Computer Firm: From Absolute Zero to Deserved Success

    I decided to share the experience of creating and promoting a computer company. I think some people will come in handy. Moreover, the start was from absolute Kelvin zero. And what we have achieved and how can be seen under the cut.

    One BUT: this is not a manual for those who want to cut a bunch of dough in a year. This is a description of how persistently, gradually and step by step we who worked sincerely and from the heart, succeeded bit by bit. Slowly but surely. We did not have a goal to “mow”, we wanted to help people. The text has a lot of subjective judgments and opinions. But by no means do I teach anyone - I simply describe how everything was.

    So, in order not to bore the lyrics further, I give the initial data on the opening of the company:

    Time: Year 2003, Ukraine.
    Live:I and another person with minimal accounting knowledge. Since the company (private enterprise) was opened, any even not quite experienced boo will save you nerves and money in the future. Moreover, at that time, many suppliers refused to work with entrepreneurs, and therefore had to do an emergency. Although now the situation is slightly better.

    Then I was almost 23 years old. My skills at that time: abandoned injection (English), the ability to assemble computers, knowledge of PHP, MYSQL, HTML, VisualBasic, VBA, access to suppliers; Well, the lack of any skills to solder something, “ring”, etc.
    He lived with his parents, which made it possible at that time not to pull extra money from the cash desk of the company.
    There was also a bunch of friends who were aware that "doing computers."

    "Business" quality:completely absent. No business experience, no notorious qualities of a leader, no ability to spin and pull fangs out of other fangs, no ambitions. I was and am an ordinary modest person. Also, I was not concerned about the success of corporations and did not try to imitate some corporate styles and far-fetched business models. And I am still convinced that this (imitation) is evil.

    Finance: 0UAH 0 cop. Not a spear, as they say.
    Opening: The company was registered in January 2003. How is the discovery, have written a lot already - so I miss this moment.

    1. BIRTH

    Found an office in the admin building on the market. The main factor was the price. The office did not seem to be so hot, but they thought it would save the flow of people in the market. In general, over time it became obvious that it is almost all the same in what place your office is - if people need you, then they will certainly come to you in crowds. All thoughts about the huge advantage of a good office position are pseudo-theory and cheating for those who cannot offer their clients anything but a convenient location and beautiful interior. Although this is a separate issue, first things first.

    Since we started from zero, there was no money either. But there were acquaintances and friends. This is a factor of luck and minimal planning. For those who are involved in the IT sector, it’s not a problem to predict the opening of an office at a time when one of the friends will need to purchase a small consignment.
    We did just that, earning our first $ 300. Actually, the idea was originally from the very beginning that, thanks to some connections, they will be able to “warm up” us with certain orders. So make sure that for the first time there is someone to buy from you.

    But we understood that for a long time we would not last. Therefore, all forces were cast on the so-called "promotion." Of those $ 300. $ 100 was spent on rent, and the rest on advertising. By the way, the ability to correctly advertise came much later. If anyone will be interested, then I’ll share the thread.
    And now the time has come for the painful expectation of calls from customers. One call a day was a joy for us.

    BUT! Just because you don’t have clients yet doesn’t mean at all that there is no work as such. It also does not mean that you can be late for work, but leave early, because there are "no customers." We opened a business to deal with. What we did. There is no limit to perfection - there is always something to improve and complete.
    Waiting for people, I wrote a program for accounting and selection of orders, into which price data was automatically uploaded. I recall this because in that distant 2003, for some computer companies for some reason they selected configurations in the Excel file, in which there were 15-20 items with drop-down lists of goods. All this looked primitive and wretched. And I’m a young perky kid who knows how to program - that’s what he programmed. I’m actually a fan of all kinds of chips and activity automation there - you will see later.
    Well, the site also wrote. Nothing special, but still it was.

    2. YOUTH There

    were very few customers: 3-5 orders of computers per month. And then mainly through friends. Exits to all sorts of tenders, etc. did not have. But this was enough for rent and advertising. The competition is huge - about 80 firms per 300 thousand people.
    In this difficult time, I worked while myself: assembly, delivery, warranty, sales. There were not many clients, but I kind of could have done everything without assistants. That is, the extra money to pay for someone else’s labor has not yet gone.
    In those days, the principles of our work began to emerge, which at one time became Klondike for us.

    Character.

    Since there were few clients, it was possible to devote a lot of time to each visitor and caller, and given that I was a philologist (injection), it was not a problem for me to have pleasant intimate conversations with people.
    In addition, by nature I am a very honest and conscientious person, so I simply could not physically and psychologically make a client a scoundrel. And to be honest, I had to cling to everyone who came and give myself 100% trying to “satisfy” him. After all, you understand that your earnings depend only on you and there is no one else to blame.

