Welcome to Nik Systems Blog Post 11, covering product development and growth of Nik Systems through February 4, 2021.

The pursuit of excellence will require us to choose our legacy.  Maybe it’s a matter of age, but I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot lately.

When we think about our legacy we must decide if we’re going to build one based on pointless suffering, or are we going to strive for something more.  This is important when we consider what a legacy is; an inheritance, something we leave behind.  What we do with our lives has an infinite impact on the generations that follow.  So, choose carefully.

In my own life this choose has always been clear.  I’ve always fought to be something more.  To break the mold of my past.  To grab hold of a better future that was hard to predict or understand.  But, when we choose that path, where does it take us?

Likely towards humility.  I know it has for me.

How can it not?  Especially when life so often has a way of proving that we can fail.

It’s in these impasses that greatness is found, and where we find pause for reflective learning. 

What we achieve in life is a byproduct of what we learn and how well we apply those lessons to resolve the problems we face.  

It’s a flaw of the human condition that we are so quick to assign blame for our status in life to the situations we face. Especially when we have so much control over the road we travel in life. 
We may start at a disadvantage, but we shouldn’t allow our success to be defined by the portion of the world we control.  Instead, the extent of our success should be measured by the quality of impact that we make.

That’s how legacies are built.

A legacy can’t be built overnight.  Growth is a mindful process of learning that requires preparing for opportunities, charting your course, carrying out your plans, and constantly taking steps to improve.  When we live this cycle well, we build a legacy worth sharing.
 
Thanks for Reading
Your feedback is crucial to the continued growth of Nik Systems and development of the services we provide.  So, please don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or comments.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission to build stronger businesses and a more resilient community on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.
 
About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

Welcome to Nik Systems Blog Post 10, covering product development and growth of Nik Systems through January 5, 2020.

Our greatest blessings in this life are the relationships we share with each other, but it seems over the years our society has tried awfully hard to trivialize those connections.  If the culture had its way the value of our connections would be reduced to a data sheet filled with a table of metrics that detail how many followers, likes, shares, and dollar signs measure the value of “us”. 

Unfortunately for the data scientist it’s not so easy to quantify the immeasurable value we get from growing authentic relationships with each other. 

A fact made clear during the pandemic.

Relationships Before the Pandemic
Before COVID-19, my wife and I often talked about the state of society and the search for joy in a culture filled with entitled expectation.  People should love and do for others for the sake of being a good neighbor, not because they expect something in return.   
A life built on relationships of shrouded expectation frustrates the soul.
What’s worse is I don’t think we’re the only ones who felt that way.  In fact, it seems society has suffered the pains of being hyper transactional for quite some time.
 
The Problem with Unhealthy Expectation
A little give and take are necessary in any relationship, but when managed in an unhealthy way, they produce feelings of resentment, exploitation, and fear.  Positive communication and authenticity can’t thrive under those conditions.
But anxiety sure does, it’s no wonder that relationships in all walks of life (friends, family, and business) felt so strained.
 
Building Positive Relationships in a Post-COVID World
In a post-COVID world the most human company wins.  People don’t enter business relationships with brands.  They enter business relationships with people.  Which is why at Nik Systems we strive for authenticity.  So, when people approach us with their thoughts, goals, and dreams, they know they’re dealing with real people.  They connect with us on real terms, that lead to real relationships.
As Nik Systems continued to mature through 2020, our focus remained on reaching out to others in our business community who shared our values and wanted to make a positive impact in the world; by developing a professional eco-system capable of supporting the mutual success of all involved.  
The mission continues in 2021. 
 
Thanks for Reading
Your feedback is crucial to the continued growth of Nik Systems and development of the services we provide.  So, please don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or comments.
Thank you for your continued support of our mission to build stronger businesses and a more resilient community on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario
 
About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

Welcome to Nik Systems Blog Post 9, covering product development and growth of Nik Systems through November 4, 2020.

