January 1st 2013 marked our 5th Anniversary – wow, that was quick. As I think back to the day I “took the leap” to leave a perfectly good job for the world of self-employment I’m filled with awe and gratitude to those who leapt with me. Here are some of the reasons I think some of those early clients were willing to give me a shot.
Treat People Well. When I consider how we’ve secured work over these past five years, one pattern has been consistent: each contract came directly or indirectly through an ex-colleague. These were peers, managers, clients or subordinates that I had worked with at some point in my software development career. I could have treated them poorly or indifferently (and in some cases probably did), thinking they were of no professional benefit to me. However, you never know when that trainee beside you might become your boss or client down the road. Besides, it just makes work more enjoyable for everyone when you check your ego at the door.
Overdeliver. To stick with you, clients need to feel they’re getting value. Most of us make small decisions all day long that impact our client’s perception. Should I wrap up at 5:00 sharp or stick around a little late to finish this task? Should I bill for that 5-minute phone call? Should I include that extra feature or ask for more money first? I’m not suggesting it’s good business to give away the farm, but be sure to take lots of opportunities to let the client know their business is appreciated.
Don’t Panic. As a consultant, there are many opportunities to worry. When will the next contract come in? How am I going to meet those deadlines? etc. etc. These are the times that separate the men from the boys. If business is consistently bad, you may have to change a few things, but otherwise – be patient. If you’ve done your homework and there’s a market out there for your product or service, enjoy the break. The long days and deadlines are probably just around the corner.
There are tons of other lessons I’ve learned in these first five years and I hope to blog on some of them over the next few months. But these three tips came to mind as non-negotiable. Hopefully they’ll save you a little pain if and when you decide to take the leap.
Fall 2015 WBDK Application Developer Courses
Centerprise NewsWe are please to partner with CGI to offer a series of five-day Wealthview Banking Developers Kit (WBDK) Application Developer courses through September and October 2015.
The Level 1 course focuses on the key aspects of programming in WBDK for developers with some coding experience. Topics include:
The Level 2 course takes students deeper into the more challenging areas of programming in WBDK, such as Advanced Client/Server, Advanced Database I/O and buffer management, Temporal Integrity and Application Inheritance.
Contact us today for course dates and prices.
Wealthview Banking and Wealthview Banking Developers Kit are Trademarks of FISERV Inc.
Alterna Savings goes live on Wealthview Banking
Centerprise NewsOver the weekend of August 1-2, Alterna Savings & Credit Union successfully converted to the Canadian-built, Windows-based Wealthview Banking core system. Alterna pulled together an extremely capable team that was able to convert successfully despite a very ambitious timeline. Centerprise was involved early in the process to help “gap” Alterna’s business requirements with the out-of-the-box capabilities of their version of Wealthview Banking and determine which standard and custom features could be leveraged in the allotted time.
Congratulations to Alterna and the many individuals and partners who helped to make this conversion a success. We are confident that Alterna is now poised to grow and leverage all of the rich features, interfaces, and quick-to-market customization offered by Wealthview Banking.
Wealthview Banking is a Trademark of FISERV Inc.
Valley First region of First West Credit Union goes live on Wealthview Banking
Centerprise NewsOver the weekend of June 5-7, First West Credit Union successfully convertedtheir Valley First division from Fiserv’s Acumen core banking system to Wealthview Banking. Of course, this announcement really represents the icing on the cake of a complex, multi-year project involving many individuals and organizations. Centerprise was happy to participate as leading experts in the functional and technical aspects of Wealthview Banking and the underlying WBDK platform.
A technical project of this size is never a piece of cake. Congratulations to First West Credit Union, the “Quest” project team and all the partner organizations who worked tirelessly to make this conversion a success.
IT spending by Canadian banks topped $13B in 2013
Centerprise NewsFrom Jeff Jedras @ Canadian Dealer News: “When it comes to information technology, Canada’s financial institutions are big spenders.”
