April 21, 2008
The spinoff | Dozens of former ATX employees join C.B. Smith in a new call center venture in Caribou
Until last year, C.B. Smith never considered himself an entrepreneur or an executive. He was a telecommunications engineer with 25 years of experience, and for the past four years he had held a steady job with the Caribou tax software company, ATX.
But in 2006, ATX was bought by CCH, a tax products company based in Riverwood, Ill., and when the new owners began to centralize services, Smith saw the beginning of the end. In April 2007, in the first of two major consolidation steps, the company eliminated 40 full-time and seasonal positions in its Caribou office, according to Smith.
Smith's job was spared at this point ˆ nonetheless, he began to hatch a plan. He quietly went about forming a company on paper called Virtual Managed Solutions, which he envisioned as an agency that offered remote IT support. At first, he figured it would probably employ just one person ˆ himself.
"When I started this company, it was so I could have a job for myself," he says. "I wanted to be able to secure my own future. I'm 53 years old, I'd like to be able to retire and I didn't want to move out of state or to southern Maine," he says.
Smith knew his opportunities were limited in northern Maine. "At this juncture of my life, a technology job that offered as much monetarily as my job at ATX, I would have had to leave the area to do that," he explains. And departing was not an option. He says he and his wife, a clinical psychotherapist, are rooted in Aroostook County, which is where they were both born and where their children and grandchildren live. So instead, he planned.
In December 2007, CCH finished consolidating its customer support and sales teams, and in its second round of company layoffs, eliminated nearly 50 full-time positions in Caribou, including Smith's full-time job (the company did not provide an exact figure). Smith says more than 30 temporary workers also were put out of work. CCH offered relocation packages and severance pay to its permanent workers, according to CCH spokeswoman Leslie Bonacum.
Being unemployed is normally stressful, but Smith's foresight had thrown him a life raft. Within two months of losing a job, he had Virtual Managed Solutions up and running in Presque Isle. And Smith was not only able to save his own career, but he also was able to offer jobs to 27 other displaced workers. His new company, though still young, is projected to gross $1.1 million this year, according to his calculations.
The story of ATX and Virtual Managed Solutions gives Smith confidence that Aroostook County can continue participating in the evolving technology market. "The progress of [Virtual Managed Solutions] has proved we can bring quality jobs to northern Maine," he says.
The evolution of a business
ATX has played an important role in Caribou for the past 16 years. It was formed in 1992 by two brothers, Glynn and Steve Willett, after Steve developed a specialized spreadsheet technology for the tax preparation industry.
The brothers in 2002 sold their company to the United Communications Group in Rockville, Md., which in turn sold ATX in August 2006 to CCH, a company that produces tax-related reference materials and software. A short time later, CCH also bought another company called TaxWise, and merged both TaxWise and ATX into CCH Small Firm Services, based in Rome, Ga. The centralization of Small Firm Services in Georgia necessitated eliminating positions in Caribou, CCH spokeswoman Leslie Bonacum explains.
As a protégé of ATX, Smith says his former employer provided him the best job he ever had ˆ that is, up to the one he has today. "It was very challenging," he says. "ATX was a wonderful place to work. It put me at the leading edge of technology."
But after Smith lost his job Dec. 27, he began calling in earnest the business associates he had connected with during his career. His familiarity with ATX employees helped him deliver effective pitches to potential clients, he says. "Knowing the skill set of the people who were displaced, I was specific in my marketing targets and went after software companies and business groups that did not have a technical support group they could rely on," he explains.
Smith landed a contract quickly. And as soon as he had secured his first customer-support gig with an out-of-state software developer, Smith began calling a few of his former colleagues. By February 18 he had invited 27 people to work at Virtual Managed Solutions. "Our very first contract required 22 people on the telephone," he says. Ten days later he acquired a second call center contract.
Smith's list of people to call included Stephanie Cederman, a 26-year-old technical support worker who had worked at ATX for five years. "I was very excited when I got the news that C.B. was planning to open a company," Cederman says. "It's just the same thing we were doing [before] ˆ talking to people, helping them out. We are back to the little family we once were."
Stacie Holton says she accepted Smith's job offer when he called her to let her know what he was up to. "It meant I didn't have to go out and search for a job," says the 30-year-old. "In northern Maine, there are not a lot of jobs that pay a lot of money, so that was the only concern."
