www.pal-item.com § Maximum Business §Palladium-Item Media Group, DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
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very day all over Wayne County, people are going online via computer, tablet, smartphone or other device. Some of those people are going to work. Wayne County is home to website designers, online marketers, software developers and online business managers — just to mention a few of the many jobs commonly lumped together as “hightech” or “information technology.” “Working with computers can mean a lot of different things,” points out Eric Eastman, co-founder of Green Filing software developers in Richmond. But even if the content of their work varies, high-tech businesses have a lot in common. Read more about these local entrepreneurs in this issue of Maximum Business.
HIGH TECH
New outdoor Wi-Fi will enable people to be online while in downtown Richmond or near North Third Street. SUPPLIED
INDEX Page 3 ..... Successful Woman: Computer programmer sets example for local girls Page 5 ..... Wayne County offers opportunities for high-tech jobs Page 8 ..... Social media not so simple for businesses; professional help encouraged Page 11 ..... Digital marketing done right can help companies succeed Page 12 ..... Hagerstown a home for marketing, architecture businesses Page 13 ..... Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will speak at Wayne Co. Area Chamber dinner Page 14 ..... Greens Fork man’s goal: Improving rural access to Internet Page 16 ..... BOSS program helps students learn about entrepreneurship Page 18 ..... 3 Chamber members describe how technology impacts them Page 19 ..... Summit Computers offers wide range of services Page 20 ..... Tips on picking the perfect high-end laptop Page 21 ..... Make smart choices on social media to avoid career disasters Page 22 ..... Photos of donations, awards and more Page 23 ..... Wayne County business, school and event ribbon-cuttings
Free outdoor Wi-Fi planned The puzzle of growing our local start-up community is about to have another piece filled in. And it is a BIG piece. With the help of the Richmond Certified Tech Park, Center City Development is helping to coordinate the installation of a mesh Wi-Fi network throughout the Main Street area that will provide free outdoor Wi-Fi service from Fifth to 10th streets along East Main and from North A to South A. JASON It will also offer WHITNEY service to the North Third Street area adjacent to this area that includes the Cardinal Greenway trailhead as well as the Warehouse District. This network is being constructed in such a way that over time the service area can be expanded to include the Depot District and possibly other key neighborhoods. There are several options that can be added to the system over time, including mobile access points that could be added for special events or
cameras that can be installed to provide additional security for problem areas throughout the district. Many potential employees for our growing tech industry are currently living in communities where Wi-Fi is a way of life. Their children are accustomed to living in a place where they are always “connected” to the Internet on a variety of devices that they carry with them at all times. As we grow our start-up and technology community, this is a piece of the puzzle that will assist in recruiting talent from outside of our community to move here and take root. It is also a tool as our own youth grow up with this service that they may not want to relocate later in life to a community that does not offer free community Wi-Fi. Current employees and residents have expressed that they are interested in working at tables outside but they can not stay connected to the Internet. The growth of this
outdoor workspace helps to improve the sense of community along Main Street as people are doing more than just walking down the street from place to place. If you have ever taken a table outside to work on a nice fall or spring day you already know that it is a great experience. This service also will allow merchants to advertise on a public landing page where all users will be directed as they log on, so visitors to our district can be guided to hot new shops, special events or local eateries. It also will allow those browsing our district to have fast access to search for those same local shops without having to rely on a cell signal as they walk among our large buildings. This community asset is in no way intended to replace residential or commercial service that those living and working in the district already have. It is intended to be an outdoor service for the good of the community. Jason Whitney is executive director of Center City Development Corp. in Richmond.
SUCCESSFUL WOMAN
‘You can’t be what you can’t see’ Computer programmer tries to set example for local girls
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devices. You have to be willing to relearn things. I was good at math. I also had an advantage as a woman because I was outgoing and can By Pam Tharp talk to anyone. That’s not true of a lot Maximum Business of programmers. » Is the number of women Succeeding in a male-dominated choosing this profession increasprofession was never a worry for ing? Doxpop computer programmer Julie Not really. Most of the computer Pickett-Hall. science majors are mostly male. Pickett-Hall, of Winchester, cred- There was only one other girl in its her careful selection of Earlham computer science when I was in College, with its positive atmosphere college and the ratios are about the toward women, for helping her same now. There’s not really one thrive in a field in which only about cause for the low numbers. There 12 percent of programmers are are a lot of reasons. Some places women. don’t want to know what’s wrong. Like many other successful womI found a good environment at en, Pickett-Hall, 31, got an early start Earlham for women and that wasn’t in the world of work, raised by a the case at some other schools I mother who operated a business and visited. I’d worked really hard to get who made it clear that opportunities to college and I wasn’t going somecome at a cost. place where I had to fight to be Married and the stepmother of there. Earlham is very liberal and two teenagers, Pickett-Hall now I’m very liberal. There are women in shares her passion for programming charge there. It was a good fit. I also with young girls through Girls Inc., love literature and writing. I could encouraging them to be all they can have become an English teacher. be, wherever that leads them. » How did you come to be em» What attracted you to a diffiployed by the Richmond online cult field that’s predominately public records company Doxpop? male? My mother is an abstractor at a I like to build things that are easy title company in Jay County. That’s for people to use. Usability is impor- what we did in the summers and tant. That’s what drives me. For me, after school. I knew how to research that is the most interesting part. property records and navigate reBoiling it down to the most basic corders’ offices. level, so you can use it, whether you (Doxpop creator) Nick Fankhausare computer savvy or not. er came up to Jay County and got the Programming is a job where county online for court records. He you’re also constantly learning how held a session to show how it worked Julie Pickett-Hall in her Doxpop office, 822 E. Main St. JOSHUA SMITH / PALLADIUM-ITEM to do something new, like making See PROGRAMMER, Page 4 sure our programs run on mobile
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Programmer
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Continued from Page 3
and my mom went. She said, ‘You really need to hire my daughter. She’s grown up in this and she’s getting a computer science degree.’ Doxpop then was only court records but Nick was interested in expanding it to include property records. I was the only student in programming who had a signed employment agreement before I graduated. I wrote the code for the property records. It was my first baby. It took two years to research and design it. Then I got to go out and visit the counties, showing them how it works and pulling all the information together.