“Clients will be demanding immediate gratification in their digital world and banks need to be able to meet these expectations without delay.” – Robert Smythe, IDC analysit for financial insights.
Full article: http://www.computerdealernews.com/news/it-spending-by-canadian-banks-topped-13b-in-2013/31461
Canadian Banking Technology – BlackBerry Bank?
Centerprise NewsRobert McGarvey has posted an intriguing article about Canadian banking technology from an entirely different angle: What if Canada’s once-brightest technology star got into the Banking business? An interesting read …
http://www.therecord.com/opinion-story/4167523-leverage-blackberry-to-create-canada-s-first-technology-bank/
Could BlackBerry become a Canadian banking technology player from the inside out?
Banks – There’s an App for That
Centerprise NewsTerry Campbell, President of the Canadian Bankers Association spoke to the Oakville Chamber of Commerce last night (October 9, 2013). Mr. Campbell spoke about banks from the Customer’s perspective. He focused on competition, choice, security and trust, and finally – innovation. He led off with the statement, “I want to suggest to you that in many ways banks in Canada should actually be viewed as technology companies.” Check out the full speech on the CBA Website.
Many of us have made a career of leveraging technology to improve the accessibility, security and growth of Canadian Banks, Trust Companies and Credit Unions. It’s encouraging to read how much this technology has helped Canada lead the way from a Customer experience perspective. Who said safe has to be boring?
Serious High-tech Business from our Island paradise
Centerprise NewsHere’s an interesting Times Colonist article on the state of the Greater Victoria high-tech sector. http://www.timescolonist.com/victoria-s-high-tech-sector-valued-at-3-billion-1.326590
Quester Tangent – a 30-year-old Victoria company that makes diagnostic monitoring units for rail systems – made the Victoria Advanced Technology Council (VIATec) Top-25 list this year. COO Bill Collins says:
This is definitely consistent with my experience as an Island-based provider of Business Technology solutions. Most of my business is off-Island and even out of province. I can grab a flight out of Victoria or Nanaimo when necessary, but most of the time it’s phone, email or video conferencing. Don’t assume you have to leave the Island to be credible in high-tech business. More and more, we can do it all right here from our Island paradise.
Five Years!
Centerprise NewsJanuary 1st 2013 marked our 5th Anniversary – wow, that was quick. As I think back to the day I “took the leap” to leave a perfectly good job for the world of self-employment I’m filled with awe and gratitude to those who leapt with me. Here are some of the reasons I think some of those early clients were willing to give me a shot.
Treat People Well. When I consider how we’ve secured work over these past five years, one pattern has been consistent: each contract came directly or indirectly through an ex-colleague. These were peers, managers, clients or subordinates that I had worked with at some point in my software development career. I could have treated them poorly or indifferently (and in some cases probably did), thinking they were of no professional benefit to me. However, you never know when that trainee beside you might become your boss or client down the road. Besides, it just makes work more enjoyable for everyone when you check your ego at the door.
Overdeliver. To stick with you, clients need to feel they’re getting value. Most of us make small decisions all day long that impact our client’s perception. Should I wrap up at 5:00 sharp or stick around a little late to finish this task? Should I bill for that 5-minute phone call? Should I include that extra feature or ask for more money first? I’m not suggesting it’s good business to give away the farm, but be sure to take lots of opportunities to let the client know their business is appreciated.
Don’t Panic. As a consultant, there are many opportunities to worry. When will the next contract come in? How am I going to meet those deadlines? etc. etc. These are the times that separate the men from the boys. If business is consistently bad, you may have to change a few things, but otherwise – be patient. If you’ve done your homework and there’s a market out there for your product or service, enjoy the break. The long days and deadlines are probably just around the corner.
There are tons of other lessons I’ve learned in these first five years and I hope to blog on some of them over the next few months. But these three tips came to mind as non-negotiable. Hopefully they’ll save you a little pain if and when you decide to take the leap.