Since launching Nik Systems I’ve had the privilege of speaking with a host of amazing business leaders that share space in the small business world.  Brilliant minds from a wide range of backgrounds including management consulting, media production, professional training, workforce development, web design and others.  One thing they’ve all had in common is a grounding sense of humility and a great willingness to share their experience with me as I work to find my way on this journey.

An Emerging Eco-System 
As these conversations have progressed, I’ve witnessed a trend evolve.  An eco-system is beginning to emerge.

While many new business owners would resist this, I find the realization quite comforting.

A lot of new entrepreneurs suffer deep internal struggles with their ego and feel an intense drive to protect their ideas.  In contrast, I have found exercising my ability to check my ego gives me the flexibility I need to move past my thoughts and allow the influence of others to affect my plans; opening me up to greater levels of success and empowering me to contribute to the benefit of others.

Manifested Change
In real time the thoughts manifested through this eco-system have begun to shape the way I communicate, led me to those who share similar interest online, and gave birth to a new business strategy at Nik Systems.
Even at this early stage, exposure to this kind of eco-system has proved invaluable, and I’m excited to see where things go as it matures.

Thanks for Reading
Your feedback is crucial to the continued growth of Nik Systems and development of the services we provide.  So, please don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or comments.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission to build stronger businesses and a more resilient community on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.

About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

Welcome to Nik Systems Blog Post 8, covering product development and growth of Nik Systems through October 28, 2020.

Before I get into the meat of this post, I’m going to let you in on a secret that no working professional or new entrepreneur in their right mind wants you to know. 

I don’t know what I’m doing.


Does that come as a shock?  Hopefully not, but if it does, it shouldn’t.  So please, kill your assumptions and any misplaced trust you have in anything I have to say about the direction and future success of this company. 

Am I committing professional suicide?  I don’t think so.  I’m not saying anything that any thinking person doesn’t already know.  In fact, I’m just being practical. 

Unlike many new business owners, I’m not wandering through the forest drunk off my own ambition.  I know that hope isn’t a tactic. 

As a working professional I’ve garnered over 20 years of success across a wide range of technical fields.  I’m a master of my trade.  But, to date, I’ve gained no more than 6 months of exposure as the head of a company.

I’m a commonsense strategist, a sound tactician, and a gifted leader (at least that’s what I’m told), but the term “business mogul” certainly hasn’t found its place on my resume.

At this point in my career I’m certain of only one thing.  I’m almost never the smartest guy in the room.  Which works well for me because to succeed in this business requires a healthy dose of humility.   As a new business owner, setting aside my ego, and possessing a formative sense of humility, opens a channel for me to understand the needs of my potential customers.   

That’s why my team and I are working so hard to build up Nik System’s Free Initial Consult service.
Contact us today to help align our services with your need or simply begin a relationship that’s bound to accelerate change in the way our companies do business.  We’ll strive together to achieve peak performance and have a winning impact on the marketplace.
 
Thanks for Reading
Your feedback is crucial to the continued growth of Nik Systems and development of the services we provide.  So, please don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or comments.

Thank you for your continued support of our mission to build stronger businesses and a more resilient community on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.

Have a blessed day!
 
About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

Welcome to Nik Systems Blog Post 7, covering product development and growth of Nik Systems through September 10, 2020.

Many people see the first day of the year as a time for new beginnings, but for me it’s always been the coming of fall.  Which has become increasingly evident by the amber flush beginning to decorate our elm trees out back.  Per custom, I’ve become reflective with the change of season.

This time last year, I was hip deep in the conceptual design process for developing Nik Systems.  I gave a lot of thought to color schemes and potential business models, I also tried to decide which skill set I could most readily apply to serve my potential customers.  But, admittedly, I didn’t give much thought to the possibility of a pandemic or how it might affect my plans.  Like all of you, I’m painfully aware of the stark realities of our situation now.

