A Message to Our Stakeholders

Image Courtesy of the Harvard Business Review.

This week I had a meeting with my board of directors.  It was an interesting two hours where we talked about the future of the business and what we plan to do in the future.  This week’s blog post I want to share what we discussed in the meeting.

What worked –

This year we were confronted with many challenges but a few things did go our way.  We migrated our servers from Windows 2008 to Windows 2012.  We did eight revisions of Sully 2.0 to meet our customer needs.  We were able to post instructional YouTube videos online for your education and entertainment.  The blog traffic has remained steady.  Finally, we revised our corporate website to be more responsive to mobile phones and tablet computers.

What didn't work –

Like most start up organizations, we are struggling with sales and finding good sales people.  I think from a personal perspective this is my fault.  As we grow I hope that we do a better job with sales and finding good sales people.  When we did come close to closing a sale we were rebuffed with silence.  It is one thing to be told no it is quite another to be ignored.  In hindsight, I think this is a good thing because if they were not going to return our calls over a contract then they would be a nightmare from a collections standpoint.

Where we are going –

After reviewing the year, we set out some goals for 2014.  We are shooting for a September release of our Tony software. Tony will make it easier to keep track of maintenance for a large fleet of vehicles and will help you with regulatory compliance with the Department of Transportation.  We are very excited about it.  We are also planning to work on an as unnamed tool to help track fuel and licensing requirements for over the road truckers.  Finally, we are looking to close five sales in 2014.

That is it.  We are very proud that we have lasted this long and that we will be able to have a next year. We have had to overcome a great deal of adversity but I think this will make us a better company in the long run.  Contact us today and learn more.

Until next time.

Giving Thanks this Time of Year

Give thanks and then pig out!

During this time of year, there are lots of reasons to be grateful.  The holiday demands that people take stock of their lives and families and what they have to be thankful for.  This year, I want to make a few mentions. 

I am deeply grateful for statin drugs.  With some luck, statins may break the cycle of heart attacks which runs in my family.  I am glad for clean drinking water.  Too many people do not have clean water to drink and I am grateful that I live somewhere where that is not a problem.  Finally, I am glad that the election is over and we can stop fighting about politics and get back to growing our economy. 

On a more personal note, I want to thank Mike Panone and the Joliet Chamber of Commerce providing me help and guidance.  I also have to thank my board of directors; Jen Green, John Zalanka, and my father for keeping me focused during some difficult times this year.  Finally, I want to thank each of you for following this blog and supporting us over the coming year. 

Contact us if you want to learn more about our Sully 2.0 software.  I look forward to more adventures in the coming year. 

Until next time.

Full Frontal Business Intelligence

Smart and Good looking systems are what we
are all about.

This week was a milestone of sorts at E₃ systems.  We had our second board meeting and it was a serious sober affair where over a few bottles of water and some store bought cookies we plotted out our path for the next year.  I do not know where I would be without the guidance and support of my board and it was nice to talk about our accomplishments and challenges over the last year.

As always we talked about marketing and sales.  Any small business person will tell you that this could always be better.  After some back and forth among the board members it dawned on us that our Sully 2.0 is more than a logistics platform it is a business Intelligence Platform.  This makes it possible for a small business to manage themselves just like a Fortune 500 company for a minimal cost. 

One of the biggest headaches of a business is keeping track of how much you have on hand.  Our Sully 2.0 system does this by saving all your information on the cloud and then pulling it down for reporting purposes.  This means no matter where you are; at the office, meeting with a client, or on vacation if you have a connection to the web then you can see your inventory at the drop of a hat.  Not only do you know how much you have on hand but how much you paid for it and what type of department of transportation regulations cover that material. 

We make it possible to print up packing slips, bills of lading and invoices based on this information.  We are also proud to announce that it is now possible to print shipping labels with Avery® label technology.  No more typing up peal and stick labels for your products Sully 2.0 can print out 5160 and 5164 Avery® labels right off the web without having to use Microsoft Word or a third party program.  This speeds up the business and makes it easier to manage shipping and receiving.

Furthermore you get more full frontal business intelligence when you leverage our Microsoft Tag technology which makes it possible to do bar coding without expensive equipment.  Now every piece of paper you have can communicate with your mobile phone.  This is a free of charge service and we include it so that you can view information about your products anywhere in the world on any smart phone. 

Finally, we make it possible to put together purchase orders and incorporate them into your business with our purchase order piece.  You order an item and you can e-mail it or fax it out to your vendor and when you receive it they can add it inventory with a click.  No more lost faxes.  No more playing phone tag with vendors and no more double counting when you get it into the office. 

In spite of our board meeting being a very sober affair most of us were pretty excited when it was over.  We have a great product.  We have a marketing plan.  We also have an easy to use and economical business intelligence package which can be used everywhere.  We have full frontal business intelligence and we are not afraid to show it off.  Contact us to learn more. 

Until next time.

Sucking It Up for the Business

We made the cut thanks to everyone who helped.

