Happy Birthday to One of Our Favorite Contributors

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Happy Birthday to English Management Solutions. It seems like my 15-year-old firm just received its learner’s permit.

But seriously, I wanted to share some of our history and the lessons learned in hopes that you newcomers and seasoned business owners alike could resonate with.

First of all, I didn’t start my business as part of some master plan. I had worked in Corporate America all of my life and figured I'd retire in Corporate America like my dad did.

Fast forward to 2002. After being right-sized from my director level position job in the wake of 9/11, I went looking for a job in software support. Months went by without a nibble. I got close once, only to be told they were afraid I'd leave if a better opportunity came alone (all they had to offer was a manager level position).

Enter big sigh. What should I do? Well, I had spent three-and-a-half years working for Intuit supporting QuickBooks. Through that experience, I knew there was business. I searched the QuickBooks’ website and found the ProAdvisor Program. 

I signed up immediately, and then I told my wife. She looked at me and said that If I provided her a business plan and a Proforma, I had two years to make it work.

Got to love being married to an MBA.

Here we are 15 years later. So, what are my takeaways:

I have met so many great clients. Back in the day, I read an article about calling your customers users, as if they were some sort of drug addicts. I took it to heart and always tried to understand the issue from their perspective.

We work with a lot of retailers. If a retailer’s Point-of-Sale (POS) system goes down, it's basically out of business. Therefore, we work hard to get the systems back up as quickly as possible and never take the stress personally.

I can point to several inflection points that got me to where I am today. I'm extremely grateful to Doug Sleeter for the Sleeter conference, where he told the attendees to specialize. Up to that point, I would pretty much take any business that came my way. After that, I strove to be “the” expert in retail/wholesale. 

It worked out pretty well for me.

I'd also like to thank Joe Woodard for helping me take my teaching to the next level, and for the Woodard Group for helping to raise the bar of our profession.

Another inflection point was when I became one of the first Retail Solution Providers through a chance encounter with the editor of the ProAdvisor Newsletter. That set me down the path of delivering solutions to customers that met their needs, and for which I earned revenue that didn’t depend on how many hours I worked. 

If you asked me if I'd ever be in sales, I would have broken out in a cold sweat. Here is the thing though, being a small business owner is all about the ABCs (Always be Closing). Whether you're a bookkeeper with a group of monthly clients or a consultant with lots of projects, you need to continually look for new clients. 

Intuit are masters at this, and through my relationships with the Intuit Reseller Program, I continue to learn and grow my business.

So, what's next?

The cloud is here for real, and I'm slowly transitioning to offering more cloud-based solutions and services. Revel, which we have written on, is part of that. We also are working with SalesPad, a company that's bringing Enterprise-level inventory management to the QuickBooks Online world.

So never stop learning and growing.

I also wish to thank all of you who read these blog articles. I've discovered that I like to write.  I hated it in school, but having a delete key makes all of the difference in the world.

Who knew? I think it's our job to impart our knowledge and experience to those who can benefit from it. I like to think that this is my way of paying it forward to the next generation, as well as honoring those who mentored and taught me.

So what does the next 15 years hold for EMS. I've told my wife that I never plan to retire. That part is true. What I expect is that someday we'll have inexpensive high-speed internet globally, so you'll find me on the sailboat of my dreams anchored off of some tropical island answering the phone, "English Management Solutions, this is Will, how can I help you…"

Editor's Note: My good friend Will may not be stretched out on the deck in a sailboat, but he looks plenty comfy on that palm tree laden beach. Great Job Will. You have taught us all more than a thing or two about POS. We look forward to your next 15 years – and beyond. (Murph)