What advice would you have for other organizations that may not have an IT provider today as they maybe look to reevaluate or implement new technology? The way we did it was, and I think it was important for us, is we identified our pain points first. What are the things we're trying to solve? Having a help desk, that was huge. Having a partner that can sit down and brainstorm with you, that was huge. Having a three-year roadmap, that was huge. So Corsica checked them, all those boxes. And so, identifying what your pain points are, and really what you're looking for, is the place that I would start. Welcome to the latest episode of Unraveling IT, Expert Tech Talks. I'm Garrett Wiesenberg, director of solutions engineering here at Corsica Technologies. And I'm sitting down today with Jake Hoag, the operations manager at More Farm Stores, to discuss some of the challenges More Farm Stores has faced in the market, how they have approached finding the right technology partner, and how they're using technology to help drive their business forward. So it's great to have you today, Jake. Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah. No problem. So let's kinda dive in, and just start with, you know, can you give us a quick overview of More Farm Stores and sort of the community you serve? Sure. So More Farm Store is a family-owned business. We specialize in Kubota tractors, Toro lawnmowers, Bad Boy mowers, and a few other short lines. Mhmm. Yep. We've been in business since 1913. Wow. So been around for a while. Yep. We started in 1913 at Arcola Hardware, selling steel wheel tractors, and our owner, Andy More, is the fourth generation owner. Mhmm. Oh, wow. And he tells a funny story, about the first phone number for that location was "6". Oh, wow. So our first number was "6", yeah, so that's how long we've been in business. Seems like it's missing a few, but- Yeah, but we've grown since then, we now have five locations. Great. We have locations in Columbia City, Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Kokomo, and Ridgeville Corners, Ohio is our latest. Wow. That's awesome. So tell me a little bit, maybe about yourself and, you know, your role, what a typical day may look like for you. Sure. So I am, my title is the operations manager. Yep. This is a new position, it was established probably a little over a year ago. Okay. And my role is kind of to take those five locations, and make sure policies and processes are running efficiently and consistently, kind of across the board, in terms of operations and day-to-day type things. Everyday's a little different- Mhmm. Which, I like that. Some days I'm in the office, working on my computer, having meetings. Other days I'm on the road, probably spend about 2 days a week on the road traveling between stores. Yep. And things like that, so, it's a busy job, but I'm enjoying it. And so was that position created just due to the growth that More Farm Stores has sort of, you know, incurred over the past few years? Right. Okay. So the growth has been kinda, kinda quick. In the last two years, we've added two stores, two locations. Wow. And so when you go from one, two or three, to all of a sudden now you have four- Yep. Now you have five. We felt like this was a position that was needed just to kind of wrap a bow around everything and tie all, all the stores together. Mhmm. Did you guys have in house IT? Or is that something you've ever had? Or, you know, what what is the day to day IT look like for you? Yeah, so, the answer's no. Okay. We did not have in house IT. We do have some "resident experts". Mhmm. And they would probably laugh if they knew I was calling them that. But we have some folks that kind of are our go-to in house. They would tell you that they know just enough to be dangerous. Yep. But we've never had an in house IT firm or a team or anything like that. So we've just kind of used those resident experts to kind of get by, I guess. Mhmm. Mhmm. And have you ever partnered with, an IT company, before? Is that something, you know, you've outsourced on, an as needed basis or entered into any sort of recurring service agreement? Yeah, we had a partner prior to partnering with Corsica. Mhmm. And that partner worked with us on getting our network set up. Yep. And kind of some of those managed services types of things. Yep. But not so much the day-to-day in house, kind of break/fix type issues. Yeah. Okay. So let's dive into that a little bit more. You know, what were some of the biggest pain points that you were, you know, experiencing prior to, you know, making that switch to Corsica? Or what sort of led you to, you know, make that that switch? Yeah, I think... kind of the tipping point for me was, as the operations manager, trying to make sure that everything was aligned between our different locations. Mhmm. You know, having five locations- this last one that we just acquired, we started over there in January, January 1st. Okay. And so, the setup over there is completely different than all of our others. It's a different phone system, it's, you know, completely different. And so, kind of the tipping point for me was, it felt like every time I had a situation like that, that was out of scope. Mhmm. That was an additional service, an additional project. And really, it got to a point where, having conversations with the previous provider, we needed to kind of redo all of