January 19, 2004
Brother act | A chat with Troy Nason and Jay Nason, owners of i-Werx in South Portland.
By Rebecca Norling
Founded: September 2002
Revenues, 2002: $3,500
Revenues, 2003: $95,000
Address: 97 Skillings St., South Portland
Phone: 671-8664
Web: www.i-werx.com
Describe what your company does.
Troy: i-Werx services mostly the Greater Portland area, but we also reach beyond that with the Internet. Our services include website design, e-commerce, graphics design, multimedia, computer training, computer sales and repairs, server building and server sales. We install networks, and we do all the maintenance and implementation of a network ˆ custom software, conversions from old computer systems to new, and multi-platforms. It's just the two of us, and we use a few independent contractors.
Our smallest client is Keystone Horticulturists [in Portland]. Our largest client, based on staff, is A.J. Kennedy [in Scarborough,] but as far as revenues go, The Trade Exchange [in Portland] is our largest.
Describe your company in three words.
Troy: Total computing solutions.
When did you first get the idea for the company?
Troy: The idea came from skills that Jay had and skills that I had, and the types of jobs we had worked in the past. Neither of us was happy with our jobs ˆ there was a lot of turnover and a lot of instability. I had to make a decision at that point whether to take another unstable job in the computer industry, start a different career, or start a business for myself.
I had done a lot of networking jobs and worked with a lot of companies locally, and I made a lot of friendships with businesses. I always asked them, 'If I ever went into business on my own, would you consider me as a client?' I had a few takers, and finally that day came, and we started off with two clients right off the bat.
How did you finance the launch of your business, and what did it cost?
Troy: Zero; we started with zero overhead. Being a network specialist, I had tools from years ago.
Jay: I also had a previous business doing this ˆ Future Systems in Portland ˆ from 1996-1998.
What was your first day in business like?
Troy: It was kind of refreshing, yet we knew we had a lot to do. We knew there was a lot that we didn't understand and there was a lot of ground to catch up on.
What have you achieved since then?
Troy: We've maintained a respect and a reputation that shows that we are going to be here for a while.
How are you different from your competition?
Troy: We're able to come into a company that has no network, put in a network, get computers for them, get the software together, train them, get their programs working, host their website ˆ we're able to provide everything needed to market a business.
Jay: A business image, graphics, brochures, business cards; we'll provide anything, as long as it's within the scope of total computing solutions, and anything in the peripheral, too. We're able to give the customer a total package, which not many companies can do under one roof.
What are your plans for growth?
Troy: Our goal is to have an ample staff and a centralized location within the next two years. Also, we're just starting up a new [division of i-Werx] called Presto Website, which will expand our line to become a web host.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business, and what you learned from it.
Jay: We under-priced some of our services in the beginning, which gave the impression that there was no value to the services. It became a real hindrance to get new customers, because they didn't see the value in what we had to offer. We raised the price a little bit, and all of a sudden the business changed.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
Troy: We'd roll it back into the company, grow Presto Website a little more, and put a little more into advertising.
Jay: We'd grow the retail side of i-Werx, also. Computer hardware, electronics ˆ any [equipment] you need for your office environment.
So do you have an iPod yet?
Troy: No. We'll leave that to our independent contractors.
Jay: We don't have time to listen to music, sorry.
Revenues, 2002: $3,500
Revenues, 2003: $95,000
Address: 97 Skillings St., South Portland
Phone: 671-8664
Web: www.i-werx.com
Describe what your company does.
Troy: i-Werx services mostly the Greater Portland area, but we also reach beyond that with the Internet. Our services include website design, e-commerce, graphics design, multimedia, computer training, computer sales and repairs, server building and server sales. We install networks, and we do all the maintenance and implementation of a network ˆ custom software, conversions from old computer systems to new, and multi-platforms. It's just the two of us, and we use a few independent contractors.
Our smallest client is Keystone Horticulturists [in Portland]. Our largest client, based on staff, is A.J. Kennedy [in Scarborough,] but as far as revenues go, The Trade Exchange [in Portland] is our largest.
Describe your company in three words.
Troy: Total computing solutions.
When did you first get the idea for the company?
Troy: The idea came from skills that Jay had and skills that I had, and the types of jobs we had worked in the past. Neither of us was happy with our jobs ˆ there was a lot of turnover and a lot of instability. I had to make a decision at that point whether to take another unstable job in the computer industry, start a different career, or start a business for myself.
I had done a lot of networking jobs and worked with a lot of companies locally, and I made a lot of friendships with businesses. I always asked them, 'If I ever went into business on my own, would you consider me as a client?' I had a few takers, and finally that day came, and we started off with two clients right off the bat.
How did you finance the launch of your business, and what did it cost?
Troy: Zero; we started with zero overhead. Being a network specialist, I had tools from years ago.
Jay: I also had a previous business doing this ˆ Future Systems in Portland ˆ from 1996-1998.
What was your first day in business like?
Troy: It was kind of refreshing, yet we knew we had a lot to do. We knew there was a lot that we didn't understand and there was a lot of ground to catch up on.
What have you achieved since then?
Troy: We've maintained a respect and a reputation that shows that we are going to be here for a while.
How are you different from your competition?
Troy: We're able to come into a company that has no network, put in a network, get computers for them, get the software together, train them, get their programs working, host their website ˆ we're able to provide everything needed to market a business.
Jay: A business image, graphics, brochures, business cards; we'll provide anything, as long as it's within the scope of total computing solutions, and anything in the peripheral, too. We're able to give the customer a total package, which not many companies can do under one roof.
What are your plans for growth?
Troy: Our goal is to have an ample staff and a centralized location within the next two years. Also, we're just starting up a new [division of i-Werx] called Presto Website, which will expand our line to become a web host.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business, and what you learned from it.
Jay: We under-priced some of our services in the beginning, which gave the impression that there was no value to the services. It became a real hindrance to get new customers, because they didn't see the value in what we had to offer. We raised the price a little bit, and all of a sudden the business changed.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
Troy: We'd roll it back into the company, grow Presto Website a little more, and put a little more into advertising.
Jay: We'd grow the retail side of i-Werx, also. Computer hardware, electronics ˆ any [equipment] you need for your office environment.
So do you have an iPod yet?
Troy: No. We'll leave that to our independent contractors.
Jay: We don't have time to listen to music, sorry.
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