I hear a lot of people talk about this being an unprecedented season in our lives.  However, I disagree.  Human history is packed with challenges and difficulty of all sorts.  Even the sickness and social unrest of today isn’t new.  What might be fresh to our experience is the response of our elected leaders and communities to both.  The pervasive stress and anxiety we feel is palpable and real.  It would be silly too ignore that fact but, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by our circumstance, allow me to be a voice of reassurance.  We’re going to be fine.

We the people of Northern New York, and Americans in general, are hearty folk.  We’re innovative and tough, and we have a long track record that proves it.  Forbearance, careful observation, and unified action are the key components to overcoming hard times.  We’re going to get there, but in the meantime, lets focus on what we can do right now to make things a little better for ourselves and our local community.
With that in mind it makes sense to announce a shift in focus at Nik Systems.

As fall settles in, and the excitement of summer gives way to the long thoughtful nights of winter, we’ll be moving into a new season of product development at Nik Systems.  A building up of our Free Initial Consult service. 

Details at this point are sketchy, but we intend to shore up our free service, maximize its value for small business leaders, and make sure they are properly equipped to guide process development decisions for their companies.
Development of Nik Systems Free Initial Consult Service starts immediately, and we plan to launch the redesign of the service in 2021.  As always, we’ll document our journey on Nik Systems blog and provide updates via social media. 

To follow development of our Free Initial Consult Service, on Facebook or LinkedIn, search #ficadev.
Wish us the best of luck on our new adventure.  If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about how we can help make your business stronger, please don’t hesitate to reach out through any of our contact paths on Nik Systems website or through social media.
Have a blessed day!

About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

As owner of Nik Systems, I’d like to welcome our readers to Nik Systems Blog Post 6, covering product development and growth of Nik Systems through September 2, 2020.

Since our last update on August 18th, we’ve been working hard to craft our Brand Summary and tell our story on Facebook.  As in all our development work we’ve encountered some success, and failure, and gained some valuable lessons learned during this Sprint; chiefly the risk of depending on third-party platforms (such as Facebook) to be a stable home for the content we develop, and the need to focus on owned content in the development of our brand.

In this, and all future product development work at Nik Systems, our center objective remains the same; to produce a valuable, done, and potentially releasable change to our product or service.  In the case of this Sprint we decided to hold our release in abeyance, in response to changes occurring on the Facebook platform.  However, we chose to demo it here for the benefit of all our supporters, and as a point of discussion for those who follow our development work on our blog.

Our Brand Summary
As an agile company, nearly  all the work we do at Nik Systems exist in a living state, so it’s important to note the version of our Brand Summary appearing below is subject to change at any point in a future iteration. 

The current version of our Brand Summary reads as follows:
“Nik Systems provides an important service for neighboring businesses on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.  Modern small business teams face a pool of problems difficult enough to challenge the most seasoned of small business leaders.   Any of which can negatively impact their ability to reliably deliver the range of high-quality products and services their customers have grown to expect.

We specialize in solving the adaptive problems small business teams face.  By partnering with your team, we develop a rich understanding of your challenges, and help align your resources to achieve your goals.

We manage a scalable service portfolio that can provide value for an operation of any size.  Whether you are a solopreneur working hard to get your startup off the ground, or an established business with 20 staff and an active client base, our services can be tailored to meet your need.”

What was Accomplished
The following Product Backlog Items (PBIs) appearing on our Product Backlog were completed during this Sprint (largely appearing in Use-Case format below):

• As a visitor to Nik Systems’ blog, I want a short Author Biography, so that I can understand the perspective and credibility of the person writing the post
• As a visitor to Nik Systems’ blog, I want a blog post on Sprint Planning for development of Nik Systems Brand Summary, so that I can understand the process and features associated with development of the brands story
• As a visitor to Nik Systems’ blog, I want a blog post covering the Sprint Review process associated with development of the company’s Brand Summary, so that I can understand the process and thought that went into development of the brands story

Development and inclusion of a short Author Biography in Post appearing on Nik Systems blog occurred prior to the completion of this Sprint; and the change was in fact released with Blog Post 5.