» What work experiences did you have in addition to working with your mother? I come from a working-class family. My dad’s a mechanic. I washed dishes in a bar at age 14. I was in the (high school) band, so I had to have a job. That was Mom’s rule because she had to drive me to practice and there was gas to pay for. If I got a car, I had to have a job to pay for it and insurance. We always worked. I worked at McDonald’s and I learned to serve people who don’t like you. I learned how to get along. It makes you more successful later in life to have those experiences. » Why did you become involved in Girls Inc.? I have degrees in math and computer science. I want to show girls all the possibilities available to them. As
(astronaut) Sally Ride said, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ We have girls from first grade up to middle school. We have 10 girls at a time get off the bus and we have an hour to help with homework. I try to get across that we’re all constantly learning how to do something and sometimes you have to relearn things. I do talk about high tech with them and try to be a positive influence by showing them what I do. » You are also involved in HiTesT. We’re trying to build a network of people who could be mentors, so we can make that available to the community. Most of us work in companies that are looking to hire more technical people, so this would be a way to help students who are interested in pursu-
ing engineering or programming and also help our community. » What challenges are you working on now? When I come home from work, I don’t turn on a computer. I’m learning to play the viola. Bowing is really, really hard. I play 16 instruments, flutes, piccolos, clarinet and saxophone and I’ve helped teach woodwinds. I marched with the Winchester band (The Force) in high school. The viola is hard because it’s so different. When you play a woodwind, the note goes up as it goes up the scale. With the viola, the note goes down when you go up the scale because the string gets shorter. It’s really hard. Last year I signed up for a tap class. I’d never danced before. At 30 years old, it was time to start.
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Julie Pickett-Hall had a signed employment agreement before her graduation from Earlham College to work at Doxpop, 822 E. Main St. JOSHUA SMITH / PALLADIUM-ITEM
HIGH TECH
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GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
MOVING AT THE SPEED OF
TECHNOLOGY Wayne County offers opportunities to website designers, online marketers, software developers, online business managers and more
By Louise Ronald
E
very day all over Wayne County, people are going online via computer, tablet, smartphone or other device. Some of those people are going to work. Wayne County is home to website designers, online marketers, software developers and online business man-
agers — just to mention a few of the many jobs commonly lumped together as “high tech” or “information technology.” “Working with computers can mean a lot of different things,” points out Eric Eastman, co-founder of Green Filing software developers in Richmond. But even if the content of their work See TECHNOLOGY, Page 6
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HIGH TECH
Technology varies, high-tech businesses have a lot in common.
ing from home and setting up ways to relax — such as table tennis — in the workplace. “Really, when it comes to hightech offices, a Ping-Pong table is a requirement,” said Jonathan Meade, also a co-founder of CreateIT.
Location not an issue
Speed of change
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Continued from Page 5
James Incorvaia of Richmond creates a LinkedIn page for his marketing management class on a library computer at Ivy Tech Community College. Incorvaia is a senior majoring in business. LOUISE RONALD/PALLADIUM-ITEM FILE
“It doesn’t matter where they Meade calls software developphysically are,” said ment a “high-stress job.” Jason Whitney, execRetherford says the same of his utive director of Center work. City Development “It’s just running a business, but Corp. and manager of the challenge is our business moves the Innovation Center, at 100 times the speed of any other Richmond’s incubator business,” he said. “You have to be for high-tech businesscomfortable with the ground moving es. under you all the Jason “Almost anything time.” Whitney you want to do online, “There’s very little it’s almost independent of location,” that is the same from agreed Ben Miller, digital specialist day to day,” said Richwith the Palladium-Item. mond businessman Ray Online business also is indepenOntko, who started his dent of any 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work high-tech business — cycle. now called Doxpop — in Ray Ontko “The days of 8-5 punching in, 1992. those days are gone,” said Jamie Meade came up with Schnitzius, co-founder of CreateIT, a this way of describing the challenge: Richmond company that develops “Imagine you had to maintain a car healthcare software. where the wheels and the road Paul Retherford is co-founder of changed every two weeks,” he said. ScanPower, a Richmond company Businesses must adapt to changes that provides tools for online sales. in available technology, changes Retherford spends his days “overmade by competitors, changes made seeing the operation of our software by other online sites they work with service which is kind of global in and changing customer expectations. nature.” An issue for one customer can Seven employees work to keep the very quickly become “an issue for service going 24 hours a day, seven 1,000 customers,” said Retherford. days a week, 365 days a year. “They want it fixed and they want “We have to have a different culit fixed yesterday,” said Schnitzius. ture,” Retherford said. “You don’t There’s also pressure for busireally have the option of closing your nesses to make their own changes. doors, but you can’t ask your employ“We need to keep our stuff fresh,” ees to work 24/7. So you have to be said Derric Watson, who does marcreative.” keting and development for Web That means flexible hours, workCanopy Studio, a Richmond website
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HIGH TECH
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From left, Eric Eastman, co-founder of Green Filing; Derric Watson, marketing and development for Web Canopy Studios; Patrick O'Neal, intern at Web Canopy; John Aikin, founder of Web Canopy; and James Patrick, programmer at Green Filing, share a laugh in the lobby of the Innovation Center. LOUISE RONALD/PALLADIUM-ITEM FILE
design and online marketing company. Eastman said Green Filing tries to put out a new software release every six weeks. “That’s sort of our minimal goal.” That takes planning ahead. “You can keep the velocity high by choosing more or less manageable pieces,” Eastman said.
“Everything is a lot quicker,” agreed Web Canopy Studio partner John Aiken. “A typical small project might be out the door in a month.” But the business is well-suited to speed, Retherford pointed out. “There’s not a product cycle like there might be for a car or something like that,” he said. “That cycle is continuous.”