    In order not to tire, I will describe what principles in work we adhered to. But what kind of cones came to them is a completely different conversation.

    1. The customer is always right.
    It must be carried on hand. But you should never humiliate yourself. Dignity will be the key to your respect. Well, do not go to extremes - each case is individual.
    In fact, this motto is very dangerous - too many people understand it somehow perversely.

    2. Communication. The most important feature!
    No verbiage such as “mother”, “percent”, “terabytes”, etc. Communicated as simple as possible. Usually, before starting a conversation, he asked if a person was oriented in this area in order to understand how to communicate with him. Sometimes people respond honestly that no; but more often they lie. Everyone lies. And if you “load” them with unnecessary information, they will leave you unhappy and will remain where they do well. Therefore, the task was to relax and talk people.

    Very often parents come with “knowledgeable children” or “versed” acquaintances who sometimes carry such nonsense that their ears fade. But all of them are experts and authorities for people who can hardly distinguish a computer from a TV and are now sitting in front of you ready to spend a certain amount of money.
    Redeeming how a person navigates the issue is simple. I asked on which socket he preferred the motherboard. If I saw that the person was baffled, scared (after all, the people sitting nearby think that he is an ass in computers even more abruptly than you and me), or if the answer was an absurdity of the “Asus” type, then our client is a lamer and a teapot, in other words : normal, ordinary person.

    Therefore, during the conversation, he becomes your girlfriend. You lead him, support him and make him feel smart and know everything. God forbid it was said that they say no, you are not fumbling, Asus is a motherboard, but I asked for sockets. For this in due time I could dismiss unconditionally. But even at that time I talked on my own and therefore, the answer was: “Well, of course, Asus are excellent motherboards - a good choice.”
    In this case, there was already a conversation in which I “led”, but in which a person felt like he was choosing, making decisions and starting to believe that he really understood something. They can’t say no, any of their nonsense needs to be maintained and twisted in the right way, without prejudice to their nervous and tender natures. They are like children ...

    Yes, and I did not sit at work in order to assert myself at the expense of other people, demonstrating my knowledge in the field that they first encountered.

    If a person did not understand at all and called the monitor a computer, then it took all the time and verbal correction. After all, the mother, who decided to buy a computer for her son, needed to convey the essence of such concepts as a hard drive, processor, memory, etc. You can’t just say to a person that they say take this one - this is a super computer and it will suit you. People are not fools. Rather fools, but with phobias. And each of them thinks that you want to inflate them by steaming a cat in a poke at an inflated price.
    I tried to create a feeling in a person that he understands the issue. And here a whole set of metaphors, comparisons, and established patterns already went in line. And when a person has the illusion that he knows what it is about, he easily spends money.

    In general, the essence is this: to give a person to relax, to convey information in a human way, without computer jargon. There are many nuances and personal 100% developments, from which people just fall in love with you - I can write a separate article on this topic. I didn’t subtract all this in the marketing rubbish, but took it out of the seller’s difficult everyday life. Yes, and checked a thousand times.
    Well, it’s worth noting that I did all this really out of motivation to help, and not just “cheat”.

    3. Let the person feel that he is personally making a choice.
    It is very dangerous to advise the buyer to buy, for example, a monitor of a certain brand. Before these you need to probe the soil. At least find out if he has any chance of veiled preferences and hidden ambitions. Because, if you strongly advise LG, and its flawed neighbor has Samsung, then your monitor may not be bought in the end. After all, a neighbor is an authority, and "authority" justifies its purchase, they say LG garbage and everyone breaks, and Samsung steers.
    Therefore, you need to ask what a person knows about monitors. And at the first hints of any brand - you need to cling to it and justify the desire of the buyer. In general, you need to behave like a prostitute and keep your nose upwind.
    I understand that there is the power of persuasion and argument. But I preferred to stroke the coat, not against it. I do not want to change someone’s worldview and correct other people's misconceptions, I want to sell.

    4. The desire to help, and not the desire to sell something more expensive.
    Often I advised people who wanted to borrow a computer at another company. They came, called and asked if they had such and such a normal configuration. I advised that change, and they bought there.
    The main factor for this category of customers was price. They are always unreliable - they are defectors. But everyone who follows the path of cheap goods, sooner or later burns. And then to whom will they turn? To me.
    The calculation, I think, is clear.
    Well, it happened that a person came and was ready to pay for a computer that was pulling at 1000uo, but in the end we found out that he could just “print” without prospects. Therefore, they sold exactly what suited him - a computer for 500-600uo. At the same time explaining all the nuances to the buyer.
    It may seem like this is bad for business. This is not true. To finance - perhaps, but not to business!