On August 18, 2020 we published Blog Post 5 which provided a detailed summary and introduction to the work scheduled for completion during this Sprint.

At the time this Post is published we will have satisfied the requirement to publish a Sprint Review covering the work that was accomplished during this Sprint.

What was not Accomplished
The following PBIs were not completed during this Sprint:

• As a potential customer visiting Nik Systems’ Facebook page, I want to see a brand summary, so that I can easily connect with the brand
• Update Nik Systems’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); Integrate a Release Communications Procedure

During this Sprint Facebook released a new version of the user interface for the platform that powers their service.  This change is most apparent when accessed through the web browser of a personal computer.  In doing so they seem to have buried or omitted the “Our Story” content section that would have been used to hold our Brand Story language.  As such, we will withhold this content until some future time when the content is available or easily accessible to the public.

A more inclusive update to Nik Systems’ SOPs will occur later to include Release Communication protocol and internal instructions for provision of our Free Initial Consult service.

Thanks for Reading
Your feedback is crucial to the continued growth of Nik Systems and development of the services we provide.  So, please don’t hesitate to reach out with feedback or comments.
Thank you for your continued support of our mission to build stronger businesses and a more resilient community on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.

About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

By Stewart Nicholas, Owner and Lead Process Developer at Nik Systems

First, let me take a moment to say thank you for stopping in to discover what we’re up to this week.  Your support means the world to us.

We’re looking at another beautiful week of productivity at Nik Systems.  However, before we get into that, we decided to take a moment and touch on a change of direction for our company blog.

From the earliest stage of conceptual design at Nik Systems, our intent for this blog was to document the development of our company.  We sought to provide a narrative account of our mission to help neighboring small businesses across the North Country achieve their full potential.  Through this effort we hope to give you a front row seat to the creative process, and disciplined effort, required to launch and get our young startup to take flight.

Experience is a great teacher, and what it taught us over the last 20 years, is that you’re only as a good as the last great thing you did. We’re keenly aware, being the new kids on the block, that we’ve got a long way to go before we can develop the prospective market confidence we’ll need to sustain our brand; and to get there we’re going to have to lead from the front.  How?  By exercising a great deal of humility, that’s how.
Nik Systems was founded on the belief that we were opening our doors to serve a market full of smart business teams, who are experts in their field and know how to get things done.  We’re not here to pretend that we know your business better than you do.  Nobody does.  We’re here to become a valued extension of your team.  We want to help you see how your business operates, identify ways to improve, and perform better.  To succeed at our mission, we’re steadfast in our commitment to building positive relationships with business leaders throughout our service area.

Trust being the cornerstone of any good relationship, we made the decision early on to be bravely transparent about the growth of our company and the way we operate.  Because we realize that influence and respect are rarely given but always earned, we are providing our readers privileged access to the building of our company, to demonstrate successful implementation of the approach and methods we hope to apply in making their businesses stronger.

Nik Systems is an agile company that extensively applies the Scrum framework to identifying and resolving problems unique to our product development space.  If your unfamiliar with the Scrum framework, you’ll probably benefit from a little primer in Scrum terminology as it will help you understand the information being provided in this and future post at Nik Systems.  For simplicity we’ll provide some explanation in the body below which should serve as a digestive aid reading through this material.  Later installments will focus less on the basics and more on application of principle.  Still, we’ll establish a foundation as we move along.

The Scrum Guide defines Scrum as a “…framework within which people can address complex adaptive problems, while productively and creatively delivering products of the highest possible value” (Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland, 2017).  At this stage of growth at Nik Systems we tend to define our “product” attributes in terms of any way a potential customer encounters or interacts with our brand.  The bulk of our product development effort focuses on those things appearing on the near-term horizon while strategic items appearing on the far horizon remain more abstract until the situation calls for us taking a closer look at them, or priorities change. 
 
