Text of the Business Examiner Article

The article was published and sent out Monday…is also archived on their site, but for a tiny charge. I received permission to re-post the text of it here.

Page 4!

Executive
SPOTLIGHT

Editor’s Note: Executive Spotlight is a profile of an individual, business or local industry here in the South Sound. The feature will appear in the print edition of the Business Examiner as well as its online sibling; the BE Daily. Candidates from this feature are chosen from print and BE Daily subscriber lists. To subscribe, visit www.BusinessExaminer.com.

New small business owner ready to provide support
After 12 years working as an information technology consultant for several South Sound companies, Scott Kuhn took his own one-man IT support firm full time just last month.

Kuhn’s firm, IT Service Works, is based in Tacoma, though he works on-site for companies across the state and beyond. A Navy veteran, Kuhn got a degree in Church Ministries before focusing on the rapidly growing local technology sector.

He does wish he had taken more of an interest in the bookkeeping side of business ownership earlier in his career. “I’ve always been adverse to the back-office financial aspect,” Kuhn said. “I wanted to take care of the client and fix the issues, not generate invoices and manage billing. That being said, I now find myself having to.”

Kuhn said supporting local IT needs isn’t what he dreamed of doing with his life, but he understands his attraction to it. “It isn’t too much of a shock” he said. “I get to have the balance between technical issues and dealing with people that I’ve enjoyed for years.”

Kuhn advises others interested in a career in the technology sector to understand that most issues aren’t purely technical. “Have people skills,” he said. “Have patience. Have more patience.”

Kuhn said he chose to work with small businesses because of the economy. “When times are tough, the companies hardest hit are the larger ones:’ he said. “Small business owners, by and large, keep going because they have to. Just like me, they’ve got families to feed.”

Kuhn said, if he could do anything over, he would’ve taken the daunting leap into small business ownership earlier in his career. “I would have gone out on my own sooner, despite the risk and uncertainty,” he said.

The article was published and sent out Monday…is also archived on their site, but for a tiny charge. I received permission to re-post the text of it here. Page 4! ExecutiveSPOTLIGHT Editor’s Note: Executive Spotlight is a profile of an individual, business or local industry here in the South Sound. The feature will appear in…