Of the 127 or so who lost their jobs, both full-time and seasonal workers, Smith asked only the best to join him, he says. He had a unique platform from which to judge his colleagues, because part of his job responsibility at ATX had been to ensure that its quality assurance equipment didn't malfunction. And this meant listening to taped conversations between employees and customers.
"I listened to many, many recordings," Smith says. "All of these people were handpicked because of their customer skills and personalities."
Yet up to 50 other colleagues who Smith describes as "just excellent" remain without a job. Smith says his peers had made a career out of offering technical support, and he hopes his company will allow some of them to continue their professional trajectory. "In order to help these people finish their careers, we had to create a technology business in northern Maine," he points out.
Virtual Managed Solutions provides software support to the customers of small- and enterprise-sized businesses, often handling overflow calls from its customers' call centers. Previously, ATX had provided support for its own tax software, and Smith says he's leveraging his employees' experience but broadening their focus. He argues that once someone knows tax software well enough to talk customers through it, they can do the same with a variety of different software products.
His company also offers other technical support, such as offsite back-up services, website and e-mail hosting, and disaster recovery solutions to any small business with a computer network. His intention is to carve out a different call center niche in Maine.
"There are a lot of call centers in Maine, but typically they provide telemarketing services," he says. "There are few that offer technical support for computers and software, and that is the unique skill set that came out of the growth of ATX in Caribou. Everybody that is here at Virtual Managed Solutions has three to 11 years experience in technical support on software systems."
Into the future
Moving from the position of telecommunications engineer to an executive has at times challenged Smith. He says he regularly reaches out to established business leaders in the area for help, calling old friends on a "daily basis."
Smith currently rents an office in Presque Isle, but intends to open a business and training center in Caribou next month. He'll keep the Presque Isle location for a technology center for his servers and communications system. Eventually the majority of staff will work from home, he says.
Besides grabbing two call center contracts with software developers, Smith has also signed six technical contracts with local and out-of-state companies to provide computer support. At the moment, he's scouting for more clients by surfing the Internet for ads and using personal contacts. He's tried direct mailings, as well as approached potential companies "in a cold call fashion."
And word is spreading. "We are now starting to see that our name is getting out there," he says. "In a short period we are starting to receive phone calls from agencies."
Smith anticipates grossing more than $1 million this year and expanding to more than $5 million in five years.
And he has not lost sight of his ultimate goal. "There are a total of 27 now working with Virtual Management Solutions," he says. "We still have 100 to go and that is our goal. That is our goal to replace those jobs that were lost."
But in 2006, ATX was bought by CCH, a tax products company based in Riverwood, Ill., and when the new owners began to centralize services, Smith saw the beginning of the end. In April 2007, in the first of two major consolidation steps, the company eliminated 40 full-time and seasonal positions in its Caribou office, according to Smith.
Smith's job was spared at this point ˆ nonetheless, he began to hatch a plan. He quietly went about forming a company on paper called Virtual Managed Solutions, which he envisioned as an agency that offered remote IT support. At first, he figured it would probably employ just one person ˆ himself.
"When I started this company, it was so I could have a job for myself," he says. "I wanted to be able to secure my own future. I'm 53 years old, I'd like to be able to retire and I didn't want to move out of state or to southern Maine," he says.
Smith knew his opportunities were limited in northern Maine. "At this juncture of my life, a technology job that offered as much monetarily as my job at ATX, I would have had to leave the area to do that," he explains. And departing was not an option. He says he and his wife, a clinical psychotherapist, are rooted in Aroostook County, which is where they were both born and where their children and grandchildren live. So instead, he planned.
In December 2007, CCH finished consolidating its customer support and sales teams, and in its second round of company layoffs, eliminated nearly 50 full-time positions in Caribou, including Smith's full-time job (the company did not provide an exact figure). Smith says more than 30 temporary workers also were put out of work. CCH offered relocation packages and severance pay to its permanent workers, according to CCH spokeswoman Leslie Bonacum.
Being unemployed is normally stressful, but Smith's foresight had thrown him a life raft. Within two months of losing a job, he had Virtual Managed Solutions up and running in Presque Isle. And Smith was not only able to save his own career, but he also was able to offer jobs to 27 other displaced workers. His new company, though still young, is projected to gross $1.1 million this year, according to his calculations.
The story of ATX and Virtual Managed Solutions gives Smith confidence that Aroostook County can continue participating in the evolving technology market. "The progress of [Virtual Managed Solutions] has proved we can bring quality jobs to northern Maine," he says.