Product Backlog
In Scrum a Product Backlog is a list of features or work to be done on a product.  Items appearing on the Product Backlog are called Product Backlog Items (PBIs).  Currently there are a total number of 112 PBI appearing on our Product Backlog.  65 of those PBI have been completed.  47 are outstanding.  However, here’s the thing to remember about the Product Backlog.  The total number of items appearing on the Product Backlog is constantly in flux.  New items are added as the team identifies new features or value-added work to be done to the product.  Old items are held in abeyance or perhaps cut completely as the perceived value of a feature goes down.

Items appearing on the Product Backlog often appear in the form of a User Story.  A User Story is structured in the following format, As a < type of user >, I want < some goal > so that < some reason >.  The basic format of the User Story comes from the Scrum framework’s emphasis on delivering value to the customer.  At times, an item appearing on a Product Backlog will not appear in User Story format; frequently this is the case with some rear-facing items that are critical to the team but not the customer (such as the PBI dealing with procedural development appearing below).

As it stands, we’re addressing the following items on the Product Backlog during this Sprint:

• As a visitor to Nik Systems’ blog, I want a short Author Biography, so that I can understand the perspective and credibility of the person writing the post
• As a potential customer visiting Nik Systems’ Facebook page, I want to see a brand summary, so that I can easily connect with the brand
• As a visitor to Nik Systems’ blog, I want a blog post on Sprint Planning for development of Nik Systems Brand Summary, so that I can understand the process and features associated with development of the brands story
• As a visitor to Nik Systems’ blog, I want a blog post covering the Sprint Review process associated with development of the company’s Brand Summary, so that I can understand the process and thought that went into development of the brands story
• Update Nik Systems’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); Integrate a Release Communications Procedure

All PBI appearing on the Product Backlog undergo Gross Level Estimation (GLE), as a means of assessing the total effort required to successfully introduce a complete version of a new feature.  The unit of measure applied during GLE is referred to as a Story Point.  The greater the number of Story Points assigned to a PBI the greater the perceived level of effort required to complete an item.  Over time a team can average the number of Story Points it can complete in each Sprint to gain a rough estimation of how much work it can complete at given interval of time; and to project how long a body of work may take to complete.
The total number of Story Points allocated to this Sprint is 4.5 Story Points.
 
A Sprint Defined
In Scrum a Sprint is a time-box event, of one month or less, in which a team seeks to complete development of a potentially releasable Product Increment.  A Product Increment being defined as a useable, valuable, change, or added feature, to a product.
As it stands Nik Systems is practicing product development in one-week Sprints.
 
Sprint Goal
A Sprint Goal is simply the overarching objective of a Sprint.  It’s what the team is hoping to achieve in the Increment to be released.
The central objective of this Sprint is to draft and publish a version of our brand summary to tell the story of our brand on the company Facebook Page.
 
Sprint Backlog
Like a Product Backlog, a Sprint Backlog contains several items, in this case designated tasks, to be complete in pursuit of a Sprint Goal.  Items appearing on the Sprint Backlog are estimated not in terms of Story Points, but in terms of the rough number of hours a task may take to complete.  At the start of this Sprint our Sprint Backlog contains the following items:

• Draft a short author bio for the blog
• Draft a Sprint Planning blog post, on development of the brand story
• Publish the Sprint Planning blog post to Nik Systems blog
• Push the Sprint Planning blog post to Facebook
• Push the Sprint Planning blog post to LinkedIn
• Conduct a Sprint Review
• Draft a Sprint Review blog post, on development of the brand story
• Publish the Sprint Review blog post to Nik Systems blog
• Push the Sprint Review blog post to Facebook
• Push the Sprint Review blog post to LinkedIn
• Update Nik Systems’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); Integrate a Release Communications Procedure

The total number of estimated hours for this Sprint is 12 hours.
 
Sprint Forecast
This increment is scheduled for release on August 21, 2020.  Don’t forget to check back to see the results of the Sprint.  As always, we’re open to fielding any questions or hearing any feedback you may have.  Don’t hesitate to contact us today!
 
