Culture Counts

Culture Counts

COMPANIES by Dave Szymanski | Tampa Bay Editor

Bayshore Technologies, a Tampa-based information technology company, creates a caring culture to build loyalty among employees and grow sales.

When Peter Anderson started Bayshore Technologies with about $30,000 in 1997, the Tampa-based information technology company was always profitable. But it stumbled.

It was developing detailed IT strategies for potential clients. But some of those clients took those proposals, shopped them around and sometimes took their business elsewhere for a cheaper price.

"In the early days, without much of a reputation, we did a lot a front-end work and were losing it to other companies," says Anderson, 58, Bayshore's CEO and an accountant by trade. "We were working hard to keep the doors open. People said we were crazy to get in the business."

Today, the company avoids the lost-business pitfall by getting to know potential customers, asking lots of questions up front and competing on an even playing field.

It is now one of the most successful IT companies on the Gulf Coast, poised to do $22 million in revenues this year. It has grown by more than 20% a year the past two years. It's IT services revenue is growing at more than 30% a year.

"We are trying to build a fantastic reputation by doing great work," the pepper-haired, avuncular Anderson says.

That comes from taking care of its people, he says. The result: Employees will perform better than you imagined. Good people will stay.

And that's important in a competitive, technical industry where it can be tough to find and keep good employees who are entrusted with protecting valuable and sensitive information from clients.

Establishing a culture

Other than hiring the right people, the most important thing Bayshore has done has been creating a family-like corporate culture, one that encourages communication and even constructive criticism from employees.

There's an open-door policy among employees that stretches up to the executive offices. The company tries to take care of its employees. They in turn give more to the company.

"We treat people like adults," Anderson says. "We give them a lot of responsibility. We listen to them. People won't get their head bit off if they ask a question or don't agree with us."

The spacious suburban offices on Waters Avenue near the Veteran's Expressway include a parking lot for all employees and space leftover for customers. The company encourages volunteerism and donations and does its own share in the community. Bayshore also has a 401k and profit-sharing fund for employees.

One photo on the company Web site shows Anderson in a coat and tie. Click on his name. He's wearing a T-shirt and a backpack.

"This shows that it's not an us-vs.-them business," Anderson says. "I never wanted to be a number in a corporation."

Just talk? Consider: The first three people the company hired 10 years ago are still with Bayshore. Also consider: St. Petersburg-based Jabil Circuit, who gave Bayshore its first order 10 years ago, is still a customer.

"We're a culture company," Anderson says. "Employees are first."

Team strategy

The roots of Bayshore's corporate culture go back to Anderson's roots. He was a professional soccer player for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and played in England and Belgium as well as the United States. Winning teams work together. They praise in public, criticize in private. Personal egos aren't important. It's the team that counts.

"We wanted to build a company that would last," he says.

Before starting Bayshore, Anderson worked as a partner for Megabyte International, another IT services company in the Tampa Bay area, which handled primarily government and public contracts. Anderson wanted to branch out, so he started Bayshore.

Anderson is the CEO, setting strategy and driving the company's vision and mission. Frank Mann, a former St. Petersburg Times technology executive and Navy veteran who ran the combat information system on the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, is the chief technology officer. Tom Kassos, an engineer and former Bayshore consultant, is chief operating officer. The management team is pictured together on the Web site, like a team.

"The three of us work as hard as anybody," Anderson says. "It's important for anyone to see. We wanted to create a company that people were proud to work for. We've done that."

Anderson says that it looks to hire employees that are givers.

"When you have givers, you have a great company," he says.

Competition everywhere

The IT services field is crowded with companies like Bayshore and a host of smaller firms that can offer competitive prices. Like other IT companies, Bayshore evaluates, designs, installs and maintains a company's IT infrastructure. That could include computers, networks, servers, software and more.

But if you're an entrepreneur, running a small but growing company, you might be tempted to go with a small IT vendor. Maybe there are people someone in your company personally knows, nearby, with one or two people. You will likely save on price.

But what if that vendor is serving another customer when your system goes down? Or what if he's sick? Does he specialize in your systems? Can he get you the best prices on hardware? Software? That's where firms like Bayshore have an advantage. It's slogan: "Experience peace of mind."

"It's a little foolish to entrust it to a sole practitioner," Anderson says. "We have 21 people that can help you."

Some of its customers include well-know names in Tampa Bay area business, such as the Bank of Tampa, Reeves Import Motorcars, HSN.com, the Moffitt Cancer Center, AAA Auto Club South, Tucker Hall and R.R. Simmons Construction.

One of Bayshore's leverage points is that it can handle Citrix systems. It would like to use that leverage, and the relationships it has built, to become a $50 million company.

"In three years, we can be there," Anderson says. "We need to continue this reputation we have.

But it won't be easy. "It becomes a challenge to be on a growth track. We're like a railway, we need to keep going and keep a momentum," he says. "We're very nicely set. We need to keep hiring the right people."

How to recover from a setback

• Sell the front-end of your business, but make sure the back-end processing processes of your business are in place. This will maintain cash flow and keep you profitable.

• Treat your company like a customer, like a separate person, like a living thing. Nurture it. That will encourage passion and employees will admire that.

• Believe you're the best, that you can deliver. Be confident.

• Hire ethical people. This is the most important detail. They'll always do well for you.

Source: Bayshore Technologies

AT A GLANCE

Bayshore Technologies

Headquarters: Tampa

Founded: 1997

Status: Privately held

Employees: 43

CEO: Peter Anderson, former pro soccer player

Revenues: $22 million projected for 2007, more than 20% growth a year

Specialties: Services Citrix systems, provides IT services, software and hardware

Source: Bayshore Technologies

Bayshore vs. Bayshore

Bayshore Technologies, an IT services and products firm in Tampa, fields a few questions about the similarity of its name to another growing and successful technology services company in Tampa: Bayshore Solutions, a Web site development company. There is no connection between the two. "We're older than Bayshore Solutions," says Peter Anderson, CEO of Bayshore Technologies. "I swear they didn't steal our name."

REVIEW SUMMARY

Company: Bayshore Technologies

Industry: Information technology services and products

Keys: Building the service side of the business, expanding the company's markets.