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Category: Beginnings

  • Beginnings Part 2

    The only thing clear to me at this point was that I needed to be able to control my pricing.  Rattling around in the back of my mind was the idea that I would someday in the future need to convert the store to a barcode based system, and this was the event that brought that task front and center.  I started researching solutions and was disgusted by the price of a POS (point of sale) system.  We already had a Clover mini for running credit cards that we inherited from the previous business owner, so I investigated what capabilities came with that system.  Much to my surprise, this little device could act similar to a full blown POS, so I decided to use what I had and build the other pieces around it.  This was the beginning of the end for that archaic cash register.

    My solution would only require a barcode scanner for the Clover mini and a cash drawer.  This was due to the fact that the Clover printed receipts and could control a cash drawer with what amounts to a simple telephone cord.  This left me with one task, build an inventory file to upload to the Clover system.

    I figured I could get most of the inventory item information from the order files that my distributor provided for download, so I started writing a program that would parse those order files and put the information into the Clover inventory format.  Once the initial file was ready and uploaded to clover, there were several other hurdles to overcome for continuous use.  The issue that started all this was always present in my mind, when inventory comes into the store, I need to make sure that the price is what I expect.

    This was the beginning of what I now call the Inventory app.  I have since left the Clover behind and moved to Square due to issues with adding new hardware when I wanted.  I have also added significant pieces to the Inventory app that include creating orders to upload to my distributor, processing incoming orders for updates, mechanisms for cleaning up your inventory file, and a piece I call price reporting.  With price reporting, the app will scan a distributor’s website for items in your inventory and give you a report that shows if your retail price is high or low and if you have a negative margin on any inventory item, amongst other things.

    For some mysterious reason, in early 2024, I was inspired to add even more functionality to the Inventory app.  This forced me to include many manual steps I performed on a regular basis into the software as well as adding help/process docs for someone else to use the software.  I was also inspired to think of the entire process I had gone through in this store and how it could be used in another store after discussing the whole project with a new sales rep.  That’s how barcode conversion and inventory management became a product.  Real world problems that I just happened to have the skills to provide a solution to.

    As for website work, that also came back around again with one of my previous friends needing help once again.  I also happen to know of several business owners in our small town that have little to no business information accessible on the internet.  The only way you can find them is via word of mouth.  Maybe they like it that way, but I would love to have the opportunity to help them increase their business income.

  • Beginnings Part 1

    It all started one day when a business owner asked me if I could help them build a website.  While I’m not exactly a web developer, a basic website is almost always an easy enough task, so I set something up for them at no cost, they took ownership of it and all was well.  Shortly after this, I quit working in the tech industry.

    Then another friend/business owner asked me to help him build a website and online storefront.  While this was certainly a much larger project, I gave it a shot and pretty quickly, he had orders coming in.  Unfortunately, the orders were for some discontinued item and had to be refunded.  This was proof of at least two things for me.  First, that I could certainly provide adequate service to implement something on this scale and second, that my concerns about inventory availability were not unfounded.  I knew there were limitations in the solution and they manifested as expected.

    At this point, I had helped a couple of friends and didn’t think much more of it.  Then, I bought a small town hardware store. 

    From the beginning, it was obvious that there were many areas stuck in the past.  Just two examples are the archaic palm barcode scanner with an add-on modem to upload your order to the distributor and the cash register from 1982 that would beep obnoxiously at you if you pressed keys outside the prescribed sequence.  I ditched the palm device immediately in favor of web based ordering using an iPad mini with a Bluetooth barcode scanner but left the register in place.  This is where my first thoughts of a technology gap began.

    Obviously, there was no website for this hardware business, so that was where I started.  A basic website and taking ownership of the top 3-5 search result pages for the business (google business, bing business, yelp, yellow pages, etc.) seemed like a good start. Then one day, I was putting price stickers on some tubes of caulk and was surprised that our retail price was going down.  When my sales rep stopped in to see how things were going, I mentioned the price decrease and he was a bit surprised.  This triggered an investigation on both our sides and it was discovered that I had been placed in a “low retail” program that neither of us were aware of.  I was less than pleased and reluctantly began searching for solutions to isolate my business from such changes.

  • The gap I didn’t know existed

    Technology is everywhere these days, or so it seems.  If you live in a big city, the city suburbs, or even the outskirts of a major metro area, you might not be able to imagine the world that many small business owners are faced with, especially in rural America.  As the big cities continue to advance feverishly in many ways, the small towns in rural America are left in the dust.  While many people prefer it this way, it leads to the problem of a widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’.  Technology is no different in this regard. 

    The technology solutions available to the average business owner in an urban area are vastly different than what can be found in small towns.  For example, in a major urban area, it is unlikely that you will walk into a business and find that every inventory item is hand priced with a sticker and the cashier uses an old cash register to ring up your sale.  This is a common occurrence in many small town businesses.

    Another example comes in the form of how many small town businesses don’t even have a web presence.  If you’re lucky, the business owner will have a Facebook page and might have created or taken ownership of their Google business page, but if you find much beyond that, it will be rare. While there are certainly many reasons for this disparity, I maintain that the primary reason is due to the ever increasing complexity and price of technology solutions.  This has left many small town businesses stuck using the old solutions, unless they can grow large enough to handle paying the insane prices of a point of sale system.  These businesses also must navigate the shark infested waters of SEO and what it even means to have a website without breaking the bank.  With so many groups trying to take advantage of these business owners, no wonder they decide to stick with the old ways.