Small business owners spend a lot of time thinking of ways to make things happen. We are not expert at everything and nothing grows if staff is not added to help move things along.

Twenty years ago, I was in that position.

We were jumping on the new information superhighway and working with a local company to take all the pages from our publications—which was a multiple binder and loose-leaf behemoth—and put them on our website. Guess what…it was not happening as fast as we wanted for our clients.

What to do?

I spoke with Renold Koozer, my brother-in-law, who at the time was a stay-at-home dad raising his four-year-old son in Alexandria, Virginia. He was looking for work to do either at night or weekends and I knew he was savvy with computers. He was interested, and we made things happen fast!

Do you remember Gateway PCs? The computers that arrived in big cow boxes?

I sent the computer to Ren, made arrangements with DC-based Triad Communications, a company expert at putting items on the Internet, and he began editing our new website text.

After a few years, I found the need for a full-time website person in our Akron office. He and his little family moved, and he began his career here.  Initially, he spent hours dealing with the organization of our website.  As the years went on, he took responsibility for all computers, printers, typewriters, fax machines, and anything else with a cord.  In an office that constantly updated products, the position of an I.T. Manager was necessary.  As time continued he now has a great staff and Ren deals with operational issues at the company and introduces us to programs to help with our work—including our CRM, databases for our consulting work, databases for our online subscribers, coding, and pretty much anything I toss over to him.

I know what I can do…I run a company and the primary marketing person for our consulting services. Everyone has responsibilities to provide quality work for our clients.  But, nothing gets done if we don’t have lightning-fast internet connection, quality computers that can take a beating, updated software, a network to store our compliance and research work, a CRM to market, and a calm Executive Director who gets things done.  We are a team.  He is—as Jean-Luc Picard would say—my #1.

Happy 20th Anniversary with State and Federal Communications, Inc., Ren Koozer.  Your abilities and skills make it easy for everyone on staff and our clients to do the work.