our infrastructure. Mhmm. And kind of get everything all up to speed. Yeah. And so I kind of felt like, if we were going to invest that kind of money to kind of get everything up to par, and make those changes- I just kind of wanted to see what else was out there on the market. Yeah. To see if there were other partners. Again, I felt like we were somewhat starting over, so that made sense at that point in time to go kind of look and see what was out there. Mhmm. Yeah. With the, you know, you mentioned that it seems like a lot of things just were out of scope. Was there a lot of unpredictable billing, you know, day to day, month to month? So our, our billing was consistent. Okay. Good. We had a consistent billing, in terms of what we paid for our services. But if there was anything that we wanted to do beyond that, that's where the unpredictability came in. Yeah. That's where we didn't know, you know, how much was this going to cost, what's the investment, that sort of thing. And so, that got to be one of those things where, "if it's not broke, don't fix it"? Yeah. So we just kind of put a bandaid on it and kind of limped along, because it was an additional cost. Mhmm. And so, you know, when you're running a small business, all of those costs are going to be scrutinized. Yeah. I understand. And so, "if it's not broke, don't fix it" kind of thing? Yep. And then we kind of ended up with this kind of piecemeal approach to technology, that- kind of fast forward to today, we're trying to, trying to correct. Mhmm. So would you say that it was difficult to kind of budget for those IT expenses? You weren't sure what was gonna be coming down, you know, the pike, you know, six months from now or a year from now. Right. You was very much so you're paying for those recurring services month over month, and you're getting the support you need. But it wasn't quite as strategic as maybe you, you know, needed in that time. Right. It "was working". Yeah. But it may not, may not have been as efficient, it may not have been as reliable as we would want it to be. Mhmm. I think the other thing, you know we kind of talk about that tipping point. I wanted a partner that kind of was a one-stop-shop. Yep. A partner that, if it was our phone system, they had the expertise to assist with that. If it was our copiers, our printers, things like that, they had the ability to help with that. Mhmm. If it was our network- you know, I kind of wanted that one-stop-shop. And I felt like, a lot of times, with, again, our previous provider, it didn't always work that way, or it was out of scope, or maybe they could connect us with another partner, or we would be responsible for finding that partner on our own. Yep. Or going to a third party vendor or something of that nature. I mean, that was on you. Yep. Yep. Right, so that was kind of another piece of that. Let's see what else is out there. Okay. So when evaluating providers, because I'm sure you guys went through a process to actually evaluate, you know, who you were going to enter into this next stage of your organization's growth with. You know, what were you seeing in the market? I mean, were there similar trends between all the various, you know, organizations you met with, or anything that kind of stood out? Yeah, I kind of started with those pain points. Yep. You know, what are the things that we're really looking for. And then I just started doing some research, what other providers were out there. Mhmm. And I came up with a list, and then I started having interviews with those different providers. And really focusing on our pain points, what are the things that are causing us issues? And believe it or not, there was a wide range of offerings. Okay. So, I think what attracted me to Corsica the most was the fact that it was that predictable billing, whether it was just the contract that we had in place, or whether it was the break/fix issues, or whether it was the projects, I knew that I wasn't going to have those capital expenditures. Yeah. And we could get some of these things done, that needed to be done. Mhmm. Over the last several years, but we had just kind of bandaid-approached to them. So, I kind of forget what the question was, but that's kind of where I was going with it. No. I mean, I think I think you yeah. I think you hit on it. And I think you also answered some of my, you know, follow-up questions I was going to be asking, which is, you know, what ultimately led you to choosing Corsica? And it sounds like, you know, you've already hit on that, which is just the the predictable, you know, monthly billing, and the fact that, you know, we're we're really trying to partner with you. I did feel the partnership. Mhmm. From the very beginning. I felt like there was a strong desire to have that partnership. Yep. You know, a lot of the other providers had helpdesk services, but that was also a big component. Yep. Because we were taking up time from our other employees that were serving as those resident experts. Yep. And so I wanted that helpdesk- Yep. -option as well. And a lot of them had that, but I really felt like, in our conversations, there was a strong desire to be a partner. Mhmm. Not just a resource, but a true partner in this process, all the way from the helpdesk to the three-year plan that we're developing in terms of a roadmap. Mhmm. And moving forward to make sure that our technology is up