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A Conversation with Vince Chmielewski

http://www.concentratemedia.com/features/VCWebDesigns0181.aspx
 
 

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Double Time: A Conversation with Vince Chmielewski

Jon Zemke | Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Vince Chmielewski at VC Web's offices in downtown Ypsilanti

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Design, Internet

Ypsilanti

 
Vince Chmielewski never meant to start his own business. What is now VC Web Designs has always been something he sort of stumbled into, but hasn't quite fallen for yet.

The Ypsilanti resident got his start while studying computer science at the University of Michigan in the 1990s, playing around with websites for family and friends. He ended up trading a new website to a local photographer for free family photos his sophomore year in college. It led to a long succession of referrals that has steadily grown into a sizeable business over the years.

"He was client No. 1," Chmielewski says. "Then through word of mouth I added one here and there. There was no intention of making a business out of this. It started off as just a side project to keep my skills sharp."

Today, VC Web Designs (also known as VC Web Services) employs four people full-time and another six independent contractors in downtown Ypsilanti. Chmielewski, 39, was the first person to graduate from SPARK East two years ago. VC Web Designs now has a storefront on Washington Street just south of Michigan Avenue.

And yet, this isn't Chmielewski's full-time job. He still works as a project manager of web projects at the University of Michigan while running his company from his laptop. Amazingly, that flexibility allows him to do both jobs without neglecting his wife and two-year-old son.

It also helps that Chmielewski served in the Navy before going to college, and trained as a tri-athlete. He knows more than a little bit about regimenting his life and maximizing his time. Still, Chmielewski is coming around to the idea that maybe being his own boss is the best option for him and his family. He likes his day job at U-M, but he could now see himself doing something else one day.

"I would like to make this my only job, but I am in no hurry," Chmielewski explains. "It has been growing pretty steadily from the beginning. If it continues to do that then I suppose I will have to make the choice to stop doing one or the other."

Chmielewski recently invited Concentrate's Jon Zemke to VC Web Design's offices in downtown Ypsilanti where they talked about entrepreneurship, bicycling and how choosing the armed services over college can be the best choice for some who hope to excel in higher education.

VC Web Designs was the first company to spin out of the SPARK East Incubator. Put into perspective how much that program helped you build your business?

The space they provide is reasonably priced. We paid $250 a month, which you can't beat because it includes all of your utilities and high-speed Internet and networking opportunities. I am confident we would have gotten to where we are today, but it definitely sped the process up a bit. It cut our growth time by a year or two.

You set up shop in downtown Ypsilanti, a place that has built up a lot of buzz in recent years as an up-and-coming urban center. Where would you like to see downtown Ypsilanti be in the next five years?

I'd like to see more businesses come and stay and some more people to come to downtown to just hang out. It's starting to happen, especially at night. During the day it's a little quiet.

You have a good job at the university, and your own company, and a young family. Have you ever thought, 'What was I thinking?'

Oh sure. Several times. Daily sometimes. That thought comes up when I am doing emails at 11 o'clock at night and want to go to bed. But I enjoy it overall. Otherwise I wouldn't be doing it.

Has your wife ever suggested you might be doing too much?

Yes. Although, I try to keep a good balance. I try to do work from home when I can. Mostly I am doing work early in the morning or late at night when she is doing other things.

You're running a web design/Internet marketing company in a very competitive industry. How do you make sure your company gains traction when just about anyone with a laptop and a spare room can offer similar services?

There is a very low barrier to entry. Up until a year ago we grew almost solely on word of mouth. Satisfied clients is the best way to build a brand. Unlike a lot of those startup web companies working out of a garage, we have a higher skill set than they do. Everyone here has a technical background. These aren't people who majored in English and decided to drop out and build websites.

You joined the Navy before attending U-M. Did pursuing your degree in your mid 20s instead of your late teens make a difference in your college performance?

I would say so. I learned some skills in the Navy that I use today. I am little more regimented. Studying wasn't an issue for me. The Navy teaches you to be more detailed oriented, which helps in computer science. A lot of people I went to class with that went to college straight from high school struggled with the transition from high school to what U-M demands.

Is it a path more college students should take?

I would say it helps most people. In my freshmen and sophomore years a lot of my classmates were in the party phase and not taking seriously a lot of things they probably should have. Down the road I am sure they wish they had.

It's amazing how much difference in maturity there is between 18-year-olds and 22-year-olds. I have often looked back at my own college experience and thought that if I had started in my mid 20s instead of my late teens, I would have done much better.

It allows you better focus on what you're there for.

Not only focus but prioritize better. It seems like it's one of those things the educational system doesn't accommodate for as well as it should.

Some kind of break from the academic would benefit most people. After high school you have been in school for 12 years straight.

How did you end up making the decision to join the military first?

Mostly it was to help pay for college. But I had known for a while I wanted to be in the military. It seemed like the right thing to do. Most people in my family had served at one point or another.

You said a lot of your fellow computer science graduates from U-M who headed to Silicon Valley are no longer there. Where did they end up?

Some moved back to the Midwest. Some just went to random places.

Can you give me a for instance?

I have a friend who ended up in New York City. Another ended up in Florida. The rest ended up in Michigan or the Midwest.

How long did they stay out there?

A couple of years. This was during the dot-com bust. People were getting crazy offers and then they found themselves out of a job a year or two later. I had some friends who weren't computer science majors who ended up in that field because it was so lucrative. They had a hard time with it after the bust.

Did any of them end up starting their own business like you?

One is trying to. The others have not.

What advice would you give this year's crop of computer science graduates looking to chase the start-up dream?

Keep learning new skills, especially in the web world. Things change pretty quickly so keeping your skills sharp is pretty important.

