April 7th, 2011
We’re back!!!!
I decided to take a few months off as I focused on a few other startups that I had going on. The company was not shut down completely as we were still working on some on-going projects until recently but we had not taken on any new work.
Well, now, the time has come to get TekCast back into the swing of things. Over the next few weeks, I will be keeping everyone posted on the upcoming changes to the company and also posted on the new services that we will be offering.
Big changes ahead! Stay tuned!
Categories: Uncategorized
October 4th, 2010
Cash.
You need A LOT of cash to start a business. Many aspiring business owners seem to have this thought ingrained in their minds. If you are going to start a charter company or a retail store with a store-front, that may be the case. Most tech companies nowadays do not require a lot of startup capital.
Being able to start your company from the comforts of your home with your existing PC and open source software makes it quite easy for anyone with a passion for design and development and an entrepreneurial spirit to start a company.
So where do you start exactly?
Step 1 – Determine who you are
Your first thought may be that you already know who you are. “I am mister or miss XYZ”. That is not quite what I mean. Determining who you are is deciding what services you want to offer. What kind of customers would you like to serve? How much time can you dedicate to business if you are going to start by freelancing?
Do you want to offer custom development? Do you want to specialize in Drupal and other content management systems? Do you want to offer print media by partnering with your local print shop? Do you want to produce videos and advertisements for marketing purposes? There are many options out there and the market is nowhere near saturated if you know where you want to go.
Your type of customer will be important. If you go after the big fish, advertising at your local coffee shop is most likely not going to net you many clients. At the same time, if you go after your local pizza store and advertise your services in say Fortune magazine, what are the chances that you get calls from potential clients that fit your “preferred client” description? The answer is self-evident!
By knowing who you want to target, you will know where you need to advertise your services to reach as many potential clients as possible.
Step 2 – Get a website
I am sure you saw this one coming. The Internet has exploded and is not going away anytime soon. One of the best ways to market yourself today is by having a presence on-line. You can use Google AdWords to target user searches or you can post your services on classifieds ad sites such as kijiji.ca and craigslist.ca. Traditional advertising is also available such as newspapers and billboards and TV ads but we are focusing on bootstrapping at this point. Spend less to be able to spend more (if you want) later on.
Your website does not need to cost you $20,000 but make sure that it looks professional. Do not be afraid to showcase your work. Make sure that the work that you have done and any testimonials that you may have gathered from clients (our testimonials section is coming soon!) are prominent on the website. No matter how good your content and services description may be, clients will be attracted by the work that you have done beforehand.
Vary the work that you showcase. A pizza shop will not be interested in the work that you have done for a kids summer camp or vice versa.
Step 3 – Spread the word
Start spreading the word about your new company. Give out business cards, mention it to your local shops when you pay for your purchases, write some blog posts on-line, advertise it via your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Post on classifieds site, ask your friends and families to spread the word as well. There are many ways to raise awareness about your company without dishing out a cent (except maybe $25 to $50 at Staples for a set of business cards).
No one will know you exist if you build your website and sit at home waiting for the phone to ring. That is a sure-fire way to go out of business…before you even have a chance to take off.
Step 4 – “The customer is always right”
While this is the tag line many companies live by, that is not quite right. The truth is that the customers do not always know better. That being said though, focus on customer service. The best way to go about business is to bring in repeat business. Implement a reward system for your customers. Ask them to spread the word if they are happy with their new product. REWARD. Clients will keep coming back if their experience with you has been rewarding.
How important is great customer service? A person who is happy with your services is likely to refer you to 3-5 people they know. At the same time, a client who is unhappy will easily let 10 more people know about their bad experience. This kind of “review” can be very damaging to your company’s name.
There are two bottom-lines: your bottom-line ($$) AND your customers. Make sure both are happy and you have a recipe for success.
Step 5 – Keep trucking through
This last point focuses on getting through tough times. There will be times where business will not be coming in, where you will feel discouraged and will want to quit everything. You need to push along and keep going. Keep your head up and things will take a turn for the better eventually.
Take Ottawa for example. This city is widely known as a “government town”. The city dies down in the summer in terms of spending and business will usually slow down. You need to plan for this period of the year and make sure you have projects lined up for the summer or some money you can turn to if need be. No situation is unsurmountable. Maybe you could start offering a by-product of your services. If you offer web development, maybe you could start a web development course over the summer time. Let your imagination fly!
These 5 steps are by no means a detailed overview of what starting a business takes but they cover important points that all aspiring business owners need to keep in mind. If you have ideas of your own or experiences that you would like to share…you know where the comments section is!
Categories: Uncategorized
August 5th, 2010
Probably wondering what this post is all about?
Well, I was walking into the office this morning and as is my custom, my mind started wandering and thinking about a new business venture I could start planning. I have a tendency to look around me and find business ideas and web application ideas in everything that surrounds me.
Today was slightly different though. As my mind was racing through ideas, evaluating them on the fly and trashing most of them almost right away, I found myself thinking that I cannot get discouraged about not coming up with an idea because they do not overnight.
