Student Computers
'The Big Ideas Behind Small Business'
Shawn Wilkie has always been an entrepreneur at heart. By the age of thirteen, he was already running his own business, selling snacks and ice cream to fans at the local baseball field in Antigonish. Years later, when he returned to Nova Scotia after spending some time working and travelling abroad, Wilkie attended the Nova Scotia Community College Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management program. There, he met his future business partner. It wasn’t long before the idea for Student Computers was born, and the store itself was becoming a reality.
Student Computers came to be because Wilkie and his friend Zack Curry, with their wealth of business and computer savvy, saw a market niche waiting to be filled. “We saw this emerging trend of refurbished computers hitting the market,” Wilkie says, “and we decided that we could create a business that would cater to mainly students.” They knew that university students in Antigonish needed computers, and they also knew that students had small budgets, making it tough to afford brand new gear.
Refurbished computers are those that have been returned to the manufacturer under a 30-day money back guarantee policy. Although most are not actually defective when they are sent back, they are inspected, tested, repaired if necessary, and repackaged so they are in like-new condition. Then they are sold for a considerably smaller price. With this idea, and an obvious need in the market as the foundation of their business plan, Wilkie and Curry started Student Computers in 2002. It was the first company in Atlantic Canada to sell refurbished computers.
Today, Student Computers still helps people get good value for their money through the sale of refurbished computers, but the business has clearly evolved. Wilkie, who bought out his partner’s share of the company, has seen it expand from a staff of two to a staff of ten. “As with any business, it grew and adapted and changed,” he says. Key partnerships with companies like Apple, Eastlink, Lenovo, Rogers, and IBM have been very influential in that growth. Student Computers is the only authorized Apple sales and service centre in Northeastern Nova Scotia, and the store features a full-service Eastlink kiosk. The staff at Student Computers is also trained and certified to a greater degree than the average computer store. According to Wilkie, whether it is warranty work or system repairs, “If you buy something from Student Computers, we can fix what we sell. And we can fix it in-house. We don’t have to send anything away.”
Changes in the overall computer sales market, and in Student Computers’ customer base, have also helped shape the business into the successful enterprise it is today. “The people we cater to have changed a lot,” Wilkie says. While students are still a big part of their customer base, there is less emphasis on refurbished computers. Computer prices in general have dropped in recent years, and through big, brand-name partnerships and affiliations with campus stores, Student Computers sells new computers to the university crowd at very competitive prices. In addition, business owners have also found what they need at Student Computers, and become loyal customers. Over half of Student Computers’ customers are other businesses, relying on Wilkie and his team for computer service, sales and support. Wilkie estimates that more than 200 businesses throughout Atlantic Canada use Student Computers’ on-site or remote services to maintain their networks. “We make sure that their computers are running as efficiently as possible, so they can run their businesses as efficiently as possible,” he says.
Innovation is important in any business, but if your ambition is to expand and be considered the best at what you do, it is crucial. At Student Computers, innovation is in the details that make things run smoothly, like the software for managing the store internally, and the systems and processes they have in place. “We’ve got some internal business processes that we’ve created, that we’ve invented, that we are owners of,” Wilkie says, “and that innovation has enabled us to grow at the pace that we’re growing.” There is also innovation in the personal touches at Student Computers. There’s a live webcam overlooking Main Street which is featured on the Student Computers’ website. An Internet café off the main showroom invites people to come in and use some good quality equipment and a fast Internet connection. They can even view a giant map full of pins indicating the origins of all the people who have paid the café a visit. And then there is the staff. “I have absolutely tremendous staff, and if I didn’t, I couldn’t be where I am today,” Wilkie says. “They are so involved and so tied to my business, and I think that speaks a lot about the area that we live in.”
In his experience, there is no shortage of good people and good business opportunities in Nova Scotia. As a young entrepreneur, one of the things Wilkie appreciated was the mentorship of others in the small business community, and learning from their experiences. “I’m exposed to a lot of really successful people,” he says, “and I think that if I was in a bigger city, it probably wouldn’t be possible – to have the mentors that I do and actually be able to interact with them as much as I do.” For Wilkie, that supportive small-town vibe is one of the many perks of living and doing business in Nova Scotia, and thanks to technology, the province’s rural geography is no obstacle. “We’ve got a blazing fast Internet connection, and we can do work anywhere,” he points out. Shawn Wilkie’s business was built on modern innovations and the time-honoured tradition of developing solid relationships, and that balance will no doubt help Student Computers continue to grow and adapt. When it comes to starting and growing a business in Nova Scotia, Wilkie says, “I saw opportunity, and I constantly see more opportunities here. It’s wide open.” All it takes is a big idea.
