Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Another Success Story

     In today’s blog, I am going to highlight another success story of two entrepreneurs that formed their business enterprise from a desire to own and operate their own business when the company they worked for in Trinidad was liquidated. The entrepreneurs interviewed were Managing Partners of Baseline Technology Consulting Limited Mr. Gilbert O’Connor and Mr. Shawn Dopwell. Both men had years of working experience in the IT field in their area of expertise and as this was their passion they made it their ‘dream come through’. The business was registered in January 2013 offering technology services, with Mr. O’Connor responsible for IT Service Delivery and Mr. Dopwell responsible for Security and Access Control. The market opportunity for the business was ripe and the partners offered services such as Surveillance Camera Installation and Maintenance; Monitoring Systems; Physical Access Control; IT Support; IT Consultancy and IT Managed Services.
     A brief profile of each partner obtained during our interview told of both partners being in their early 30’s, having attained tertiary level education to Masters Level in the IT field. They both had previous working experience in their IT area working at a major financial institution. Both partners were married, however only one partner had children at the time of this interview. They both attested to being extremely responsible individuals, ensuring their Business endeavors were properly managed and executed. They were also both confident in using the skills acquired in their specialized IT area when performing work for clients and were extremely confident in their ability to keep clients. Additionally they were both willing to take moderate risk in that they invested their life’s savings into the business venture.
     During the interview it was revealed that both partners were motivated to excel at expanding their business venture. They believe that in the next 5 years their business would be a household name and they have set the goal of employing at least 30 full time employees within the next 10 years. Being in their prime years, both partners possessed high level of energy which they directed mainly to the  carrying out of their duty in the business and their urge to achieve made them determined to win at all cost. They both had a win-win personality and believed that agreements made with clients must be mutually beneficial and satisfying. The partners said they were flexible in that they were willing to work for long hours, even into the night to get the job done on time. They thought about future orientation for the business by familiarizing themselves with potential clients’ needs and catered to it even when the client thought he would not have been able to afford their service.
     Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Dopwell business venture was registered legally and they have been guided by a set of operational procedures and policies they created for the business. They also had a business strategy where they allocated resources in advance to complete jobs in a timely manner so as to be paid on time. In terms of management, the equipment supplied from providers were regularly checked to ensure they were of the highest quality as well as seasonal employees are supervised to ensure they conform to the policy of the business enterprise. Both partners keep their own books for now, and they do not owe any lending institutions. Their overheads were covered and they recorded a profit every quarter since their inception. These partners believed it was important to give back to the community and as such planned to train youths in the area about information Technology (IT).
     The following is a synopsis of Baseline Technology Consulting nature of business and a link to their webpage:

Baseline Technology Consulting was born out of a need to address major flaws within the existing Information Technology service industry, with a view to servicing the following markets:
·        SMB (Small to Medium Business)
·        SOHO (Small Office, Home Office)
·        Residential
At Baseline our philosophy begin with “Analysis”, more than just bits and bytes we begin the journey of understanding why you do what you do and how Baseline can assist by right sizing and recommending the correct blend of solutions that will best “Align” your business to industry standards and best practice.
Solutions:
·        Technology Solutions
o   Software/Hardware sales
o   Core Infrastructure
o   Network & System Security
o   Web Development and Design
o   Web and Email Hosting
o   Audio Visual Solutions
o   Physical Access and Electronic Security

·        IT Management Service and Solutions
o   Asset Management
o   Change Management
o   Managed Helpdesk (Remote and Onsite Support)
o   IT Project Services
o   IT Auditing


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