Sure, at times there will be someone who will sit right up in bed, in the middle of the night and have the idea of the decade, but more often than not, a legit business idea will take time to come around. I automatically told myself that if I am patient, I will fall on an incredible idea for my next business venture…and a smile crept to my lips.
The information in this post is not new to anyone – most likely – but it is always nice to be reminded that the best things in life sometimes take time and that we should not quit when we face setbacks.
Don’t forget to stay tuned for Pt 2 of my series on “The importance of Customers” this week.
Cheers!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: business ideas, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, thoughts
August 1st, 2010
Let me fill you guys in on the rough week that I’ve had!
No DSL service. At home. With deadlines to meet. Clients to delight. Exactly, not an easy task to manage.
What did I do when I realized I would be without a DSL connection at home for about a week or so? First things first, I sat down and reviewed what I had to do for that week and what was still “do-able”.
After having done that, I turned to my trusted friend, my Blackberry Curve 8520, and emailed my clients to let them know what was going on. I did not settle for that though. I explained to each and every one of them what the situation was but also let them know what I would be doing in the meantime. Whether it was going over support tickets on my BBerry and making sure everything was up to date or working on the pen and paper phase of different build specs to get ahead a little, every project was worked on to a certain extent.
Result?
Clients are happy and understanding. I am happy because I managed to keep my clients happy. Took some extra times to revisit the company books to make sure our finances were in order – which they are!
Now that my connection has come back, my schedule is back to “business as usual” and it’s like I never had a dent in my productivity.
Our designer is coming back from a hiking trip/vacation tomorrow and I can’t wait to get started on some new projects we have lined up!
Enjoy your long weekend everyone!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Blackberry, clients, Entrepreneur, TekCast Designs, time management
July 29th, 2010
Welcome to the first part of my series on “The Importance of Clients”.
It is common knowledge that without clients, a design and development firm – and any business really – cannot succeed. The solution – acquiring clients – is one we come to pretty quickly right? But how do we do that exactly? Do we need to spend thousands on TV advertisements? No. Spend more than a few dollars on Newspaper ads? No. Go door to door? No. Parade around in a clown suit or a sandwich man? Maybe…
Bottom line is that one does not need to break the bank to get themselves and their company out there and acquire clients.
Here are some tips that worked for me. Please feel free to post a comment and share your own experiences!
1 – Go where your clients are
In the beginning, when there is not much – if any – money to spend on advertisement and marketing, it is important for you to go and find your clients as they will not find you…yet! How did I attack this situation? I used the same tools which have landed me nearly every little job I’ve had in the past. Kijiji and Craigslist classified ads. Seriously! In the jobs sections, you will find postings from people – see them as potential clients – looking for design and development work to be done. Contact them, offer your services.
Or, on the flip-side, post an ad in the classifieds and let people find you that way. This has worked especially well for me. Business was slow at the beginning until I got a response to one of my ads. A few emails later, I was sitting in a coffee shop with the gentleman who had contacted me. The result? Since that day, this client has been feeding projects into TekCast Designs at a rate where we are busy all the time. All you need is that one big client…go get him!
2 – Get out there!
I have a 2-part personality. I am very reclusive and shy at times but then again, I am a social butterfly as well. This most likely stems from the fact that I am both a web developper – we also go by the code name “geek” – and a business- / customer-oriented person. I have traits from both types. Because of that, I was scared of networking. Well I starred on my own Fear Factor show and went to my first networking event not long ago at the “Foolish Chicken” in the Westboro area of Ottawa. It really was not that hard! Honestly! The opportunity to meet people and potentially work with them or feed each other clients is one you can’t pass up.
3 – Reward your clients
If you went dining out one night and were given a free voucher for your next meal 50% off, where would you go the next time you did not want to cook? To that same place. It’s important for business owners to create a loyalty system with their clients. Reward them for being amazing clients. Reward them for talking to their friends, families and colleagues. Reward them. People like feeling appreciated and they like seeing that businesses care about them. Be authentic about it though.
4 – Images are worth 1000 words
When is the last time you updated your portfolio? Do you even have a portfolio? Do you even have a website? If not, get one. Clients like to be able to see and read information about your company and services whenever they feel like it. Give it to them. Provide them with a full listing of your services. Show them the work that you have done. Let them know who your clients have been in the past. Promote yourself via your online business card – your website. By building a portfolio of solid work, you entice clients to realize that the ones who should take care of their web project is…you!
I am actually taking my own advice as we’re working on redesigning our website over the newxt few weeks! Exciting times!
5 – Carpe Diem
Latin for “Seize the Day”. In this case, seize every opportunity you have to talk to people about your business. I go to restaurants and I’ll look around to see if I see a mention of a website. I’ll talk to the servers and ask if they have one or not. I’ll leave a business card there. I was on a trip to Montreal a couple of months back and had stopped for coffee. Parked by us was the car of a lady who owned a flower shop in downtown Montreal. I noticed she had a website and asked her if she had every though about getting it re-designed, modernized. Low and behold she said that was in her plans for September 2010. Was I every happy to give her my business card!
Those are the 5 points I wanted to discuss today. I would love to get feedback from everyone and read abuot your own experiences and tips. Comment away!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: clients, Developer, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, series, TekCast Designs
July 18th, 2010
Back with another post after a looooong week full of work and meetings with interesting entrepreneurs and business-minded folks.
