Startup Tips and Tricks: Getting a Small IT Shop Off the Ground Presenter: Kevin Grossnicklaus June 25 th, 2011

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Agenda Introductions Lot’s of content Final Thoughts

Introductions Kevin Grossnicklaus – ArchitectNow- (2009-Present) President – Washington University - CAIT Program ( ) Instructor – SSE - ( ) Chief Architect Software Development Practice Twitter: blog.architectnow.net blog.architectnow.net Blog: blog.architectnow.netblog.architectnow.net

ArchitectNow Training Mentoring Framework Design and Implementation Code Reviews Project Development Short Term and Long Term Engagements As Needed Support

EXPECTATIONS

Expectations Why am I here? How deep are we going to get? Will this pertain to my exact business? What types of businesses might this information be most pertinent to?

GETTING STARTED

First Steps Naming Incorporation – State Incorporation – FEIN (IRS Form SS-4) Bank Account Securing: – Domain Name – Twitter Handle – Initial Web Presence

Identifying Partners Banking Legal Accounting Health Insurance Liability Insurance Mentors Partners

Banking Local vs. National Bankers – Advantages of staying local as a small business Financing Needs? – Debt financing (loans) – Equity financing (investors) Simple Checking Account – FEIN required

Legal Identify local small business attorneys and meet with a number of them Why is legal necessary? – Contracts – Protection Biggest Legal Needs – Employee and Contractor Agreements – Trademark (and Patent?) Help – Partnership Documents – Master Agreements – Work Orders

Accounting Identify local small business accounting firms and meet with a number of them Why is accounting necessary? – Questions – Corporate Taxes – Help in securing financing TAXES!

Health Insurance Insurance options differ greatly between a company with one employee vs a company with multiple Find a good insurance broker willing explain your options Be prepared to pay

Liability Insurance Health insurance brokers and liability insurance brokers are two different people, companies, etc. You WILL need liability insurance E&O insurance

Mentors Mentors Identify people in your peer group you look up to that have had success in similar businesses or just businesses in general Reach out to them via a lunch or happy hour and ask questions, get advice, and start to build a relationship to get further guidance

Partners Partners are companies for whom you rely on for business or to achieve the goals of your business.

Marketing Brand and Logo – Don’t be afraid to invest in your identity Initial Website Community Events – Speak and sponsor – Make your presence felt in the market Networking Events SEO Social media Relationships

Sales Contracts Billing Receivables Reporting

Location Home Office Physical Office Onsite at Clients

TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES

Tools Overview Phones Website Computers Collaboration Development Tools Accounting Misc: – ALM – Time Entry

Hosted Exchange: SherWeb ($9/Month per user)SherWeb – Secure access to full Exchange 2010 – OWA – Direct Outlook access – Mobile access via my iPhone and Win7 phone Other Options: – Office365 Office365 – Google

Phones RingCentral ($99/Month for 5 lines plus cost of IP phones) RingCentral – Custom 800 numbers – Fax System – Automated attendant – Custom voice mail and extensions for all employees – IP Phones, soft phones, mobile apps (iPhone, Android, and Blackberry) – Voic to WAV file via

Website DNS management CMS Systems – DotNetNuke DotNetNuke – Orchard Orchard – SiteFinity SiteFinity – Others Templates – TemplateMonster TemplateMonster – ThemeForest ThemeForest – Others

Computers Big box vs Custom vs. Mainstream (i.e. Dell) Dell Business Account Considerations – Backups: Acronis True ImageAcronis True Image – Support: Dell – Security Patches: Microsoft – Antivirus: VipreVipre

Collaboration Hosted SharePoint: FpWeb, SherWebFpWebSherWeb GoToMeeting ($49/Month) GoToMeeting Microsoft CRM ($200/Month) Microsoft CRM SalesForce.com

Development Tools Microsoft BizSpark Program ALM – Hosted TFS Hosted TFS – SVN via AssemblaAssembla – Git via GitHubGitHub Other Dev Tools: – Balsamiq ($80/User) Balsamiq

Accounting Quickbooks ($400) Quickbooks – All invoicing – Financial reporting – Receivables

Misc Tools Harvest Time Entry ($60/Month for 5 users) Harvest Time Entry ConstantContact HootSuite EventBrite VistaPrint

GROWING A BUSINESS

Single Employee to Employer Payroll – Outsource – Tax implications Group Health Insurance – High cost and strict rules 401k – Strict rules for owner – Safe Harbour Legal – Employee Agreements – Subcontractor Agreements Misc – Vacations – Ethics – Expenses – HR

Office Space – Furniture – Lease – Utilities – Location CraigsList DiscountCoffee.com

FINAL THOUGHTS

Additional Resources Magazines – Inc Inc – Entreprenuer Entreprenuer Local Small Business Resources – City, State, and Federal Small Business Programs Local Business Owners Networking Opportunities

Additional Resources (Cont.) Peers, Family, Friends Graphic Design Support – CrowdSpring, 99Designs, and HatchWise CrowdSpring 99DesignsHatchWise

Next Steps…