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“The design is the build,” agreed Eastman. “So you can build it every two minutes.” Eastman admitted that sometimes the speed of change “can bite you.” It’s possible to work on an idea based on one tool only to have another one — a free one — come along just as you’re finishing your design. “You can’t sit still,” he said. “It’s
Just as day-to-day business changes quickly, high-tech companies themselves need to be adapting all the time. “It’s a good thing in the tech See TECHNOLOGY, Page 9
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Social media not so simple for businesses
Professional help encouraged to draw attention to your message By Louise Ronald
Why use social media? JC Price, co-owner of Square Donuts in Richmond, said his store’s presence on Facebook and Twitter has been a big boon. “It amounts to just a huge part of our business,” he said. Price handles both accounts himself, partly because he wants to be in control and partly because he thinks customers appreciate hearing directly from the owner. Square Donuts went from having 800 Facebook fans at the beginning of August to 4,760 fans at the beginning of December. “I don’t know why ours caught on,” Price admits. Manfred Schreyer, owner of Taffy’s of Eaton (Ohio), which offers coffee, beer, wine and live music, has been involved in social media for years and considers himself something of an expert. “I really learned it for myself.” Taffy’s is on Facebook, Twitter
and Foursquare. To make effective use of these tools, Schreyer said, “you really need to know social media for business.” “It seems very simple, but in fact it’s not,” he warned. Schreyer recommends that novices get some professional help. “But even there I would be very careful,” he said. “It should really be somebody who has a great track record.” “I wish people, particularly small businesses, understood the importance of an online presence,” said Ben Miller, digital specialist at the Palladium-Item. Miller also stressed the importance of doing it right. Budgetary concerns can lead businesses to trying to do the work themselves or ask for the help of a “friend of a friend.” They often are disappointed by failure. “To me, that’s putting a lot of effort toward something, not getting a result and kind of dismissing it,” said Miller. But it’s risky to dismiss the Internet, he said. When people need to find something, they go to computers, smartphones and tablets, Miller said. “Local businesses need to be there.” But being there alone isn’t enough.
Employees at Square Donuts of Richmond help customers during a Squares for Prayers fundraiser. Co-owner JC Price develops awareness for events and specials using social media. JOSHUA SMITH/PALLADIUMITEM FILE
“People can put a website online but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be found,” agreed John Aikin of Web Canopy Studio. Aikin likened building a website without a plan for it to producing an elaborate TV commercial and neglecting to buy any air time. Aikin and Miller are two of the local people offering professional expertise on social media, digital
marketing and website development to area companies. “I’d love for people to understand that using your website as a marketing tool can really transform your business,” Aikin said. “If you want to do the Internet right, you need to find ways to do that. One of the easiest ways to do that is to get help,” said Miller. “That’s what we do.”
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HIGH TECH
Technology Continued from Page 7
Attracting more high-tech business
Whitney would like to see more
A high-tech group gathers for breakfast at the Main Street Diner each month. From left: Julie Pickett-Hall of Doxpop, Paul Retherford of InCirrus and Scan Power, Chris Hardie of Summersault, Charlie Peck of Earlham College and Ray Ontko of Doxpop. LOUISE RONALD/PALLADIUM-ITEM
high-tech businesses come to Wayne County. “The amount of money that these companies bring into the community is significant,” he said. Much of that money comes from around the nation and around the world. But attracting these businesses calls for a special mindset. “They value community more than a major manufacturer would,” said Whitney. “That’s why things as small as installing bike racks are important.” “I think we have underestimated
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industry to be constantly reinventing yourself,” said Richmond businessman Chris Hardie. Hardie is in a unique position to know. His company, Summersault, has stopped taking on new projects. Hardie helped start the business in 1997. Now the sole employee, he is studying his options for the future, but doesn’t Chris seem worried. Hardie “A lot of success stories in the tech industry, people had three or four businesses before that,” Hardie said. “I feel very fortunate that the first business that I created in college lasted this long.” Ontko said his company has changed a lot since 1992. “I think it’s fair to say that every five years, we’ve had to completely reinvent ourselves,” said Ontko. “We’ve made changes to our business model ... and we’re due for another change.” “Any technology business that expects things to look the same a year from now is crazy,” said Hardie. Eastman agreed. “I assume that 10 years from now, I’ll be doing something completely different from what we’re doing today,” he said. “I won’t view that as a failure. That’s kind of what I expect to happen.”
the importance of quality of life” for attracting new high-tech businesses until recently, Hardie said. “It’s much more important than access to space or other things that would normally be part of an economic development project,” said Ontko. Beyond bike racks, Whitney lists coffee shops, places to buy local produce and walkability. “A lot of things we have done groundwork for over the past two years, and I think Stellar (Communi-
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ties) will improve on that.” One example is the public outdoor Wi-Fi access due to be available Dec. 30 in the area between North and South A and Fifth and 10th streets in downtown Richmond. “As these guys recruit potential employees, that’s an amenity that could be useful,” Whitney said. The idea is to create spaces where people involved in high tech can encounter one another and exchange ideas. “Trying to build a tech business without having that density and
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Technology Continued from Page 9
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ideas and people has been difficult,” Hardie admitted. The hardest part, he said, is finding “people we can hire. ... That’s been a struggle for us from the very beginning.” Ontko agreed. “We’re not in a place that has a steady supply of information technology workers,” he said. “Our rate of growth is limited by the talent that we have available ... or that we can attract.” Schnitzius questions Richmond’s ability to embrace the uniqueness of high-tech business, such as the idea of working from home. “The mindset’s not there,” he said. He also questions the community’s willingness to compete with the salaries cities like Indianapolis and Dayton can offer software developers. “I would love to be able to get a job in my hometown,” said Schnitzius, who has a full-time job in
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Indianapolis and does his CreateIT work from home. The good news is that starting a high-tech business requires less capital than ever before. What’s essential, however, is to
come up with an idea that will work. “To design a good system, you have to have a lot of subject matter expertise,” said Eastman. “You need to start with someone who really knows what’s going on, then you
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need someone with a little imagination who can ask ‘What if?’” Perhaps that is why Ontko said he is more interested in recruiting someone with a broad education, good communication and critical thinking skills than in a technology background per se. The field demands that kind of flexibility, Miller said. “As soon as you think you know it, it changes, so the best position to be in is to know that you’ll constantly be learning.” Even though Wayne County hightech businesses face challenges, the demand for them is not likely to go away, because technology isn’t going away. “It’s on us to figure out a way to make this technology work for us, the community,” Miller said. The need is just going to grow. “There’s going to be a lot more that you can do and people get in the habit of doing (on the Web),” said Eastman. “That ability to communicate with other people and the services you might want ... that’s just going to increase.”
