Often the first question I get asked is "Why would I use Drupal?" and it reminds me of this image. 

Drupal is a toolset for building what you want as much of what you need has already been built, so why build it again? From user logins and profiles to private messaging, advanced searching, shopping carts - all websites and systems consist of functionality which is not specific to your business model so it only makes sense to share that code which not only lowers the cost of production but also increases quality because it's been "battle tested". You also get a lot of functionality for free, from content modeling and customisable web administration to standards-based accessibility ensuring everyone can access your virtual presence. It's mobile-friendly, modular, and scalable. It can grow as your business grows. It innovates fast - within 24h of Google+ launching there was a module for Drupal for it, for you to use, for free. 

Every single line of code you write is a potential security threat (btw, Drupal has a 40 strong security team and is used by whitehouse.gov!). Every line of code you write costs money and is untested. You're going to hit problems along the way you didn't expect and you're going to have to pay to fix them. You might be lucky, it might work first time and you may never have a security issue, but even then you're still 100% in charge of maintaining that code. So why not join in with hundreds of thousands of others, use Drupal, and contribute back any fixes and/or changes which may be of use to others? You really only want to be paying for code which is specific to your business model and nobody else's, that's what Drupal empowers you to do.

So why haven't you heard of it, and even if you have perhaps you've heard it's complicated or it's 'bloated'? Well, it's true to say there's plenty of people out there who say they can do Drupal but in reality they can't, and there's plenty of people who have a vested interest in you not using Drupal and instead hiring them for more hours or to pay their license or subscription fee. Also you'll hear it from techies who would prefer you let them build using their favourite language. Is that the best for your business though, or will that lead to an untried, untested system built by a small team and you'll end up having to support it yourself. 

Drupal itself is a project and doesn't have its own marketing department. There is the Drupal Association but they rely on donations and are funded by, yes you guessed it, people who make money out of Drupal so have a vested interest in not making it super-easy for you to find out about. So the Drupal Association lack funds, and that's where I come in.

I am building a Virtual Enterprise Network connecting those who build Drupal with those who want Drupal services. I've spent the past few years meeting the community face-to-face and I know who does what and I connect people for projects, of which 10% goes to maintaining and growing the network. This is a far better system than just leaving it up to chance that you'll find the right agency, because they all work by selling you their team, by the hour. I sell value, by the result, and the funds go directly to those who build and maintain the product.