Why Stretching the Budget Is Worth It Going with the lowest cost option isn't always the best choice. Here's how to make value-based decisions.

Your friend who dabbles in WordPress gave you a screaming deal on your website design. And your niece--a junior in college who loves Facebook--will run your company's social media accounts. Fantastic.

Give me a shout in a few months. I'd love to hear about their work. My guess? You won't have time to talk. You'll be too busy hiring a professional designer to fix your website and doing brand-rep damage control because your niece tweeted from the wrong account during an all-night frat party.

Yes, it's tempting to take the cheap route. It's scented with top notes of bottom-line-enhancing pheromones that promise to add curves to your balance sheet in all the right ways.