HIGH TECH
Local digital marketing: Concerns for the small business Enter the Internet. Consider those three advertising channels: Yellow Pages, radio and newspapers. There is no doubt that the Digital Age has had a huge effect on them. Local information is consumed more and more on newspaper websites than the printed page, radio is being supplanted by streaming media and portable audio, and the Yellow Pages has probably been hardest hit as people often just Google what they’re looking for. So what’s a local advertiser to do? The good news is that the Internet as a marketing vehicle, in all its logical-fuzziness and sheer vastness, offers some of the most specific, pliable and “trackable” advertising meth-
ods that have ever been. Gone are the days when you looked at the menu of local media, chose a few that seemed good, and started writing ad copy that reflected your goals. Now you can start with your goals and build solutions around them. You just have to do it. The bad news is — you just have to do it. The Internet’s a big thing, and it can seem overwhelming as you start to consider how to use it for marketing. There are some turnkey solutions out there that fit within some very specific parameters, but you’ll be doing better if you define your marketing goals from the beginning and
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Advertising is easy. Or at least it used to be … Make sure you were in the phone book, order some occasional radio spots to support your sales events, buy as much space in the newspaper as you could reasonably afford, and call it done. Then you just BENJAMIN monitor your cash MILLER register and hope the advertising you’ve placed makes it ring more often. And most often it probably did. Sure, there were variables, but in small markets like ours, a simple and consistent strategy generally worked.
See MARKETING, Page 13
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Hagerstown a hub for high-tech work
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Architectural software, integrated marketing professionals choose small-town life By Ron Greeson For Maximum Business
HAGERSTOWN, Ind. — The setting might not seem to fit the reality. But in the middle of western Wayne County, amid the traditional buildings and antique shops, are multiple high-tech businesses that are performing the latest in digital work, not only for organizations in our area, but across the country. And for Hagerstown natives such as Nate Logston and Jeff Huffine, they couldn’t be happier to be running these successful businesses in their hometown. Logston is the president of LevelThree Inc., an architectural software company that works in computer graphics for clients near and far. After years of traveling in his work for Google, following architectural school at Ball State University, Logston has a multi-faceted business out of a downtown Hagerstown office. He talked recently about his local enterprise, with as many as seven employees, which seeks to involve local people in the delivery of services. One area of the business is with residential customers, as Logston and his co-workers partner with “most subcontractors in the area” on designs for mostly new homes, or some renovations, working with architectural software now available. “I’m as busy as ever,” Logston said, “doing local work in managing projects, and always looking to pick up clients.” After working with the local firm William Clinton and Associates, and following a stint on the road for Google, Logston was seeking a way to continue his work from Hagerstown, where he grew up, and he’s been able to accomplish that since 2005. He formerly worked from home,
Hagerstown is home to Level-Three Inc., an architectural software company, and IronGate Creative. RACHEL E. SHEELEY / P-I
Irongate Creative staff, foreground, talk with prospective employees at a Wayne County jobs fair in August near their Hagerstown office. JOSHUA SMITH / P-I FILE
and now operates his business from an upstairs space in a building that formerly housed a pharmacy in downtown Hagerstown. The specific location isn’t the biggest factor for the former Hagerstown High School student and athlete, but simply Logston’s desire to work in his family’s hometown. “Our family wanted to be here, and I didn’t want to be away,” he said of locating in western Wayne County. Logston and his firm not only do
local residential work, but also consult on commercial projects, with a growing segment of business in producing three-dimensional campus maps for colleges across the country. “Colleges take thousands of photos and send them to us, and we use our capabilities to produce campus maps for various uses,” Logston explained. Among his college clients are Youngstown State University in neighboring Ohio, but also far-flung campuses such as Southern Method-
ist University in Dallas, Texas, and George Washington University, which is located near the nation’s capital. Locally, Logston has worked with Indiana University East in Richmond as well. “We have developed most of our business by word of mouth, and have a lot of our work on our website,” he concluded. The company’s website is http://level-three.com. Huffine is co-owner of Irongate Creative, another Hagerstown-based company. He and Jeff Richards, a Munciearea native, work for Irongate, providing website marketing and design services. Huffine attended the Herron School of Art and Design at Ball State and worked for many years for both Ball Corporation in Muncie and the national company Sallie Mae, which was in the student loan business. Huffine has seen many changes in graphic design through the years. “I started before desktop computers, but Jeff and I have learned to adapt to the changes as digital becomes the norm,” Huffine said. See HAGERSTOWN, Page 13
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Pence to speak at Chamber dinner Palladium-Item
Gov. Mike Pence will be keynote speaker at the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner on Jan. 24, 2014. “We are truly honored that the governor and his staff are going to be with us that evening, which is our biggest event of the year,” said Amy Holthouse, chamber president and chief executive officer. The dinner takes Gov. Mike place in Kuhlman Pence Center at the Wayne County Fairgrounds, 861 Salisbury Road N., Richmond. At the event, the chamber distributes its annual awards, including Art Vivian Distinguished Community Leader, Educator of the Year, Partnership in Education, Corporation of the Year, Achievement of Excellence — Business and Small Business, Achievement of Excellence — Non-profit, Emergency Services Professional of the Year and Outstanding Service to Agriculture. For more information or tickets, call (765) 962-1511 or email denise@wcarea chamber.org.
Marketing Continued from Page 11
then decide your next step. Then there are really three options: do it yourself, hire someone to add to your staff, or find a
This sign on the eastern edge of Hagerstown, Ind., along Indiana 38, welcomes visitors to the community. RACHEL E. SHEELEY / P-I
Hagerstown Continued from Page 12
“Both Jeff and I knew we were going to have to change to keep up with the changes in the field.” Huffine says the company is doing what he calls “integrated marketing.” The work can involve physical pieces such as direct mail, brochures and even billboards, but is often websites — even micro websites — and mobile apps, which the company worked on recently with local client First Bank Richmond. Other area clients include Richmond Baking, Reid Hospital and Health Care Services, and
Astral Industries in Lynn. “We have done some out-of-state work, but really enjoy working with our local and area businesses and organizations,” the Hagerstown native added. He says that the “newest thing is video, what with explosion of video
third-party vendor. All of these are viable, and which one you should do depends largely on your approach to business. Does the potential ROI of online marketing warrant a full-time employee? Is a particular vendor trustworthy and knowledgeable
about local concerns? As a do-it-yourselfer, are you willing to commit to the time needed to learn, execute and maintain a digital marketing effort? Done correctly, digital marketing can be the path to the successful future small businesses want and need.
