contact Janet to discuss your experience and consulting practice. Given her experience in the field and as a Filemaker consultant herself, Janet is the only person at Tokerud Consulting Group who can authorize you. Perhaps you have met her at one of the Filemaker Developer Conferences or at a meeting of the FileMaker Business Alliance, of which we are a charter member.
If you are not a consultant per se but you have Studio Manager experience because you have worked with and customized it before, we want to hear from you. Our customers are interested in meeting folks like you for consultation and possible employment. We can’t guarantee anything, but we think it is worth your while to stay in touch with us while you are looking for work.
A few of our authorized consultants are finding that they can bundle Studio Manager into a custom solution for a design firm or corporate communications department. This allows them to provide a really powerful solution at an attractive price to customers. It can be a tougher sell to build an entire custom solution from scratch due to the expense of custom work.
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