Ten years ago, Barry Welch, University of Virginia alum with many years of experience as a programmer and information systems manager, stood at the crossroads faced by many a would-be entrepreneur. To his left, the familiar road: comfortable, easy to navigate—the programming job he already knew well and liked. To the right, a road offering a new direction, with potentially dangerous curves, uneven pavement, and no signs warning him when to go slow or when to proceed with caution. Who knew what lay ahead? Would there be opportunities to accelerate business growth on the unmarked, wide-open stretches of the information super-slab that lay ahead?
Welch’s wife Allison, then pregnant with their second child, felt that not taking the risk would have her husband forever looking over his shoulder, wondering what he had missed. Welch says his wife finally “got tired” of hearing him talk about starting his own business. “She told me that she supported me a hundred percent and felt I would regret it in the future if I didn't give a good try. She was right.”
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Welch launched Internet Databases in May of 1999. He took as his first client the organization he had previously subcontracted for, the U.S. Army, and a full-fledged programming business was born.
From the Army to armchairs
The addition of Hooker Furniture as a client that same year put Welch on yet another new road—one that would eventually lead to a future developing web-based applications exclusively for the home furnishings industry. He spent the first eight years in business building custom solutions for top-named furniture companies including Hooker, Vaughan-Bassett, Bernhardt, and Magnussent. One thing that struck Welch was how differently companies in the same industry operate. Then came the “Aha!” moment when he realized that though processes may differ from business to business, everyone, regardless of size or budget, needed access to the same type of information.
In 2007, Welch launched FurnishWEB as the first Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product of Internet Databases. Designed to meet the needs of any size company, FurnishWEB connects home furnishing partners and facilitates global communication on orders, product inventory, and other critical business information. Furniture manufacturer, dealers, and independent sales representatives who need to track buying, selling, and product availability are among the diverse touch points that benefit from using FurnishWEB.
Two forward-thinking FurnishWEB user-companies include Bassett Mirror and Intercon Furniture. Scott Donk, Intercon sales representative, finds the “Smart Sales” feature of FurnishWEB to be indispensable when it comes to meeting the needs of furniture dealers. “Smart Sales gives you a comparison of year-to-date sales for the current year versus year-to-date sales for the previous year. The information is updated daily and gives you a performance report card on every dealer in the territory. Without Smart Sales, it would require hours of work to compile this information.”
Welch is finding that FurnishWEB is saving time for others as well. FurnishWEB has delivered more than 120,000 product searches and views from its furniture photo library, as well as 35,000 order searches and status views. “We're becoming the go-to source retailers and reps use to seek out valuable information,” says Welch.
With the exception of Canada, most of Welch's clients are U.S.-based companies, but since many import their furniture from, or have strong ties to, factories in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Slovenia, he anticipates serving the larger, global market as awareness of FurnishWEB grows.
Poised for growth
Word-of-Mouth (WOM) marketing and referrals have been the mainstay for business growth. “Many of our customers go with us not only because they trust me,” says Welch, “but also because they trust the referral and references of our customers. This is a very tight-knit community and our good-name is an enormous asset.”
In the past few months, Welch has implemented a social media strategy that includes a corporate blog (http://barrywelch.typepad.com), a Facebook page, and Twitter (@FurnishWEB) to connect with prospects, clients, and others who are fans of the furniture industry. Since becoming active in the use of social media as a tool to expand his reach, traffic to the FurnishWEB web site has increased by 14%.
Welch chose to base his company in Blacksburg, at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center due to several key amenities offered at the facility: high-speed Internet, good parking, close proximity to Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg, and clean bathrooms. With homes in both Roanoke and Christiansburg, he finds himself on the road a lot which gives him time to think about where he, his family and his company are headed next. After a decade in business with 20 reputable clients representing top-of-the-line home furnishings companies, Internet Databases is a company poised for growth. The launch of FurnishWEB does not represent a change in direction for the company, just another mile marker along the way.
Z. Kelly Queijo is a Blacksburg-based freelance writer at www.zkellyqueijo.com.