Hagerstown’s park, across the street from the town hall, is dressed for Christmas. RACHEL E. SHEELEY / PALLADIUM-ITEM
like YouTube, the technology continues to change rapidly.” He and his co-owner, a graduate of nearby Wapahani High School, live and work in Hagerstown, having recently bought a building downtown. “We have been very fortunate, and are committed to our community. It is fun to bring jobs here (to Hagerstown),” Huffine added. Irongate currently has six fulltime employees, and one part-time person, according to Huffine. And he says his company hopes to keep up in the field of visual communications, right from the heart of small-town Hagerstown. The company website is http://irongatecreative.com.
Done incorrectly, it can lead to frustration and the unfortunate belief that it “doesn’t work.” And if digital marketing is not used at all … well, I can’t recommend that. Benjamin Miller is the digital specialist for the Palladium-Item Media Group. Contact him at bmiller@pal-item.com.
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GOAL: Improving rural access to Internet www.pal-item.com § Maximum Business §Palladium-Item Media Group, DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
Greens Fork businessman especially inspired to help churches, Christian organizations and companies By Ron Greeson For Maximum Business
GREENS FORK, Ind. — Owner Scott Reed is enjoying what he calls the “best job of my life.” After growing up in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Lakota, Ohio, Reed is now working in his own high-speed Internet company called New Ways Wireless Networking in the unlikely location of rural, western Wayne County in the Hoosier state. Living and working in the physical location of the line between Centerville and Greens Fork, Ind., he is bringing new and/or upgraded Internet access to mainly rural residents, right where he and others live. And his basically solo efforts
are tied to a great interest in providing better technological options for churches, Christian organizations, and small Christian businesses throughout the area. “It is a real passion of mine to provide this service, but a majority of my business right now is still working with residential customers,” Reed said recently. “Working anyplace outside of the city of Richmond provides less competition for my business, and a lot of satisfaction in meeting the need of new service or upgrading of service people or organizations may already have.” A graduate of Lakota High School, Reed studied electrical engineering at Purdue University before joining Burroughs Corp. of Cincinnati in field service.
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NewWays Wireless Networking has an office at 1049 N. Mineral Springs Road, Greens Fork, Ind. RACHEL E. SHEELEY / PALLADIUM-ITEM
His career path and personal interests led him to independent consulting work, and then a stint at the Earlham School of Religion. Next, he was affiliated with Ford Corporation, both with the Ford/Visteon plant in Connersville and the Ford home office in Dear-
born, Mich. Eventually, he was laid off by Ford, and New Ways Networking has emerged. “What I am doing right now is the best job I have ever had, I’m just loving it,” Reed said of his New Ways firm, which now includes just himself and a couple
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While Greens Fork-area residents are expanding their technological resources, the town still celebrates its history. The Greens Fork town clock stands outside the Clay Township Museum and Library on Indiana 38. RACHEL E. SHEELEY / PALLADIUM-ITEM
as a way to express my personal faith.” He added that his service uses
radio signals, and that physical factors such as hills and trees can be important in determining how effec-
tive his service can be. His office hours are 9 a.m. until noon Monday through Friday.
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of independent contractors who help Reed. Physically, his home is in Centerville, but his nearby office building is across the line in Greens Fork. Reed’s affiliation with religious organizations has work for the Temple Christian School in Connersville and his current faith community, the First United Methodist Church in Richmond. He has also done work for the Centerville Christian Church. Statewide, he works with the Indiana Conference of United Methodist churches, the administrative site of the denomination, which is located north of Indianapolis. “Right now, my business is growing quickly and is almost all residential,” he added. People may view a map of coverage that New Ways can provide, plus service pricing, at Reed’s business website, www.nwwnet.net. “I work on infrastructure, networking and seek to upgrade what service people may already have, to what they may wish to have,” Reed said. “I see the work I do as a help to friends and neighbors, and
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Becoming the BOSS takes work RHS, IU East linked to student entrepreneurship, technology program By Ron Greeson For Maximum Business
The latest run of BOSS training in Richmond is well under way. It’s a program offered for students connected to Richmond High School, and affiliated with Indiana University East. The program’s originator hopes it’s at the start of a long run. Business Opportunities for Self Starters (BOSS) is run by Tim Scales, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at IU East’s Richmond campus. He knows the training better than anyone else, because he developed it in 2007. Tim Scales Scales has either taught the program himself, trained the teachers of BOSS, or supervised the current instructors at RHS. BOSS started its third run this fall after the Richmond Redevelopment Commission approved funding for the training of about 70 RHS students over the next two years. That total represents four sessions, the first of which just concluded for the fall of 2013. Plans are set for ensuing sessions in Summer 2014, Fall 2014 and Summer 2015. Designed to provide knowledge of technologies and training for stu-
Students in the BOSS (Business Opportunities for Self Starters) program work on a project at Richmond High School. SUPPLIED
dents to start their own businesses, the 30-hour course is staged on weeknights and weekends, outside of regular school hours. One student just completing the BOSS training is Ross Harrington, who will graduate next spring. “I think it was an awesome opportunity,” Harrington said of his involvement. “It was great to really see how a business plan is done. It was much more than what I expected, a very different thing.” Harrington is primarily a home-
schooled student, although he is currently taking a regular high school class at RHS. He said he plans to attend Grove City College in Pennsylvania next fall, majoring in entrepreRoss neurship. Harrington “This training provides out-of-the-box thinking, the latest in technology, including phone and mobile apps, and I thought it was a great learning experience,” Har-
rington said. Scales said that’s the whole idea. “We help the students write out a business plan, and help them see technology as an opportunity, not an evil,” Scales said. “I see a real value in helping these kids understand the whole application process.” Scales is a senior lecturer at IU East, the director of economics education there, and a business instructor on the Richmond campus. He developed BOSS years ago after a state grant allocated money
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for a short-term trial of BOSS. A second run of the program came in 2009. Scales has also trained teachers in some other districts in the past, and Scales was joined by current RHS BOSS instructors Denise Selm and Terry Runnels on a trip to Capetown, South Africa, in connection with BOSS. Although only Richmond is a part of the current funding and training, Scales hopes that other school districts might be involved in the future, and thinks there is interest in making that happen. Jason Whitney, director of the Center City Development Corp., has high praise for the BOSS training. “It starts to get kids to think about starting your own business,” Whitney said. “Tim Scales really invented this program, and I think it can fill that pipeline of new people, new businesses and new ideas to help our local economy grow.” Technology today can make a new local business into a national, or even international, entity. “We now have businesses here that transact business in the other
Teachers Terry Runnels, left, and Denise Selm, next to Tim Scales at far right, stand with students in the BOSS program. SUPPLIED
part of the country, like Utah or Texas,” said Whitney, who is the manager of the downtown Innovation Center. “From an office here in Richmond, you can accomplish great things.” Scales said that interested RHS students can get an early start on being a part of future BOSS training even now. Interested students may communicate with Selm or Runnels at the
high school, or get more detailed information from Scales at IU East. Selection of the students for Summer 2014 will take place this spring. “I think this program is a good investment for IU East and RHS because, as a Richmond native, I want to see businesses develop here,” Scales said about the expense of the BOSS training. “Plus, this training, and the businesses that our kids can develop here, could keep younger
kids living and working here, instead of relocating to another location because of business opportunities elsewhere.” Students are selected from the pool of applicants, and are paid for their time in the BOSS training. Comment on stories in Maximum Business at palitem@pal-item.com or write to 1175 N. A St., Richmond, IN 47374.