About the Author
Stewart Nicholas is a U.S. Army combat-veteran who served as a team leader with the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) on Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan.  After leaving the military, he went on to provide over a decade of service to the non-profit industry and founded Nik Systems, a community minded business consultancy located in Northern New York.  He holds a B.S. in Information Systems from SUNY Empire State College and is a Certified ScrumMaster (SCM) through Scrum Alliance.

By Stewart Nicholas, Owner and Lead Process Developer at Nik Systems

For the hardy folks of New York’s North Country, it’s a running joke to say that winters last for more than 6 months out of the year around here.  However, we’re here to let you know, summer has arrived boys and girls.  As if the dry conditions, hot sun, and temperatures peaking in the mid-80’s weren’t enough to tip you off all week.  Gardens are in and ice cream abounds.  It goes to show, not even the weight of COVID-19 can keep our communities down.  We couldn’t be more inspired by the sight of so many great business teams successfully navigating the challenge of the phased re-opening of Northern New York’s economy.

Much of our service area encompasses the many beautiful communities along the St. Lawrence River, and with our headquarters being nestled at the gateway to the Thousand Islands, we’ve had a front row seat as many seasonal businesses have begun to rediscover their footing in the face of this pandemic.

Community staples like Chaumont Hardware, and The Blue Herron, and Duck Out Icecream in Chaumont seem to have navigated the changes well.  In addition, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to congratulate Wise Guys Pizza and Pasta (also in Chaumont) on the re-opening at their new site.  It was a long time coming, but their new location looks beautiful, and from what we’ve seen it’s hard to beat the waterfront view from their patio.  Congratulations on a wonderful accomplishment to everyone all involved!
Despite all this positive news, not all area businesses were able to make a comeback this season.  We were deeply saddened to discover Tin Pan Galley in Sackets Harbor wouldn’t be reopening their doors this year.  Which is a great loss to the community.  Many memories have been made there.  We’d like to thank Tin Pan Galley and its staff for everything they’ve done during their great run and wish them our best in any future endeavors.

At Nik Systems we’ve been making a concentrated effort to support the work of our neighbors in the small business community, throughout our region, as they adjust to the rapidly changing circumstances of the pandemic.  Working hard to live up to our vision of building stronger businesses by developing a much greater outward focus. 

We recently launched a “Support Small Business” campaign on our social media platforms to highlight their accomplishments and increase visibility for all the small businesses that make our area great.  You can support this campaign by heading over to either of our social media pages (we’re on both Facebook and LinkedIn) and liking our page.  Post from Nik Systems will then show up in your newsfeed, when any of our post catch your eye (hash tagged #SupportSmallBusiness), like and share that post to support area businesses.  Additionally, if you message us on any of our social media platforms with the name of your favorite small business, we’ll find them on social media, follow, and share their post too.  Just let us know, we love to see and support what our neighbors in the small business community are up to.

Things are looking better and we’re heading for a great summer season.  Make sure you take the time to explore all the things that make our region great and remember to #SupportSmallBusiness.

We couldn’t have predicted the announcement of New York State on PAUSE or the devastating impact it had on the small business economy of the North Country; but these are the times we’re living in.
At this point we’re a little over 60 days into life at Nik Systems, and we (like all small business in our region) have been significantly impacted by the introduction of COVID-19 to our service area. 

While many of our neighboring businesses have struggled with sudden loss of revenue, moderately lowered or unrelenting overhead, and delayed starts to their business season, we’ve had to pivot our expectations and focus more on education than delivery of services.  It’s strange to say, but New York State on PAUSE was a blessing for us in that regard.

We’re in a unique position in Northern New York because we don’t seem to have much direct competition in the area.  Some people would say that gives us a significant advantage in the marketplace, and they would probably be right to some degree.  

However, it also puts us at a disadvantage in some respects. 

