1. Startup Tips and Tricks: Getting a Small IT Shop Off the Ground by Kevin Grossnicklaus

2. Agenda Introductions Lot’s of content Final Thoughts

3. Introductions Kevin Grossnicklaus www.architectnow.net www.architectnow.net – ArchitectNow- www.architectnow.net (2009-Present)www.architectnow.net President – Washington University - CAIT Program (2003-2010) Instructor www.SSEinc.com www.SSEinc.com – SSE - www.SSEinc.com (1999-2009)www.SSEinc.com Chief Architect Software Development Practice Leader kvgros@architectnow.net kvgros@architectnow.net Email: kvgros@architectnow.netkvgros@architectnow.net @kvgros @kvgros Twitter: @kvgros@kvgros www.architectnow.net/blog www.architectnow.net/blog Blog: www.architectnow.net/blogwww.architectnow.net/blog

4. EXPECTATIONS

5. 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?

6. GETTING STARTED

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

8. Identifying Partners Banking Legal Accounting Health Insurance Liability Insurance Mentors Partners

9. 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 Apps/Technology

10. 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

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

12. 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

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

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. Crowdsourcing www.CrowdSpring.com www.99Designs.com

18. Sales Contracts Billing Receivables Reporting

19. Location Home Office Physical Office Onsite at Clients

20. TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES

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

22. Email Hosted Exchange: SherWeb ($9/Month per user)SherWeb – Secure access to full Exchange 2010 – OWA – Direct Outlook access – Mobile access via mobile devices Other Options: – Office365 Office365 – Google

23. 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) – Voicemail to WAV file via email

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

25. Computers Big box vs Custom vs. Mainstream (i.e. Dell) Dell Business Account Apple Considerations – Backups: JustCloud – Support: Dell, AppleCare – Security Patches: Microsoft – Antivirus: GFI Cloud Antivirus

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

27. Development Tools Microsoft BizSpark Program ALM – Hosted TFS via DiscountASP.NET or Microsoft Hosted TFS – SVN via AssemblaAssembla – Git via GitHub or BitBucketGitHub Other Dev Tools: – Balsamiq ($80/User) Balsamiq Jira/Confluence

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

29. Misc Tools Harvest Time Entry ($60/Month for 5 users) Harvest Time Entry ConstantContact or Vertical Response HootSuite EventBrite VistaPrint

30. GROWING A BUSINESS

31. 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

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

33. FINAL THOUGHTS

34. Additional Resources Magazines – Inc Inc – Entreprenuer Entreprenuer St. Louis Business Journal – http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ St. Louis Small Business Monthly – http://sbmon.com/ http://sbmon.com/ City, State, and Federal Small Business Programs Local Business Owners Networking Opportunities

35. Kevin Grossnicklaus President kvgros@architectnow.net http://architectnow.nethttp://architectnow.net or @kvgros 800.362.3919 x 101 636.236.3279

36. Conclusion Thank you for coming!