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BUSINESS TECH: www.pal-item.com § Maximum Business §Palladium-Item Media Group, DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
More useful and accessible than ever The days of “Mom and Pop” stores aren’t even close to over. While their store and inventory sit on Main Street, a second store front exists and anyone in the world can shop. Internet strategies become more sophisticated every day, and at the same time, resources for small businesses grow. Every business uses technology in different ways. Technology is not limited to a specific category of business type either. We see sophisticated technology and strategies across the board. Whether it’s manufacturing, automotive, retail, non-profit work AMY or any operation — HOLTHOUSE technology is essential to growth and success. There are so many opportunities and so many exciting things happening in our community with regard to technology that it was difficult to identify what to write about. So, I specifically asked three Wayne County Area Chamber members to provide their perspectives on technology and how it plays a role with their companies.
Chris Oler, COLOR Marketing & Design
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Jason Spears, Summit Computers
We’ve been in business for 16 years and over that time technology has changed significantly. The demand for technology has grown to the point where it seems near impossible to run a business without it. Businesses use technology and advertising through websites and social media reaching existing and future customers on all types of devices. With the ability to manage inventory, expenses, billing, and shipping through software, technology increases efficiency in day-to-day operations. Businesses have to measure resources against the cost of utilizing different equipment or software. As a small business, we understand the importance of cost and value. You have to find the right fit for your needs. Making good choices is essential and that is why Summit is here. Whether it is our specialized desktops, laptops, networking, websites or other services, our goal is to give
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pression of your company via the Internet and on a mobile device. Design isn’t only about looking good, it’s about engaging customers. There are many ways to do that and it gets easier every day. For example, use of website templates is a routine practice for small businesses. It used to be easy to spot. Many websites looked the same. Increasingly, however, WordPress and other resources offer countless template options and some utilize “dynamic” design. This is a design strategy that automatically resizes and reshapes your website to fit a mobile device screen. The availability (and utilization) of this technology is a key part of building websites for businesses of all sizes. Content marketing is another important part of promoting your company. Part of our business is publishing. We have a children’s book series called “Molly and the Magic Suitcase.” Our strategy over the past year was to build content and share it through our books, school presentations and social media. When we started, a search of particular keywords gave us about four out of the
top 10 hits on Google. After 11 months, the first 30 results are all ours and those hits vary from news stories to reviews on blogs to our own updates on various social media channels. A (mostly) consistent effort means our books are gaining traction here and overseas. We make it easier for customers to find us every time we post something.
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Tracking is a tool that is very helpful to use for a small business to know if what they are doing is effective. This is one of the most functional tools we provide: analytics reporting. We use analytics to track the progress of a website, and render suggestions based on the report. We track everything from how many visitors a site has, where the visitors are located, and how long they stay on the website, to what type of device they are using, what browser they use, and how they came to the website (was it Facebook? Was it a Google search?). This is a huge opportunity for businesses because it tells you exactly where your customers are, when they are viewing your site, and the best ways to reach them. There are several analytics engines online that offer a portion of their reports completely free, so you can test it out if you are interested in learning more. For the business that is new and or learning about this kind of technology it’s most helpful to listen to their needs and to find the roadblocks they have in their work flow to help develop ways through new technologies to streamline their processes in-house. Amy Holthouse is president and CEO of the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce.
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Summit Computers’ services range from custom-building machines to IT support By Ron Greeson
One long-standing area computer firm emphasizes its local base and range of services. And it prides itself on those local connections. Formed in 1997, owner Mike Dickerson started Summit Computers in Richmond, and the company continues to provide a variety of computer-related services out of its location on Chester Boulevard. With six full-time employees and several sub-contractors, Summit provides a range of Jason services, and products, Spears to a predominantly local customer base. David Ernst is the director of sales and marketing for Summit. “We provide a wide range of services for our customers, everything from manufacturing and building computers, with the hardware, to network building and maintenance, to working with desktops and laptops, computer repair, networking and IT (information technology) support,” Ernst said when asked about Summit’s business. Jason Spears serves as president of Summit today after 11 years with company. “We work with customers in whatever form they wish, whatever they need, be it larger business or small,” he explained. “There are clients that just ask us to make repairs when needed, and then there are others that we do a lot of different things for, even some that request building basically homemade units, constructing them with components piece-by-piece, adding what is needed for that unit and the customer,” Spears said in describing Summit’s capabilities. “We (Summit’s staff) are able to put the systems together, and we purchase our products locally, and believe firmly in the buy-local approach,” Spears went on. “As a small local business, we support other small, local businesses, and this phi-
www.pal-item.com § Maximum Business §Palladium-Item Media Group, DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
For Maximum Business
Registered nurses Peggy Robinson, left, and Amber Blevins work on computers inside Reid Hospital and Health Care Services. Reid and other health care businesses affiliated with the hospital are key clients for Summit Computers of Richmond. JOSHUA SMITH / PALLADIUM-ITEM FILE
losophy has worked well for us over the years.” Many of the company’s customers are in the health care field. Spears named Reid Hospital and Health Care Services as a key client for the business. “In addition, a lot of the health care businesses affiliated with Reid, and close to Reid’s operations, also work with Summit,” the current Summit president said. When asked about current trends and/or new aspects to the company’s business, Spears had this observation about the interests and needs of customer today: “I think mobility of technology is a key factor today. Customers want and need to be linked and networked wherever they may be, anytime, and
on a tablet, phone, laptop or any electronic device they may use.” Spears gave a specific example. “Many people now need and want access to any document, for instance, whenever they need it, and wherever they are, so having the capability to access that document has become important for many people.” The Summit president spoke of the company’s growth and base of continued support. “From the start of the business, we developed our client base primarily by word-of-mouth, and that continues to be true today,” Spears added. And with connections established with businesses, Summit has, and continues to work with individuals on their personal computers, even in a
residential setting. “In either the business or personal setting, we help with the growing interest in synchronizing access to information, so the work with networking and IT is very much in demand,” he concluded. Spears said that Summit’s business is regional in scope, involving not only Wayne County, but also Fayette, Union and Randolph countries, plus some work in neighboring Preble County in Ohio. Services listed on the company website www.summit-computer.com are computer systems, hardware and peripherals, service, support, design services, Web hosting, high-speed wireless Internet, network design, VOIP (voice over Internet phone systems), and satellite television.