to par. Mhmm. Not only today, but also in the future. Mhmm. Yeah. We we've talked about the fact that, you know, Corsica was there to partner with you, and, you know, we're talking about developing road maps and things of that nature. Was there anything else that kind of stood out about the offering itself? And maybe the all inclusive aspects or, you know, just the the dedicated, you know, resourcing or what that, you know, was. Yeah, definitely the all-inclusive nature was a big part of it. Yep. Yeah, you know, knowing that this is what we're going to pay and it includes everything moving forward, whether that be just a brainstorming session- Yeah. -with one of the Corsica experts. Or whether that be developing that three year roadmap, or whether that be, nope, you need all new hardware over here, let's get that project planned. Those were really the things that really drove us- Mhmm. To making the decision for Corsica. Again, some of the other providers had bits and pieces of that. Yeah. But I felt like the entire package with Corsica really kind of checked all of our boxes. Okay. And so that's why we made that decision. Yeah. And so I know you, you've been on board for a few months now. So it might be a little bit too early to, you know, tell in in certain scenarios. But, you know, how are things going so far? You know, has have you seen value or the partnership you were, you were hoping to find? Yeah, I mean, it is a little early. Yep. We're still in the midst of onboarding, but what I can speak to is, that partnership is strong. Mhmm. We meet every week and sometimes we have calls throughout the week. But the communication has been, has surpassed my expectations. Great. It's been really good, we have a lot of, I would say, balls in the air right now. Mhmm. And the team does a really good job of touching on each one of those every week. Mhmm. Giving me updates of where we're at. Yep. The follow-through has always been there. So from that standpoint, again, it's early, but I've been very happy with- Yeah. -the process so far. Well, and, you know, it sounds like you, over the years, have just been bandaiding things, you know, as time went on. So it seems like we're, you know, know, we're walking into a situation with some technical debt. And I think, you know, we're addressing that or, you know, attempting to address that. So. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and some of those things, we can hold for a minute, you know, and kind of put a pin in. Mhmm. Yep. Until we have to address them. And others that we've needed to, we've certainly jumped on those and started to make some headway with those right from the gate. Mhmm. So let's ask this question then. You know, thinking forward, obviously, you've got a partner now. We know where you've been in the past. You know, where do you see technology helping, you know, More Farm Stores grow into the future? Yeah, that's a good question. I think in our industry, anything we can do to increase efficiencies. Mhmm. To streamline our processes, is huge. You know, as a small business, we don't have unlimited employees. And so we have to do more with less, oftentimes. And so anything we can do from a technological standpoint to streamline those efficiencies, to get more with less, I think is huge for us. The other thing that we've just started to kind of unravel, and having a lot of conversations about, is how can we get our different software and programs- Mhmm. -To talk to each other. Yeah. Again, that goes back to that streamlining goal, but I think there's a lot of potential there, and I'm looking forward to seeing how technology can really help those different components talk to each other, and really help us do more with less. Yeah. That's, that's great. I mean, that that's what we see a lot of organizations, you know, working to achieve right now is that, how do we make all of our disparate systems talk to each other? Right, right. And how do we improve those efficiencies, you know, using the software applications that we already have? Yeah. So, this is probably my last question. But what advice would you have for, you know, other organizations that, you know, may not have an IT provider today, or may have an IT provider today, you know, what advice would you have for them, you know, as they maybe look to reevaluate, or look to make changes, or implement new technology? Yeah, I can only speak from my experience. The way we did it was, and I think it was important for us, is we identified our pain points first. What are the things we're trying to solve? Because I think there are a lot of options out there, but for us, those pain points of having a go-to partner, that was huge. And so, you know, like I mentioned before, Corsica checked them, all those boxes. And so, having a help desk, that was huge. Having a partner that can sit down and brainstorm with you, that was huge. Having a three-year roadmap, that was huge. So, I think, I think identifying what your pain points are, and really what you're looking for, is the place that I would start. Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Appreciate you being here with me today, Jake, and talking through some of these items, you know, as you guys entered into that, Corsica Complete agreement. You know, really appreciate your input and your feedback. And, yeah, have a great day. Thank you. Thank you. My pleasure.