    5. Pricing policy.
    We kept prices average. They did not dump, but they did not break.
    Those who attract customers only at the price are doomed. Minimum margins pull a low quality service. And their customers are unreliable, they will always look for a place where it is cheaper.

    6. Service.
    The computer was always delivered home, turned on, a mini-lesson on its use was conducted. No surcharges or additional conditions. Everything must always be delivered to the nearest minute. You should not be late in any case. The client, of course, will understand all your force majors and explanations, and then quickly forget. But the fact that you failed him, he certainly will not forget.

    7. Do not take deposits.
    By law, a person can return a computer within 14 days. So what's the point of taking a deposit?
    But there’s a reason not to take it - it always pleasantly surprises the client and he no longer suspects that you want to steal the goods in any way. In addition, they immediately lose the feeling that they lousy - after all, the whole amount so far they have.

    8. Proper Warranty
    A simple example: the mother bought the client, the next day I brought a singed memory controller, they say some garbage. You can argue for a long time about who is to blame, but those who have come across services know that paleness is not a 100% guarantee, and, accordingly, is bad for you. On the other hand, the client will not even be able to complain, because your refusal of the guarantee will be justified. But do we need such a deal?
    I am changing the mother to the client ($ 80), simultaneously explaining that he is not quite right and she does not go under the guarantee, but we will gladly replace him with a mat. fee.

    The calculation is simple: if you refused the client, then you lost him and all his relatives and friends. But if he makes a replacement, then he will bring with him over time a whole bunch of customers who will pay back my $ 80 more than.
    There is nothing more promising than a grateful client.
    But in general, a guarantee is one of the main “fears” of the client. And you need to play this.

    9. Trust.
    Work on trust is a pseudo-scientific marketing nonsense. If someone tells you that you need to increase customer loyalty and gain their trust, drive such a smart guy in the neck. You just need to do your job with quality, and not come up with ways to increase confidence. I didn't care about people's trust. Only those who then want to use this for personal gain gain confidence.

    Trust is of course an important element, but it is a by-product of quality work. He is not promoted - it comes on its own. And anyway, the client trusts me or not, I’m ready to answer any question, I wasn’t offended by requests to open the system and show product serial numbers, I wasn’t offended by the need to sometimes explain that we don’t deal with it, I was not offended by requests to attend the assembly. The more they did not trust me, the more I had the opportunity to show that everything was done clearly and without problems.

    10.
    Axiom Workers : For the sale of technology, it is better to take a linguist and teach him technical details than to take over a smart piece of iron, and then teach him how to communicate normally with people. Most of them are antisocial. Hence the conclusion: the iron worker should collect iron, and not lower your sales level.

    In addition, the employee must be given 100%. And it needs to be controlled. Nobody but you will need your business, so do not let everything go by its own accord. And the problem is precisely that many IT employees hang up on the ears of the authorities, saying that it’s hard, how difficult it is, etc., to fulfill their duties as much as possible. My advantage over the workers was that everything that was discussed, I could do myself and still show how to do it.
    That is, if someone could not assemble and configure the computer in an hour and a half, and then explained that they had to install Windows and configure everything, then he would get it on his head, because everything that was required of them was verified experimentally. And if I can, then the employee should be able to better.

    As a matter of fact, with our principles - everything. As you can see, it all boiled down to a single task: to make the client come again well and advise us to someone.
    I repeat once again - this path is not to quick profit, it’s all the accumulation of long-term benefits.

    3. COURAGE.

    Over time, work has become more. Since acquaintances brought acquaintances, and those still acquaintances, etc.
    I had to hire people and rent another office, so that there was enough space for everyone. There is a moment: it is impossible for an incoming client to see the process of assembling a computer - this hurts their fragile mind. Assembly - in a separate room.

    There was a need for strict accounting and warehouse management. I decided to study Delphi and write on it. At half the work I realized that I was trying to write 1C, but from scratch. Having estimated the amount of work, I decided that it was not profitable. He began on the Internet to look for ready-made configuration for the work of the computer. firms - no. Then they put 1C TiS - I really liked everything. But you need to somehow update the product and prices in the database. Friends helped drive prices in 1C. But somehow it turned out poorly: just a copy of the price list in the database, not for you extra charges, or for your product categories, etc. Those who worked with 1C will understand what it is about, and those who don’t, will understand when the “esk” will start working.

    When I described to the programmer what I needed, they broke the price of about $ 1000. I also needed to explain how and what to implement, how to use regular expressions when parsing the price, etc. I decided that I would write everything for that kind of money.
    The boy said - the boy did.