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Pick the perfect high-end laptop By Bree Fowler
www.pal-item.com § Maximum Business §Palladium-Item Media Group, DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
Associated Press
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Whether you’re looking for something thin and light, or want a tablet that performs like a laptop, there’s plenty to choose from if you’re willing to spend a bit more for a highend laptop computer. Regardless of how much cash you have, you need to take into account the needs of the person you are shopping for. Is a super-sharp touch screen important? What about a fast processor? How much weight is the gift recipient willing to cart around? This gift guide covers laptops with starting prices of more than $1,000, including a class of thin, light Windows laptops known as ultrabooks. If that’s too pricey, check our earlier review of budget and midpriced laptops at http://bit.ly/1bdUMXz. Prices listed are manufacturers’ suggestions, and you can often shop around for deals. Dell Inc.’s XPS 12, starts at $1,000 What sets this ultrabook apart from others is the way it converts into a tablet. Basically, you pop the screen out of its frame, flip it around and then close the laptop. The move puts the screen on the outside and the keyboard on the inside. It’s a quick and easy switch. But because the keyboard remains connected, you’re not dropping any of its 3.4 pounds. While reasonable for a laptop, that’s about triple the weight of many full-sized tablets currently on the market. The XPS might be good for someone who needs a fairly powerful laptop for work, but still wants to kick back in bed without a keyboard getting in the way. Apple Inc.’s MacBook Pro, highresolution, 13-inch version starts at $1,299 There’s no touch screen, something that Apple opposes in laptops, but it does offer nearly the same crystal-clear resolution as the latest iPads. The screen is among the best at this price. And of course, there’s no Windows 8, an operating system that some people find confusing to use. The MacBook uses Apple’s Mac system and integrates well with other Apple products, including iPhones, iPads and Apple TVs.
A staff member introduces a MacBook Pro computer to a customer at a newly opened Apple Store in the Wangfujing shopping district in Beijing. The high-resolution, 13-inch version of Apple Inc.'s MacBook Pro starts at $1,299, just $200 more than the less powerful MacBook Air of that size. AP
Two price cuts this year totaling $400 brings the 13-inch model to $1,299, just $200 more than the lesspowerful MacBook Air of that size. For the 15-inch version, you’ll be paying at least $1,999. Sony Corp.’s Vaio Pro 13, starts at $1,250 The Vaio is exceptionally thin when closed and weighs about 2.3 pounds, making it the lightest 13inch model I tested. Part of that comes from its carbon-fiber construction, which improves durability while reducing weight. But it also made the laptop feel cheap and plastic-like. The small size also comes with sacrifices. Sony says battery life is up to 6.5 hours, considerably less than other laptops at this price. This might be good for someone who wants to get work done on the road while traveling light. You can save $100 by going with an 11-inch model.
Lenovo Group Ltd.’s Yoga 2 Pro, starts at $1,199 Like its name implies, the Yoga is very flexible. Besides the traditional laptop mode, you can bend its 13-inch screen all the way back to close it, so the screen is on the front and the keyboard is exposed on the back. In that configuration, it works like a tablet. You can also bend it into a triangle, laying one edge on a flat surface and having the display angled like a tent. This lets you use it as a tablet, but keep it upright. It’s particularly helpful when you’re crunched for space. Or, you can flip it almost all the way around, so that the keyboard is on the bottom and the screen leans back at whatever angle you like. That’s good for watching videos while kicking back on the couch or in bed. The laptop itself feels thin, light
and relatively sturdy. Although it weighs more than the Sony Vaio, it’s slightly thinner. The rubber edges that give the laptop traction when it’s in tent mode are a nice touch. And if you want your laptop to stand out, the Yoga comes in orange besides the more traditional silver and gray combination. Samsung Electronic Co.’s ATIV Book 9 Plus, starts at $1,400 This was one of the more beautiful laptops I looked at. From its metal construction to its high-definition touch screen, it screams elegance and class. The laptop is super thin, at 0.54 inches thick, but weighs just over 3 pounds, similar to several others I tested. It feels heavy relative to its compact size. Battery life clocked in at 7.5 hours, considerably less than other laptops at that price. But the tradeoff is a super-sharp screen that offers a higher resolution than the MacBook Pro, which already has among the best displays at that price. You might like this if you want to impress the other mobile workers at the coffee house, don’t want a lot of bulk and don’t feel the need to replace your tablets. Microsoft Surface 2 Pro, starts at $899, cover with movable keys brings it to $1,029 OK, so this isn’t actually a laptop, but it does a lot of the same work without the bulk of one. The Surface Pro 2 is a more powerful version of Microsoft’s Surface 2 tablet, and the company is pushing both as replacements for laptops. Just like a PC laptop, it runs Windows 8 and gives you access to all the Microsoft Office programs. This tablet’s kickstand has been redesigned to include two positions — important because that now makes it practical to actually use on your lap. You’re better off paying the extra $10 for the $130 Type Cover 2; the keys on the Touch Cover 2 don’t move and are harder to use. Looking for something cheaper? The $449 Surface 2 runs a lightweight version of Windows 8.1 called RT. But that tablet works only with apps designed specifically for it, not the broader pool of programs available for Windows PCs.
