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2005 Technology/E-Commerce Dialogue & Brainstorming
for Business Expansion & Retention/ Recruitment
in Kandiyohi County
Sponsored by the Kandiyohi County Economic Developement Commission
August 31st, 2005
Responses brought to you by Roy R. Stiff, President/Consultant, KandiCompTM
1. The EDC has designated technology services (including e-commerce, biotechnology, high technology, and metal technology) as one of four targeted industries for recruitment efforts by Kandiyohi County. Do you agree and, if so, why or why not?
I agree. Our central location in the state of Minnesota is ideal for acting as a technology hub to upstate Minnesota; yet we are also close enough to the metro area to actively relate to and resource together.
Secondly, we stand together as a somewhat larger, established, and growing rural community; we host a fine college which could attract younger people, if they chose to learn here, and to stay with these industries as we grow together.
2. Is improvement to the local technology infrastructure necessary to facilitate the existing business and industry and allow expansion?
Yes, improvement is necessary. Our downtown retail stores and small businesses especially can grow via e-commerce: they can prospect and then market online; they can attract new customers, new colleagues, and new competition through attractive and informative web sites.
3. What are other communities doing in support of their technology/e commerce industry that you wish our community was doing?
I only know one other community in the United States, located in California, that is presently doing what we at KandiComp are trying to do: they, like we, are a computer services cooperative. Rather than hire employees, we confer with and refer/promote others in our community who have various computer related skills. We carefully check out our affiliates so we can offer the “KandiComp good computing seal of approval”- and those in our community will know their services are trustworthy and fair. Thereby we can offer reliable competitive services collectively, which would not otherwise be available to a small startup company such as ours.
We are attempting to set up a computer resources directory relating to our county and beyond.
We offer special rates for not-for- profit organizations and for disadvantaged persons, to assist them in making their computers good and a profitable experience to use.
Finally, we share and barter services one with another in the computer services field, so we can learn, grow, and keep costs down together for our own profit, and for the good of our community.
We invite our colleagues in the computer services field to join us.
4. Are there any voids in our region’s technology/e-commerce services that could be filled? If yes, what are they?
I believe when we consider technology/e-commerce services, we tend to aim at the high end- the professionals, which we hope will serve us all well.
I believe in so doing that we are blinding ourselves to the already-present resource of “Computer laity”- average computer users with varying degrees of skill who are slowly learning, coming to enjoy, and increasingly depending on their computers in personal and business life. Computer technology is no longer just an interest for big business, electronics wizards, for the “Computer geeky” innovators. Instead computer technology has truly blossomed into a quality of life technology. The average person uses their computer to learn, to communicate, to manage finances and do online banking, to purchase medicines and other health related goods, to relax and de-stress, and to profit either personally or monitarilly.
I believe they would learn more if they could.
I believe they would better protect their computers from the many virulent forms of Malware which attacked their increasingly computerized way of life.
I believe they don’t know what a tremendous resource they have for personal and financial growth in their computers; but rather they assume computers are for playing games, chatting with friends online, and casual Internet browsing- little more than they might presently comprehend.
I believe there’s an ethical way to behave on line which is largely ignored due to the anonymity of computer related contacts.
I believe there ought to be trustworthy computer related support on a local level for all persons- not just for those who can easily afford it, or who can pursue formalized computer related training.
I believe that most people don’t even know what kind of software resides on their computers, and are largely afraid to explore it all for fear of doing something awful to their machines. Lack of computer related confidence is stymieing to individuals and communities.
I believe the emphases which we could fill in our region’s technology and e-commerce services ought largely to be targeted to better equipping the people of our community to make the very best of the skills they want and computers they have, and seeing how far our community can grow as its citizens grow. I’d like us to be known throughout the region as a computer savvy community.
5a. Who our large suppliers of services and/or products?
The majority of the services I need to do my job well come from continuing education, reading, and carefully researched Internet contacts.
5b. Could any of them be manufactured and/or supplied locally?
I appreciate and rely on the self-help sites built by other competent professionals.
Furthermore, my sphere of collegial support is growing as I get out into the community more and more.