One of my early mentors when I worked in the casino industry was a 30 veteran of Harrah’s Casino Lake Tahoe.  His name was Andy LaChapelle and he said this on the first day I became a pit boss at the punkie age of 26.  He said, “I have known people who get by on charm and cuteness their whole lives.  I have no use for them.  Sooner or later you are going to have quit being charming and cute.  Someday you are going to have to suck it up and know what the hell you are doing.  Then we can work together. “ 

It was a shocking message to a twenty something college grad.  Hard work and personal debasement was something expected of you.  You were expected to sacrifice for your career and may-be the pay-off would be respect from colleges and possible security.  For someone who was accustomed to being encouraged to achieve excellence to being expected to achieve excellence, it was a very swift wake up call.  It is also a message I have passed down when I coach speech and work with young people at my church youth group.

On June 30^th, I had to experience one of those suck it up moments.  I wanted to share it with you.  For those who have been following me, it has been no secret that I have been attempting to earn a grant from J.P. Morgan Chase’s Mission Small Business program.  $250,000 would be a huge boon to our organization.  We could get some equipment, hire some people and finally devote full time attention to the business.  It would have been foolish for us not to take a chance. 

I have spent the last five weeks working with members of my board of directors to craft my submission.  It was a difficult back and forth and it took four revisions but I feel like we put together a good bid.  In addition, to our bid we needed 250 votes from Facebook to qualify for consideration.  Five days before the deadline we submitted our bid.  Then I expected, wrongly, to spend the month of July gathering votes so that when Chase makes their decision on September 15^th we would make the cut.  That was when I received a tweet from Chase which said the deadline for voting was June 30^th.  I had 35 votes and I would be locked out of the competition if I didn’t get more. 

I sent out emails to people.  I started spamming Facebook with messages and I leveraged every social media contact I could.  I even nagged my pastor to put out the word to his friends to pitch in and help out.  I had 55 votes and I had three days to get the remaining 200.  It was looking very bleak.  This was when I went on to Twitter to complain and discovered a hash tag where small businesses were swapping votes to qualify.  In a tit for tat fashion, I voted for someone in exchange they voted for me.  I got to meet all sorts of interesting people from shoe stores to consulting companies who work with business women.  I even made some friends in the process.  It was Thursday night and I had just over 100 votes. 

I went to bed with visions of failure and decided that after I worked a full day I would dive back into it on Friday night.  I met more cool people and was scolded by a woman running an organic business telling me not to be too eager.  I also used up my daily quota of 250 tweets.  I had 150 votes and as I shuffled off to bed I could see any chances of helping my business fade away. 

The next morning I got up.  I took my time showered and had some breakfast.  I knew it was going to be a long day.  I was going to need over 100 votes and I had fifteen hours to make it happen.  I started sending messages out via Facebook soliciting for votes.  After three hours, Facebook forbade the process and blocked me from sending messages.  This was when I dove into Twitter and began hustling for votes.  Saturday morning on the 30^th wasn’t so bad but as the day wore on tempers began to get shorter and people started getting more desperate.  It was madness. 

This was when a funny thing happened.  People began sharing my messages on Facebook and sending me messages of encouragement telling me they were not only voting but showing their support for us.  I had the matron of a major branch of my family put out an all-points bulletin to my cousins to cast a vote.   I was inching closer and I was at 190 votes.  The messages kept coming and people I worked with in the past began to pushing for me.  It was very humbling.  I had really abused my social network and the response was that network pitching in to help me reach my goal.  I do not want to do that again.  I certainly do not want to abuse that good will. 

It was eight hours into this exercise and I was still 20 votes short.  Many of the people still on twitter had already swapped votes.  It was pretty sad that so many good businesses could not get the votes they needed.  Finally, some new companies came on and over the next two hours we were able to swap votes.  It was 6:30 in the evening I had spent an entire day and I had gotten the necessary 100 votes to put me over the top.  I stuck around for another hour helping others and then logged off thanking everyone. 

Over three insane days, I had gone from 35 votes to 261.  I was now in.  I haven’t won the 250K grant but at least now I would be considered.  I could not have done it without the help of people on twitter and Facebook pulling for me.  I have a lot of gratitude for those people and a lot of thank you notes to write. 

For three days, I sacrificed my dignity and reputation to suck it up and make something happen for my business.  I get the feeling that this will not be the last time.  Some times during the process, I felt like a beggar pleading for the kindness of others.  It was humbling.  Still people believed in me and I was able to make a difference for my small company.

Now, all I can do is wait until September 15 until Chase decides if I am worthy of 250K.  If they can lose six billion dollars on some phantom bets on real estate stock then I think they can take a chance on a small business which actually builds something.  An entrepreneur can dream. 

So Andy LaChapelle’s wisdom lives on.  I sucked it up and sacrificed.  Now I have a chance to earn 250K for my business.  It wasn’t pretty but it was necessary.  I hope that the effort was worth it.  Thanks to everyone who chipped in and helped out.  It means a great deal to me. 