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Kim Komando hosts the nation’s largest talk radio show about consumer electronics, computers and the Internet. To get the podcast, watch the show or find the station nearest you, visit www.komando.com. E-mail her at techcomments@usatoday.com.
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Someone’s account information might be on your computer screen and show up in the background. Thieves could see what security system the bank uses. If you work in the health care industry, any patient or identifying information that pops up in your photo is a federal violation. There could be fines or even jail time. If your workplace doesn’t already have a policy in place regarding photographs of the office, it will soon. Unintentional breaches in security and violations of privacy are becoming too common.
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A bad joke can get magnified with every forward, and even “private” instant message chat logs tend to stick around. There’s no hiding from a rude remark when your email address or user name is attached to it. Keep it to yourself! 3. Taking a picture inside your office and posting it online. Let’s say you work at a bank. You’re looking super-cute today and you just can’t help it: #selfie! You post it online so everyone can see how good you look. Unfortunately, you might be sharing more than you planned.
4. Posting an “anonymous” review or comment. If you post online reviews and comments while on your work computer, it’s open to prying eyes. But what about anonymous venting on your own time? If it reflects negatively on your employer, I’d advise against it. Did you hear about the Bitter Barista? He was a coffee shop worker who ran a popular blog where he complained about customers. He wrote it under a pseudonym, but lost his job after another blog outed him. 5. Lying about your past or taking a fake sick day You might think fudging your resume is a great way to get that job. Maybe so, but it’s also a great way to lose that job! It’s easier than ever for an employer to track down gaps and inconsistencies in your work history or education. A quick glance at your LinkedIn profile or your Facebook page could reveal the awful truth. That goes double for those days you feel like playing hooky. In the 21st century, Ferris Bueller would never have gotten away with his epic day off. Here’s a real-world example: A New Zealand man took some sick days to compete in a boat race. He lost his job after his boss saw the championship photos on Facebook.
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Do you hate your job? You’re in luck! Getting fired has never been easier thanks to the Internet. A Florida high school teacher recently lost her job after lewd photos from a racy modeling session were dredged up online. And an Idaho high-school coach was fired after posting a barely questionable photo with her fiancee on Facebook. It just goes to show that nothing stays hidden on the Web for long. If you want to stay employed, here are five things you should avoid at all COLUMN BY costs. KIM 1. Saving your KOMANDO online passwords on a work computer. Your work computer is not yours. It belongs to your company, and it has every right to snoop on everything you’re doing with it. Unless you want to give your boss full access to your Facebook page, your bank accounts and your email, keep those passwords private. Never allow your browser to save passwords for your personal accounts. Or even better, don’t log on to your accounts at all on your work computer. 2. Sending inappropriate emails and instant messages. When you make an inappropriate joke or an insensitive comment around the water cooler, you can get lucky and have it disappear unnoticed. But when you put it in writing and distribute it around the office, it’s on the record.
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BUSINESS SUCCESSES
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Donations, awards and Chamber networking efforts recognized
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Beck’s Superior Hybrids in Atlanta, Ind., made a donation to New Creations Chapel in Richmond to help with remodeling of the boys’ and girls’ dormitories at the New Creations boarding school. From left: Joel Stein, multimedia specialist; David Sweitzer, Beck’s shipping manager; Kathy Cook, cafeteria manager; Karen Benson, Beck’s human resources specialist; Tim Newcomb, sales support manager; Bonnie Cummings, New Creations corporate secretary and co-founder; and Tim Cummings, New Creations president and co-founder. SUPPLIED
Culberson Ambulance Service and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital donated an automated external defibrillator to the Greens Fork Community Center in November. From left: Sara Jane Moyer, Becky Farmer, Vanessa Hardin, Dr. Jan Kornilow, emergency room physician and medical director at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, Gina Fox, Clint Hardin, Rebecca Heacox, William Gossett, emergency medical services coordinator at the hospital, and Rick Culberson, owner of Culberson Ambulance Service. SUPPLIED
The West End Bank Charitable Foundation gave $2,000 to Christian Charities in support of Operation Backpack Blessings, a program that helps meet the nutritional needs of elementary school children. From left, Pete Beaman, Christian Charities secretary; Robin Henry, West End Bank senior vice president; Jack Beilfuss, Christian Charities president: Timothy R. Frame, West End Bank chief operating officer. SUPPLIED
Bill Hopkins, left, technology administrator at Brady Ware & Co., holds the LEA Internal Technology Innovation Award the firm received in November. With Hopkins is Terry Mathews, computer/network support technician. Brady Ware is a certified public accounting/consulting firm with offices in Richmond, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta, Ga. SUPPLIED
About 40 people gathered for the Preble County Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours on Nov. 21 at the newly renovated Rodney Cobb Chevrolet Buick GMC in Eaton, Ohio. LOUISE RONALD/PALLADIUM-ITEM
Area educators received Make Activities Count grants from Richmond-owned McDonald’s. From left: Chuck Hamilton, McDonald’s owner/operator; Jennifer Thomas of National Trail schools in New Paris, Ohio; Tammy Talbot of the Early College Academy, Life Skills and LOGOS intermediate programs at the Hibberd building in Richmond; Laura Lynn Arndt of Fairview and Crestview elementaries; and Jeremy Hamilton, McDonald’s owner/operator. Not pictured is McDonald’s owner/operator Pat Pawling. SUPPLIED
BUSINESS SUCCESSES
Chamber offers ribbon-cuttings
Dr. Lynn Bode’s office, Richmond Orthodontics, is at 2000 National Road W. SUPPLIED
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The Hibberd building, which houses Richmond Community Schools’ Early College Academy, Life Skills and Logos programs for fifth- to eighth-graders, had its grand reopening Nov. 8. Members of the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce were on hand at 900 S. L St. to celebrate. SUPPLIED
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The Old Fashioned Christmas Festival kicked off at Richmond Furniture Gallery.
JoAnn’s Cafe at 723 S. Fifth St. in Richmond had a grand reopening under new ownership Nov. 4. Pictured is a ribbon-cutting with members of the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce. SUPPLIED
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