You're an avid cyclist. How far does Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti have to go before it becomes a truly bike-friendly place?

I'm not sure the cities themselves can do everything that is needed. A lot of it is people have to get used to the idea. There is still some hostility to cyclists in general, probably less so in Ann Arbor. It's improved quite a bit since I was in school.
 
How far away are we from being truly bike-friendly?

In 10 years we could have a Seattle-type atmosphere. Seattle is probably the best city for bicyclists in the U.S.

Jon Zemke is the News Editor for Concentrate. He is also the Managing Editor for SEMichiganStartup.com. He conducted and condensed this interview. His last feature was Got Talent? A Conversation with Kurt Riegger.
 
All photos by Doug Coombe
 

 

 

 

What is Inbound Marketing?

 
What is Inbound Marketing?
written by: Amanda Kirkwood
 
Marketing plans are constantly changing to capture the attention of consumers. For many decades marketers have focused on pushing messages out to the general public, hoping that out of the many reached, it will resonate within some. This traditional approach is called “Outbound Marketing” and consumers have learned to tune these efforts out without thought.
 
The trend is now moving towards “Inbound Marketing” in which a marketer will help you get found by people already showing interest in your industry. Inbound Marketing is also known as “ Permission Marketing” because the consumer is seeking you out and allowing you to share information with them in contrast to being interrupted with promotions that were unwanted and/or unwelcome.
 
Inbound Marketing focuses on getting found by customers by bringing leads into your business instead of reaching out to targets. The key is to create content that brings people to your website which should then take over to generate leads and sales. Use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to publish quality content about your products and services; people are likely to find it and become interested in what you are offering. By combining several marketing channels together, your online presence will strengthen and your brand should generate more power behind it. Just keep in mind that success with inbound marketing will take time but bring warm, interested leads into your sales funnel.
 
 
 

Inbound Marketing

Outbound Marketing

search engines, blogs, social media interaction, webinars

ads, cold calls, trade shows

 

Long Tail Keywords

 
Long tail Keywords
written by: Amanda Kirkwood
 
What are they?
There are a few types of keyword phrases that are used by search engines in their search for relevant web pages. Long tail keywords are characterized by having at least three words in the phrase.
 
Why use them?
Long tail keywords are used when the website wants to refine the search terms from a very broad search into something more specific. Often searchers look for something specific on search engine sites and are not brought to many relevant webpages because advertisers of those relevant sites failed to use long tail keywords. By using long tail keywords you are catering to those specific searches and draw in higher quality traffic. Since longtail keywords are more specific and target less competitive niche markets rather then competitive general keywords, using them can be highly inexpensive when using paid inclusion methods. 
 
Every website wants to be on the first page of Google’s web results and because of competition it is not an easy task. Even though long tail keywords are less commonly used, they account for the majority of searches and because there aren’t as many websites out there using the long tail keywords, your site has a greater likelihood in placing high on search rankings.
 
Examples?
“web design” would be a head term,  which is more popular but yields a lower quality traffic and low conversions as compared to “ small business web design” which would be a long tail key word yielding higher quality traffic and higher conversion rates. 

Importance of Backing Up Your Data

Birth, change, conflict, taxes, death, your computer’s hard drive will one day fail... these are some of life’s certainties. Most of us take time to prepare for the first five but what about backing up your data?

There is only one way to insure against data-loss and that is by doing regular backups. I once had a tax professor who made his introduction to his class by telling us students to look to our right and to our left and then telling us that one of us would drop the course. Well, if that sounds like a lot then you should know that it has been reported that 67% of internet users have suffered serious data loss; that’s a lot! It’s a fact of life that computer hard drives fail and if you don’t back up your data, that hard drive failure will take some important things with it. Family photographs, important documents, and downloaded music could be gone forever. If you own a business, that lost information could ultimately lead to business failure, the credibility of your business could be at stake and you would be financially injured.

When backing up your data keep in mind that your hard drive may have tons of files you don’t need. You can select and extract files that should be backed up occasionally, those that should be backed up everyday and those that you don’t need at all.

VCWeb Design offers data backup so now if a file becomes corrupt, a thieve comes and steals your iPad, or your hard drive crashes, you can breathe easier knowing that you still have your data.

The Importance of a Logo

If we were to make a chart adding different elements of your business to measure their levels of importance, a logo would be in the top category....amongst a few other things.

A logo gives your company an image; it will become the symbol of your business. A logo should be well-thought-out when first starting your business. Not having a logo from the very beginning will put you at a tremendous disadvantage because without a logo your company will not have a clear identity. Your identity communicates to your customers both visually and symbolically what you do and who you are; it should communicate that  you are both unique and professional.

For growth and success you need your business to be both visible and credible and a professional looking business logo helps make the growth of your company easier in the long run. Imagine searching for a business and seeing that the company did not invest in a professionally designed logo. That company might later decide to add a logo, have a sloppy logo, or just not have one at all, the business may appear unstable, unprofessional, and unfocused. Think of the most successful sneaker brands, computers, fast-food restaurants, even gas stations. More likely than not, a picture came to mind when you thought of the above listed items because human beings find it easier to recall images than text. Without a great logo it would be impossible for you as a consumer to differentiate one product or service from the next.

If you are not a design expert please do not attempt to save money on your logo by designing it yourself, this could cause more problems than it solves by hurting your corporate image. Having a professional create a logo for you will cost more at the start but will most definitely pay itself off in the long run. A design professional will know whether a company logo can be transferred into print easily or even onto a sign. Many successful companies use the same company logo for decades without any change and that’s because they invested in a great logo from the beginning.

Here at VCWeb Design we offer branding as a service and are happy to answer any questions you might have to get your business on the right track by designing an effective logo.

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