It's been a while since the last update and a LOT has taken place - hold on to your hats!
April:
We secured additional funding from a major partner in India which has stabilized operations for the balance of 2010 and all of 2011!
May - July:
While our India group was preparing to launch the data entry team by securing a facility, beginning to look for available, qualified employees/trainees, internet connections, computer equipment, etc. our main customer was going through a change as well.
This customer was moving their scanning operation from Costa Rica back to the United States and asked us if we wanted a shot at providing this service for them. Did we ever! It is a part of the overall data entry work (it all starts from a piece of paper, then gets scanned, then one does data entry to get the "intelligence" into your systems). So, that's what we did.
Thus launched the US operations: finding a facility, equipment, staffing, etc. to take on this task. Within a month, we were handling production out of the new US facility located in Lakewood, Colorado. Our highest volume day so far has been over 6,000 scans in one day, with expected volumes as high as 15,000 per day. The US ops has 4 employees at this time and we expect to add 3 or 4 more part time folks over the next several months.
Meanwhile back in India:
At this same time, the India team was hired and training began there as well, now in their third week of training with 5 data entry technicians. The team is working with "real" data and images and is excited to be close to doing real production in a week or two.
So, both India and the US operations are underway and growing in capabilities, service quality, knowledge, and all the necessary things businesses do to be a great business partner. The balance of 2010 will be improving our capabilities and service quality as well as our capacity - adding more employees to handle larger volumes of work.
Our major customer has also asked us to look at providing data entry services out of China, which we are investigating. So, perhaps a year from now we'll also be reporting on our new China facility! ;-)
Thank you for your support and encouragement throughout this process of establishing this business not only for the Dalit's of India, but others across the globe and now even in Lakewood, Colorado! Come by and visit our operations if you're close by! I'd love to have you over and give you the nickle tour!
Steve
Monday, August 9, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Business Update
So, perhaps you do know, but starting a business is no simple task... It all starts with defining what you're going to do and who are the potential, "paying" customers. This is sort of where we are.
We have defined our market to be Nonprofit Organizations, with annual Income (contributions) of between $1M and $10M. Did you know there are over 1M Nonprofits in the US? Well, there are more than 60,000 in our target market. Quite amazing! No surprize, most of the 1M Nonprofits are less than $1M!
So then, WHAT are we going to do for these?
We will do two main things for this group of organizations:
A typical Nonprofit processes more than a thousand checks each and every month. We want to help them first, automate and try to get those writing checks to do so in an automatic manner so they don't have to send in that check - and save that $.50 stamp. But, for those who continue choosing to mail in a check each month, we want to automate that part of the process too. It's really not that hard and it is very secure, contrary to what people used to think or still do.
Also, we all know the stories of Nonprofits either NOT sending a thank you for a donors contribution or sending something every month, or even more often, thereby frustrating the donor into not wanting to give to that organization any longer. Well, this is what our "Donor Opt-In Portal" does for a Donor.
We let the Donor choose which communications they want (like Newsletters, "Cause" News, Financial Reports, etc.) and how they want them (like print or email). We then help the Nonprofit execute on their selections and honor those requests, even if they choose to receive nothing at all.
So, that's what we are building...
Once we have the product and service complete, then we can approach prospective Nonprofits with the story of saving them money and increasing their donors appreciation of the organization. We call this client retention. If just 1 or 2% remain as donors than those who leave, that is a big change for an organization. We believe helping Nonprofits treat their Donors better and with more respect will increase this much more than 2%.
So, stay tuned to our next posting and hopefully we will have some stories and successes to tell you about.
Until next time...
Steve
We have defined our market to be Nonprofit Organizations, with annual Income (contributions) of between $1M and $10M. Did you know there are over 1M Nonprofits in the US? Well, there are more than 60,000 in our target market. Quite amazing! No surprize, most of the 1M Nonprofits are less than $1M!
So then, WHAT are we going to do for these?
We will do two main things for this group of organizations:
1) Help Nonprofits process checks! We know they receive a lot of them.For example:
2) Help Donors choose HOW they want Nonprofits to communicate with them.
A typical Nonprofit processes more than a thousand checks each and every month. We want to help them first, automate and try to get those writing checks to do so in an automatic manner so they don't have to send in that check - and save that $.50 stamp. But, for those who continue choosing to mail in a check each month, we want to automate that part of the process too. It's really not that hard and it is very secure, contrary to what people used to think or still do.
Also, we all know the stories of Nonprofits either NOT sending a thank you for a donors contribution or sending something every month, or even more often, thereby frustrating the donor into not wanting to give to that organization any longer. Well, this is what our "Donor Opt-In Portal" does for a Donor.
We let the Donor choose which communications they want (like Newsletters, "Cause" News, Financial Reports, etc.) and how they want them (like print or email). We then help the Nonprofit execute on their selections and honor those requests, even if they choose to receive nothing at all.
So, that's what we are building...
Once we have the product and service complete, then we can approach prospective Nonprofits with the story of saving them money and increasing their donors appreciation of the organization. We call this client retention. If just 1 or 2% remain as donors than those who leave, that is a big change for an organization. We believe helping Nonprofits treat their Donors better and with more respect will increase this much more than 2%.
So, stay tuned to our next posting and hopefully we will have some stories and successes to tell you about.
Until next time...
Steve
Monday, January 11, 2010
International Human Trafficing Month - Please JOIN ME!
Here's news that's worthy of promoting! Please join me in this global fight! This is from the Dalit Freedom Network.........................