Until next time.

Small Steps

The only thing worse than a bad cup of coffee
is losing your company.

Business is profoundly unforgiving.  Fortunes rise and fall every day.  The pages of the business press are filled with stories triumph and bitter failure.  What makes these stories interesting is that often the moral character of the businesses leader is inconsequential to story.  People don't make moral judgments about products and services.  This is why people who most of us would consider morally aberrant somehow wind up in corner offices.  They are insulated from customers and they make the difficult decision necessary to run the business.

This is why last Tuesday's story from Reuters is so unique.  The founders of Green Mountain coffee were fired from their own company by the board of directors.  It seems that Robert Stiller and William Davis were barrowing money against the share price of their company and when the share price fell thanks to over-expansion Stiller and Davis were forced to sell to make good on the loans.   This put them into direct conflict with board of directors and the owners of the business.

This is how corporate governance is supposed to work.  It is not fair or pretty but it works and this promises that the shareholders are not going to be holding the bag for bad business decisions.  We should see more stories like this in the business world but alas J.P. Morgan Chase is going to forgive its CEO for losing 2 Billion dollars.  I suppose small steps in the right direction are better than no progress at all.

Next time we are going to talk about how we can help you stay on top of your inventory.

Until next time.

Sully 2.0 Coming May 7th

I began E₃ Systems over a year ago.  In that time, I have made over eighteen upgrades to our product Sully®.  I have hired a sales person, put together a board of directors, and learned numerous lessons the hard way.  I am proud of this company and what it stands for.  Now we are ready for the release of Sully® 2.0.

The new version of the software has a lot going for it.  The interface is cleaner, customers can manage purchase orders with a mouse click and it works on all tablet computers and smart phones.  We will launch this product May 7th, 2012.

This makes Sully® 2.0 the most affordable and complete inventory management system on the market.  Any type of device with an internet connection makes it possible to view bills of lading, manage packing slips, and leverage Microsoft Tag technology to create bar codes which work with any smart phone.

We are redoubling our sales efforts and we are going to be posting videos all over social media.  Sully® 2.0 is coming and you are not going to believe your eyes.

Until Next Time.

Watch Me Pull a Rabit Out of My Hat

Pulling a Rabit Out of a Hat is Hard!

One of the biggest constants in software development is failure.  Projects fail to get completed on time.  Software fails to work as expected and software developers fail to keep their jobs.  It is a vicious cycle and it takes an emotional toll on the people who spend their time working on it.

People want to be successful and competent.  Software humbles the smartest and best of us.  Add to the mix unrealistic time pressures, unhealthy lifestyles, and marketing professionals forcing me to keep their promises and you have a blueprint for mental illness.

Shortly after my wife moved out of the house, I sat in a planning meeting and I had a revelation.  A business analyst was talking about improving the click ratio for a page and it just dawned on me.  I was living in a bizarre world where people were making decisions about my work and life and they had no understanding of web development or the challenges it entailed.  To them, it was just like magic.  All I had to do was pull out a rabbit from my hat each day and hope I could correctly guess the exact color, size, and fur quality these people expected. 

I was not a professional with an opinion to be respected.  I felt like a birthday clown making balloon animals for ungrateful children.  Something had to give and I slowly began to start planning for the launch of E₃ systems. 

In the almost two years since, I have been writing code after hours and on weekends.  I put together a business plan and I have rounded up a board of directors to help me.  I even have a sales person.  All that is left are customers, because contrary to popular believe, just because you build something they may not buy it. 

I am not deterred because this has given me time to refine my production and this month we will be doing a 2.0 release of our Sully® Warehouse Management System.  I am pretty proud of it.  We now make it possible to manage inventory, bills of madding, addresses, invoices, packing slips, and not purchase orders.  I even have a movie version of the application which works with Microsoft Tag so that a piece of paper automatically communicates with a smart phone or tablet. 

What makes this so fantastic is that is less expensive than most software packages on the market.  There is not software to install and it works on most modern browsers and smart phones.  It is cloud based computing without the hype. 

I will have more news about the release of Sully® 2.0 as we complete testing.  We also have YouTube videos going up and we are putting together a training manual.  We are also going to start a full court press for customers. 

Two years ago, I looked and felt like a clown.  Now, I am on the cusp of being a full-fledged entrepreneur.  It is worth the wait. 

Until next time. 

Why I Have a Board of Directors

When you decide to go into business for yourself you want to succeed and you want to do it now.  It is easy to get angry or impatient.  Fortunately, I have a board of directors who keep me focused and moving forward. 

They were the people who suggest that I get an attorney to draw up sales contracts so people who are using my service are legally obligated to pay me for that service.  They have made numerous revisions and suggestions to my business making sure nothing is missed for a venture capitalist who might want to help me out.

I found a good collection of people who I trust.  I hope that as we start selling the board will prevent me from killing my business before it has a chance to take off.  Every entrepreneur is a bit of a maverick, but I am glad that I have a board of directors who will watch my back and act as my posy.