The evolution of a business
ATX has played an important role in Caribou for the past 16 years. It was formed in 1992 by two brothers, Glynn and Steve Willett, after Steve developed a specialized spreadsheet technology for the tax preparation industry.
The brothers in 2002 sold their company to the United Communications Group in Rockville, Md., which in turn sold ATX in August 2006 to CCH, a company that produces tax-related reference materials and software. A short time later, CCH also bought another company called TaxWise, and merged both TaxWise and ATX into CCH Small Firm Services, based in Rome, Ga. The centralization of Small Firm Services in Georgia necessitated eliminating positions in Caribou, CCH spokeswoman Leslie Bonacum explains.
As a protégé of ATX, Smith says his former employer provided him the best job he ever had ˆ that is, up to the one he has today. "It was very challenging," he says. "ATX was a wonderful place to work. It put me at the leading edge of technology."
But after Smith lost his job Dec. 27, he began calling in earnest the business associates he had connected with during his career. His familiarity with ATX employees helped him deliver effective pitches to potential clients, he says. "Knowing the skill set of the people who were displaced, I was specific in my marketing targets and went after software companies and business groups that did not have a technical support group they could rely on," he explains.
Smith landed a contract quickly. And as soon as he had secured his first customer-support gig with an out-of-state software developer, Smith began calling a few of his former colleagues. By February 18 he had invited 27 people to work at Virtual Managed Solutions. "Our very first contract required 22 people on the telephone," he says. Ten days later he acquired a second call center contract.
Smith's list of people to call included Stephanie Cederman, a 26-year-old technical support worker who had worked at ATX for five years. "I was very excited when I got the news that C.B. was planning to open a company," Cederman says. "It's just the same thing we were doing [before] ˆ talking to people, helping them out. We are back to the little family we once were."
Stacie Holton says she accepted Smith's job offer when he called her to let her know what he was up to. "It meant I didn't have to go out and search for a job," says the 30-year-old. "In northern Maine, there are not a lot of jobs that pay a lot of money, so that was the only concern."
Of the 127 or so who lost their jobs, both full-time and seasonal workers, Smith asked only the best to join him, he says. He had a unique platform from which to judge his colleagues, because part of his job responsibility at ATX had been to ensure that its quality assurance equipment didn't malfunction. And this meant listening to taped conversations between employees and customers.
"I listened to many, many recordings," Smith says. "All of these people were handpicked because of their customer skills and personalities."
Yet up to 50 other colleagues who Smith describes as "just excellent" remain without a job. Smith says his peers had made a career out of offering technical support, and he hopes his company will allow some of them to continue their professional trajectory. "In order to help these people finish their careers, we had to create a technology business in northern Maine," he points out.
Virtual Managed Solutions provides software support to the customers of small- and enterprise-sized businesses, often handling overflow calls from its customers' call centers. Previously, ATX had provided support for its own tax software, and Smith says he's leveraging his employees' experience but broadening their focus. He argues that once someone knows tax software well enough to talk customers through it, they can do the same with a variety of different software products.
His company also offers other technical support, such as offsite back-up services, website and e-mail hosting, and disaster recovery solutions to any small business with a computer network. His intention is to carve out a different call center niche in Maine.
"There are a lot of call centers in Maine, but typically they provide telemarketing services," he says. "There are few that offer technical support for computers and software, and that is the unique skill set that came out of the growth of ATX in Caribou. Everybody that is here at Virtual Managed Solutions has three to 11 years experience in technical support on software systems."
Into the future
Moving from the position of telecommunications engineer to an executive has at times challenged Smith. He says he regularly reaches out to established business leaders in the area for help, calling old friends on a "daily basis."
Smith currently rents an office in Presque Isle, but intends to open a business and training center in Caribou next month. He'll keep the Presque Isle location for a technology center for his servers and communications system. Eventually the majority of staff will work from home, he says.
Besides grabbing two call center contracts with software developers, Smith has also signed six technical contracts with local and out-of-state companies to provide computer support. At the moment, he's scouting for more clients by surfing the Internet for ads and using personal contacts. He's tried direct mailings, as well as approached potential companies "in a cold call fashion."
And word is spreading. "We are now starting to see that our name is getting out there," he says. "In a short period we are starting to receive phone calls from agencies."
Smith anticipates grossing more than $1 million this year and expanding to more than $5 million in five years.
And he has not lost sight of his ultimate goal. "There are a total of 27 now working with Virtual Management Solutions," he says. "We still have 100 to go and that is our goal. That is our goal to replace those jobs that were lost."
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