Well everyone, I have some great news to announce! We’ve decided it’s time to revamp our website and have started the whole process. TekCast Designs will have a completely new look and will have a much more attractive website. We are making some major changes to our portfolio section as well.
Also…we have added a brand new service to our list! TekCast Designs now offers full web hosting services to its clients. Whether you are looking for a Unix-based solution or a Windows platform for your website or application, we have it. Send us an email for more information.
We’ve also taken the time to think about how we can thank our clients for them support and the fun we have had dealing with them. As of now, TekCast Designs offers a referral service to all of its clients. The way it works is for every project that you refer to us – which gets completed – you will receive a “service voucher” worth 5% of the cost of this project. Vouchers can be accumulated and used all at once for services offered by TekCast Designs or paid out to you by check. Want more information? Send us an email!
Once the new website is launched, there will be sections dedicated to these new services.
That’s all for this time folks! I’ll be back in the next few days with a round-up of the past week or so. A lot of interesting things have happened.
Ciao!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: TekCast Designs
June 29th, 2010
TekCast Designs is pleased to announce a new section to its website! In the bottom left side menu, you will find a new link called “TekCast Tools”. This link will bring you to a page where we will be listing some PHP and MySQL scripts that we use to facilitate our coding processes.
These scripts are free to use for personal and commercial purposes. The only thing that we ask is that you give us some credit for it and let us know if it has helped you out or not! Feel free to simply send us an email via our contact form at the moment until we add a comment section on the scripts’ page.
For the time being, these scripts are only available on our website but in the coming weeks, we will add a download function so everyone can download their own copy and use it on their server.
Looking forward to reading what everyone has to say!
Now, enough blabbering – go check out our first script (classBuilder.php) here!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: mysql, news, php, scripts
June 24th, 2010
A little late with my thoughts on the contest and the G20YES, but here nonetheless!
First off, I unfortunately did not win 1 of 4 spots (it was 2 but got increased to 4 at contest closure) available to tweet about G20YES this past Monday and Tuesday (June 21st/22nd). I did however have the opportunity to meet some very interesting people by following updates by the CYBF on Twitter and followed / retweeted interesting tweets about the event.
Just one of those meetings
I had the chance to meet @psonea and discuss entrepreneurship, marketing and social media with him as well as get contact information for people who could be helpful as I prepare a new venture in the coming months. Phil is an outstanding young man who is bright and charismatic, and definitely has an awesome future ahead of him. One very important thing that we agreed on is that it’s great and very important that youth be as involved as possible when it comes to business and entrepreneurship. He definitely has the same visions I do when it comes to involving youths in business. Kudos to you Phil!
G20YES
Even though I was not able to participate as a twitterer for the 2010 G20YES, I still made sure to follow the tweets as much as I could and will be watching the webcasts over and over again. The talks from the different speakers were very profound and powerful and touched on subjects that are very important for anyone – especially us youths – who is in business or is interested in being in business. There is so much that we can learn from these experts and from their experiences.
I simply could not help myself retweeting some of the tweets. Is it not common sense that if you read something good and informative, you will share it with your followers? My goal is not to keep all this important information to myself but to share it with as many people as possible. As is a chain, a community is only as weak as its weakest link. If we’re all strong, we make our entrepreneurship community that much stronger. We all benefit from working together.
I’ll end this post on a tweet by @CYBFCanada at #G20YES :
“Just do it – don’t over plan your business. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. – Ken LeBlanc“
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: CYBF, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, G20YES, meetings, Twitter
June 15th, 2010
So here I am. I’ve been telling myself for so long that I would start my own WP blog and as it happens with most New Year resolutions, that went to the back and bottom of the “Nearly not a chance of happening” drawer.
Luckily for you and I though, this idea managed to pop its head out again after a few months and here we are today!
First of all, I will try and keep everyone posted on what exciting new things are happening in my life via this blog but you need to know you can also follow me on Twitter, where I spend a pretty decent amount of time. Who to follow? @tekcast !
So…first things first. Entrepreneurship is what drives me. I love seeing young people get involved in their community and build their networks as well as showcase the ideas that are spinning in their heads. It’s simply…amazing! Breath-taking even.
Having said that, I am looking forward to the CYBF Social Media Contest results – should be published in a few hours. I submitted an entry and hope that I am selected! I’ll keep everyone updated on the winners as soon as we get the info!
Ciao and see you guys soon!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: CYBF, Social Media, TekCast Designs
March 21st, 2010
This is a great article written by Alan Skorkin, which you can read here. Many of us use the terms developer, programmer and computer scientist in different context which may or may not be quite appropriate.
Alan does a good job of breaking down these 3 “positions”. I suggest you read on and try and see if you can find out which one you are…or as it will be the case for a lot of us…which ones we are.
I took the time to sit and think after reading this article and I came to the conclusion that I have a healthy blend of Programmer and Developer in me. I must say though, I fall more into the Developer category.
Read on and post your comments and thoughts!
‘Til next time 
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Computer Scientist, Developer, Programmer, TekCast Designs
