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 Many people dream of a day when they are successful enough to move to a bigger home, where they have more room to grow. The same holds true for one area business.
Local e-commerce provider Solid Cactus recently announced it was moving from its downtown Wilkes-Barre location to the former Westmoreland Elementary School in Shavertown. As I put pen to pad, the school is being transformed into The Solid Cactus Technology Center—three levels and 16,000 square feet of open workspace and executive offices.
While this move to the Back Mountain is a result of continual growth, it is also testament to the success of Co-founder and President Scott Sanfilippo. His company was ranked #255 on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America, and in 2008, Solid Cactus is not only going to grow by numbers of employees but in its offerings to e-commerce businesses.
I had a chance to chat with Sanfilippo about what else is in store for the young, hip, technology company.
Donna Talarico (DT): Solid Cactus is moving to a bigger house in the suburbs. This has certainly created a media buzz in the city lately. But aside from that, what does this move mean for Cactus and what are you looking most forward to about your new home?
Scott Sanfilippo (SS): We are very excited about moving out of the city and into a nice spot in the country! By moving to our new home in Shavertown, we are moving into an area that’s not congested, where there’s plenty of parking, plenty of open space to go outside at lunchtime and enjoy, and most importantly, room for us to grow.
We’re growing at a phenomenal rate and we have some very exciting announcements coming next year that are only going to fuel our hiring and growth plans, which are already pretty aggressive. In our new home we’re going to have a gymnasium with a fitness center, a staffed full-service cafeteria, multiple conference rooms, and all the extra perks that have made Solid Cactus one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania. I’m mostly looking forward to having enough room to breathe – things are very tight in our current facility.
DT: 2007 has really been a banner year for Solid Cactus. With a slew of new products and services as well as Davey Awards for design, the Inc. 500 designation, and also being named one of the “Best Places to Work in PA” for the second consecutive year, there sure is a lot to be proud of. How do you feel about these nods?
SS: Having been named to the Inc. 500 list as the 255th fastest-growing private company in America is an outstanding honor and accomplishment. We are all thrilled with that designation. It also goes to prove that what we’re doing, we’re doing right. Our customers are recognizing us as the leading provider of e-commerce solutions and those customers are the ones who have helped us succeed.
Being named one of the “Best Places to Work in PA” is a testament to our philosophy of doing business. We know that without our employees we would have no business, so it’s very important for us to take care of our employees and make them want to come into work each morning. We provide a lot of perks and benefits for our employees, which in turn makes for better workers. We know it’s working, too, because we’ve been given the honor two years in a row!
DT: Well, speaking of employees, there is so much local talent that could now find a home at Solid Cactus, talent who might otherwise possibly leave the area. What does an employer like Solid Cactus mean for the local colleges that have business, marketing, design, and computer programming programs? And, how does it feel to be a “big city company” in a small city? That certainly seems to be attractive.
SS: Solid Cactus has always had excellent working relationships with the local colleges and universities. We have internship programs set up with all of them and we always get a steady stream of their stellar students to come and intern, many who stay on and become full-time employees after graduation.
Many are not leaving this area anymore because they are finding jobs like we have here at Solid Cactus, that don’t force them to go back home or move to another bigger city. We also have staff members who sit on curriculum advisory boards with the colleges so that they know exactly what we’re looking for in prospective employees so they can tailor their offerings to meet our employment needs.
[As far as being a] big company in a small city, it’s exciting. We get a lot of attention from the media and members of the community because we’re so different, are growing very fast, and are on the cutting edge of technology.
DT: Let’ change focus a little. In the Wyoming Valley, there are so many small businesses and here at The Independent, we very much root for the local guy. Can you tell me a little bit about what having an e-commerce site means to small businesses? With mega-chains storming into “Main Street America,” what does having this web presence mean? Could this actually save a business?
SS: In today’s world, more and more businesses are recognizing the importance of having a presence on the web. Over the past year, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of brick and mortar businesses enter the world of e-commerce. Many of them are small operators being forced into e-commerce because all their competition is there. If you’re doing business today and you’re not online, you better get there. People are online looking for the products and services you provide, so why let them pass you up and go to your competition?
DT: And to be really successful, it’s not as easy as clicking a few buttons, right? What are some tips on how a small business can succeed online?
SS: One thing that new businesses need to be aware of is that once you’re online, you’re now doing business with the world. Be prepared for inquires and sales from places you normally would not do business. Niche businesses are the most successful online. With the vast number of companies selling their products, if you’re out there hawking dog bowls, be prepared to have millions of competitors. If you’re going to be selling dog bowls made out of sapphires and rubies, competition is going to be slim, so that niche market is going to do good for you. The more unique the business’s products are and the more they serve a niche market, the more successful they are going to be.
And remember, the Internet is not the field of dreams – you can’t just get a website and think you’re going to get hundreds of orders on your opening day. You need to market, market, and market your website using traditional means as well as being prepared to spend money on search marketing initiatives.
DT: So, we know about the move, and according to press releases, Solid Cactus is looking to employ more than 200 employees in the near future. What else is on the horizon?
SS: In 2008, we’re going to be launching several new products and Software as a Service (SaaS) that will benefit our customer base. We also have some very exciting partnerships that we’re going to be announcing that are going to be ground breaking and will definitely help fuel the “Solid Cactus buzz.” We’re also going to put a renewed focus on customer retention with the introduction of loyalty programs and dedicated account teams to further enhance the customer experience. 2008 is going to be a key focus year for Solid Cactus and we’re very excited and looking forward to it.
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