We at KandiComp are working to network lay people who are growing in skill and expertise to help one another. An example of this is the online forum where building into our web site- this will be a place where people can ask questions about important computer related topics, and help one another to find answers that are meaningful for them.
6. Do you know of anyone who has contact or involvement with existing technology manufacturers located elsewhere?
Roy R. Stiff, president/consultant KandiComp, LLC 320-235-2701
Jay Bosch, president/CEO Blue Skies Unlimited 320-974-0909
7. Are you aware of any technology/e-commerce businesses outside of our area thinking of expanding?
Seagate technology is the world’s largest hard disk drive manufacturer; they have a manufacturing facility in the Twin Cities. They continue to grow its market share increases. Hutchinson Technology is a provider of carriage assemblies and read/write heads for hard disk drives. They provide these needed parts to Seagate and the other hard disk drive manufacturers worldwide. Willmar is a community which still has business real estate available, a local technical college, numerous technology related businesses for a town of this size, and whose citizens would like to boost their quality of life. Certainly we could be considered an attractive place, with our proximity to both Hutchinson and the Twin Cities, to locate a hard disk drive (or other computer parts) provider.
8. In your opinion, what are the growth and new and/or emerging components of the technology/e commerce industry?
KandiComp offers many services. However, the overwhelming need those in community call us for his disaster recovery- Malware infested computers grinding to a halt, the threat of valuable data being lost, inability to communicate and do the normal business of life via computer- disaster recovery is our most requested service.
Once our customers computers are restored to good running order, they request training- first in basic computer skills, and as their proficiency grows with their confidence, they are hopeful and eager to learn how to do all kinds of things on computers.
Most of our customers cannot afford to have professional persons train them; yet a desire to learn to better themselves is very real.
Finally, many of our small businesses are interested in a simple to understand and cost effective way to do e-marketing.
9. How can the EDC help make this area of better regional technology/e Commerce Center?
We can contract with our local college to provide higher education in areas of computer technology.
We can have ongoing conversation with the technology providers in our area, so we understand the wealth and diversity of services that are already present in our county.
We can be intentional about celebrating that wealth and diversity.
We can ask our local newspapers and public broadcasting to continue to do stories for these service providers and how they affect their community.
We can put a human face on computer technology- we can see it for the true quality of life provider that it is- we can run human interest stories on local people benefitting from their computers (trust me that as these stories make their way into the world at large; their number and range will have the sum effect of drawing others to see what our region is all about).
We can collect the names and types of services of our technology providers and to build an online directory for the people in our community (most local people have a poor and uninformed idea of who is out there to help them).
Whenever the EDC interacts with any new or existing local business, we can stress the importance of their “thinking computers” as a vital component to growing a healthy business.
We can hold and promote an annual “Tech Fair”- perhaps at the mall, or at the Civic Center- where both professionals and lay people can come and show off the technology that matters to them.
We can assist our local schools in promoting “Teen Computing Clubs”- where they could have a healthy and growing outlet for their interest in skill in computers (this might even teach them to stay in school and go for professional technology degree).
We could have similar clubs for the senior members of our community, or any other peer group. We could post what they are doing and what they’re interested in as part of who we as a community are. Certainly we should be more deliberate about posting and promoting the technology already available on our www.willmar.com web site.
We could begin to see our downtown area for what it is growing into- the services and technology hub (if it is true that our retail presence is declining in downtown, is just as true that the service sector is finding cost effective office space there); we could promote and thereby attract service people to the downtown area (many services to not require a physical presence; therefore, customer parking is less of an issue).
10. Is there anything the EDC can do to assist in the recruitment of new technology/e-commerce professionals and/or services?
Yes! We could work with our local newspaper to keep technology related stories in the forefront of the news.
We could collect and post a comprehensive technology services directory on our www.willmar.com web site.
We could develop and promote a clear sense of why the EDC is coming to see Willmar as a growing technology hub.
We could, in our long range planning, develop a plan for converting the downtown area into an up to date technology services hub.
We could work with our civic leaders and with our Internet service providers to promote lower cost, reliable high speed Internet connections for all persons.
11. Would you or a designated member of your organization be a representative on the EDC technology business task force?
Yes, absolutely.
Respectfully submitted,
Roy Robert Stiff
President/Consultant
KandiComp, LLC
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