Most notably being potential customers in the business-to-business space may not immediately connect the value of our services with the positive impact they can have on their operation. 
By placing area businesses on hold, the state government gave us the critical space we needed to define more clearly who we are, what we do, and how we do it.  We were also able to concentrate on developing relationships in the area without the added pressure of having to make a sale.  Which was huge, because it made it easier for use to live up to our own values of transparency and authenticity.  

In the short time we’ve been in business we’ve had the opportunity to meet with staff (albeit at a distance) at Assemblyman Mark Walczyk’s office,  Jefferson County Economic Development (JCED), communicate with members of the media and the public, and develop a wonderful budding relationship with OBI Land Trust.
As we continue to mature, and the regional small business community begins to get its feet back under it, the restrictions associated with New York State on PAUSE are beginning to lift.  Which is opening up face-to-face opportunities for us to network and get to know more area business leaders in the 3rd quarter, and we’re excited to see the possibilities that chapter of life at Nik Systems will bring.

If you’re reading this, and you’re a local business leader, we’d love to hear about your experience navigating the challenge of COVID-19, New York State on PAUSE, and the phased reopening of the North Country small business economy.  Just reach out to us through any means provided on our “Contact” page and we’ll setup a date and time to talk.

Thanks for joining us on this journey!  We’re so excited you came along for the ride.  Stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter for up to date information at all points in our adventure.

What We Are
One of the more interesting questions we received after sending out our first press release (which introduced our brand and announced the launch of our new website) was from a Facebook user who asked, “What does it do?”.  We thought that was a great question and wanted to address it here.  But before we get into that, a little rephrasing of the question may help provide some context for our discussion. 
We are not a product, a process, or a service.  Nik Systems is a company.  That being the case, a more appropriate question might be “What do we do?”
 
What We Do
We partner with other small business teams to help them achieve peak performance.

Does this mean we simplify how a business operates?  Maybe, but not always.  The answer is more complex than that.  Simplification for simplicity’s sake should never be the goal. On the surface simplicity sounds great.  Especially in a limited context.  However, if you pull back the curtain on the term, you often find that “simplicity” is just an illusion. 

The real goal should be to do the right thing(s). as efficiently as possible, while remaining flexible enough to readily adapt to change.  When you do that, you can set a high bar of excellence and consistently deliver on your promises.

When your team is operating at peak performance, they make things look easy, and easy looks simple to the outside observer (which is often your customer).  However, appearance doesn’t always equal reality and savvy business leaders like you know that.

Businesses who partner with Nik Systems to engage our full range of services develop a deep understanding of how their business actually operates, are able to chart a qualified path to better performance, can confidently implement changes, and they get results.
 
How We Do It
We apply a multidisciplinary approach to Process Development that borrows best practice from the fields of Business Analysis, Business Process Management, Project Management, and agile frameworks like Scrum.  We accomplish this by offering a five-point service package:

1. Free Initial Consult.  A two-way interview process that serves to introduce our team to yours and helps us tailor our service package to address the individual pain points you face.
2. Process Mapping.  A collaborative process that delivers a ground level view of how your business operates.
3. Process Optimization.  A collaborative effort that employs deep analysis work to clarify the trending pain points discovered through earlier engagement during our Initial Consult, and delivery of our Process Mapping service. 

Through our Process Optimization service, we seek to identify opportunities for improvement, develop potential solutions, and deliver validated process improvement recommendations.

1. Training.  Through delivery of our Training service we break down individual processes, identified thru earlier analysis work, and translate them into trainable tasks.  Then we apply best-in-class training methods to ensure your team knows how to perform these tasks, to standard, every time.  Delivering on our promise to help you team achieve its full potential and ensuring you can maintain your competitive edge in the marketplace.
2. Follow-Up & Audit.  Our Follow-Up & Audit service closes the loop on any changes you make to your process, by assessing long-term performance of the process, evaluating outcomes, and providing a feedback mechanism that informs future Process Optimization efforts.

Nik Systems is a, veteran-owned, process development company helping to build stronger businesses on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.  To learn more about our company, and how we can best serve your individual needs, contact us for a Free Initial Consult today.