President Obama has declared today, January 11, as International Human Trafficking Awareness Day
and the start of a month-long, nationwide human trafficking awareness campaign: National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The campaign ends on February 12, 2010, Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
The State Department estimates that 14,500-17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year for modern-day slavery. These numbers do not reflect the estimated 100,000 minors that are trafficked within U.S. borders into prostitution, or the uncounted individuals that never receive services or law enforcement intervention.
Former ambassadors of the Trafficking in Persons Office at the U.S. State Department, Mark Logan, wrote in 2007 that the largest democracy in the world has the largest number of bonded slaves. On November 15, 2008, in New Delhi, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, the Honorable Justice K.G. Balakrishan, stated in a public address, "The scourge of human trafficking needs no introduction. Every year, millions of individuals are trafficked all over the world and are coerced into living conditions that amount to slavery, forced labor and servitude." At the same event, the Honorable Dr. Justice Arijit Pasayat of the Supreme Court of India stated that there was no bigger problem in India today than human trafficking. Also in May 2009, India's Home Secretary, Madhukar Gupta, remarked that at least 100 million people were involved in human trafficking in India. A statement from the Central Bureau of Investigation added that "studies and surveys sponsored by the Ministry of Women and Child Development estimate that there are about 3 million prostitutes in the country, of which an estimated 40% or 1.2 million, are children."
The U.S. can play an essential and constructive role in helping to empower the Indian government to implement its anti-slavery and anti-child labor laws.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against human trafficking on December 2, 2009, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, stating, "Modern slavery is a global phenomenon and must be addressed with global partnerships between governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society. Through new partnerships, the United States and the international community will work to rescue and serve survivors, bring traffickers to justice, and create a world where every person has the freedom and opportunity to fulfill his or her God-given potential."
The Social Justice Department of Dalit Freedom Network began its work in Washington, D.C. in 2003. In the last 7 years, DFN has become the leading justice voice for the Dalits in our nation's capital. A dedicated team continues to educate, advocate, and push for legislation to end Dalit trafficking and make slavery history in India. To learn more, contact socialjustice@dalitnetwork.org
To take a stand against Dalit trafficking in India, you can:
• Spread the word (or invite me to your church, school, business to tell their story)
• Tweet to your friends about National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month (follow us on www.twitter.com/dalitnetwork) or my twitter (www.twitter.com/myconnectiontec)
• Send out a MySpace bulletin using the info in this email
• Donate $50 to DFN's work of Social Justice by going to: http://www.dalitnetwork.org/go?/dfn/donate and select Social Justice. or
• Donate IDEAS' work of Employing the Dalit's of India by going to: http://www.ideasworld.org/give then click "click here to give online" and put Business Development in the notes of your donation.
A donation of $50 allows us to employ one Dalit for a week. Employment is one of the KEY missing pieces in the long liturgy of issues among the very poor.
Thank you,
Steve Durgin
President Obama has declared today, January 11, as International Human Trafficking Awareness Day
and the start of a month-long, nationwide human trafficking awareness campaign: National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The campaign ends on February 12, 2010, Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
The State Department estimates that 14,500-17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year for modern-day slavery. These numbers do not reflect the estimated 100,000 minors that are trafficked within U.S. borders into prostitution, or the uncounted individuals that never receive services or law enforcement intervention.
Former ambassadors of the Trafficking in Persons Office at the U.S. State Department, Mark Logan, wrote in 2007 that the largest democracy in the world has the largest number of bonded slaves. On November 15, 2008, in New Delhi, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, the Honorable Justice K.G. Balakrishan, stated in a public address, "The scourge of human trafficking needs no introduction. Every year, millions of individuals are trafficked all over the world and are coerced into living conditions that amount to slavery, forced labor and servitude." At the same event, the Honorable Dr. Justice Arijit Pasayat of the Supreme Court of India stated that there was no bigger problem in India today than human trafficking. Also in May 2009, India's Home Secretary, Madhukar Gupta, remarked that at least 100 million people were involved in human trafficking in India. A statement from the Central Bureau of Investigation added that "studies and surveys sponsored by the Ministry of Women and Child Development estimate that there are about 3 million prostitutes in the country, of which an estimated 40% or 1.2 million, are children."
The numbers in India are far more staggering
The U.S. can play an essential and constructive role in helping to empower the Indian government to implement its anti-slavery and anti-child labor laws.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against human trafficking on December 2, 2009, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, stating, "Modern slavery is a global phenomenon and must be addressed with global partnerships between governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society. Through new partnerships, the United States and the international community will work to rescue and serve survivors, bring traffickers to justice, and create a world where every person has the freedom and opportunity to fulfill his or her God-given potential."
The Social Justice Department of Dalit Freedom Network began its work in Washington, D.C. in 2003. In the last 7 years, DFN has become the leading justice voice for the Dalits in our nation's capital. A dedicated team continues to educate, advocate, and push for legislation to end Dalit trafficking and make slavery history in India. To learn more, contact socialjustice@dalitnetwork.org
To take a stand against Dalit trafficking in India, you can:
• Spread the word (or invite me to your church, school, business to tell their story)
• Tweet to your friends about National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month (follow us on www.twitter.com/dalitnetwork) or my twitter (www.twitter.com/myconnectiontec)
• Send out a MySpace bulletin using the info in this email
• Donate $50 to DFN's work of Social Justice by going to: http://www.dalitnetwork.org/go?/dfn/donate and select Social Justice. or
• Donate IDEAS' work of Employing the Dalit's of India by going to: http://www.ideasworld.org/give then click "click here to give online" and put Business Development in the notes of your donation.
A donation of $50 allows us to employ one Dalit for a week. Employment is one of the KEY missing pieces in the long liturgy of issues among the very poor.
Thank you,
Steve Durgin
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