    He mastered the language 1C, made all the necessary changes to the database and even more. Why am I doing this? I wrote above that I’m a fan of automation, because I don’t like it when the routine breaks the creative process.
    So he just programmed a brilliant mechanism for himself. Who worked on a small computer. firms will appreciate the merits.
    1. Every hour, price lists of suppliers are downloaded.
    2. If changes are noticed in the prices, then the 1C script is launched to recognize them.
    3. 1C updates all the goods in its database, puts down all the margins for your settings.
    4. 1C creates wholesale and retail Excel prices for the right product.
    5. Prices are uploaded to the site so that you can download.
    6. 1C connects to the MySQL database on the site and updates all the goods in the online store there. Those who have worked with online stores are aware of the monstrously inconvenient ways the developers of these stores offer product updates. And this is 5 thousand positions. 1C did it in 2 minutes.
    By the way, I forgot to say that before this moment I had already written a simple Internet store from which we tried to trade.

    This script was launched once in 2006. And it still works. Probably, many at work do not even know how the product data is updated and where our prices come from. The matrix does everything.
    But this eliminated the constant twitching and gave confidence that the price and base are always up to date. And the fact that in the internet the prices and the base are updated 4-5 times a day, in general, plunged customers into a pleasant shock.
    Our efforts brought more and more fruit. We followed our principles, ideals, worked hard and made new customers.

    REAPING THE FRUITS!

    In 2005, we became the 10th company in annual turnover among companies in the region from our supplier. In total, there were about 60 firms from the region. If you remember, at that time there was a bunch of political clashes in Ukraine. In this regard, many organizations stopped buying up equipment. And at the expense of such organizations and lives a bunch of comp. firms that win tenders through rollback, through acquaintances, friends, godfathers, etc. Hard times have come for them. There are fewer orders.

    And our clients grew like grains on every square of a chessboard. We were not dependent on politics, on power, on measure, on the president. Our clients were ordinary people, among whom we won the glory of a company that you can trust, where to talk with you, explain, and if we advise, then you need to take 100%.
    According to statistics, 90-95% coming to consult us became our customers and bought equipment.

    Our business practices and customer relationships have begun to bear fruit.

    The year 2006 began.
    I wrote a series of almost two dozen articles explaining the principles of choosing a computer, but in human language, in the native language for people, and not computer. In each issue of the local newspaper there was an article. We got a call, letters were sent to us, we thanked, asked for copies. This has increased the number of customers even more.

    And now the time has come when it was possible not to give advertising, people themselves drove us customers. Earned "verbal marketing."

    At the end of 2006 he developed a bearer discount system. That is, the turnover is summed up on the card and, depending on it, a discount is given. But the card is valid for anyone who presents it, whether this person has taken the goods before or not. This spurred customers to bring even more people - because now the discount was given. Moreover, in this way it was possible to achieve purchase prices.

    2006 finished in 2nd place by turnover in the region.

    2007 - finished on the first. And on the 4th region of 8 regions.
    The average turnover of 80-90 thousand. $ Per month. In December, $ 110.
    We rented 4 large rooms and it was already very crowded. 7 people worked. They gathered to open an office in the city center and in the suburbs.
    It seems that sales from the site have gone. In general, there were waves on the crest.
    I received several worthy offers from major Ukrainian sellers of equipment. That is, the suppliers of our suppliers wanted to trade with us directly. And for us it is even more favorable prices and even more customers.

    2008 has become a landmark. A lot of prospects and a great desire to work.

    The essence of what is written is to show that if you strive for something and do what you understand, everything will work out. In our country, where everyone is tired of dirt, honest people begin to attract other people. Start your business with the soul - and they will be drawn to you. I'm used to having fun. It is a pity that this is not always possible.

    In several places I wrote about how I programmed some things - this is not a desire to boast, but an attempt to show that contrary to advice, many things need to be done by yourself. At the stage of the formation of the company, $ 500 software is not useful for you to take orders. Write yourself.
    They say that it is bad if the director himself does everything, they say the development of the company suffers. Do not believe it! We simply weren’t preoccupied with marketing tricks and tricks, we didn’t bother with all sorts of stocks and business contacts. Believe me, when you become something of yourself - those who you need will come to you.

    By the way, I’m in no way trying to promote the company - there’s nothing to PR.
    Just besides a bunch of positive experiences, I also endured tons of negative ones. And now I know for sure what should not be done in my business. I didn’t know before. And so it happened:

    2008 - the company almost came to an end.
    2009 - it seems to me that she is living out the last months.

    With the crisis, it is almost not connected.

    Well, actually, who cares what the rake was - I can continue with another topic.

    PS
    Thanks overpowered.

    UPD1:
    since many are interested in "about a rake" - I will definitely write a sequel.

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