Skynet Technologies

How This Software Engineer Started A $100K/Month Web Development Agency

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Rajesh Bhimani

Founder, Skynet Technologies

$100K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Skynet Technologies

skynettechnologies.com

from Amelia, OH, USA

started May 2002

$100,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

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Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?🔗

Hello, I am Rajesh Bhimani, president and global CEO at Skynet Technologies. We are a digital agency and technology company.

Skynet Technologies is specialized in digital marketing, end-to-end eCommerce solutions, CMS, mobile app development, ADA-compliant web designs, custom application development, and much more. We have expertise in developing customized solutions for small and large businesses, enterprises, web development agencies and firms, and corporations.

We have an expert team of developers who can work on almost all the major eCommerce platforms and CMS. Drupal, Magento, Shopify, Bagisto, WordPress, osCommerce, Laravel, Aimeos, you name it, and we have a solution for you on that technology.

Our headquarter is in Amelia, Ohio, and our offices are in Las Vegas NV, Gainesville FL (USA), Melbourne (Australia), and Jamnagar (India). Skynet Technologies is an ISO 9001:2015 and 27001:2013 certified company. In the last 20 years, we have gained the trust of our customers and delivered reliable and sturdy digital solutions.

Our expertise lies in the eCommerce, automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, IT and technology, and retail industries. We are proud to say that we have scaled to a monthly revenue of 150k - 200k USD as of today, and we are aiming for more!

It started with me as an individual and now we are a team of more than 50 employees worldwide. I feel great when I look back to the old times and thank myself for not giving up!

In the initial time, I was the one-man army who managed everything. Hiring two people was the best decision I made, and because of that, I was able to focus on business expansion.

What is your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?🔗

Being a software engineer, I always aspired to own a company that could bring digital transformation. Without having a strong financial backup, I managed to start Skynet Technologies with the help of a few friends in India and the USA.

Since it was a start-up back then, I had to put in a lot of effort. Yet my friends had my back and together we emerged as a leading digital transformation company. We have transformed many businesses in the USA, UK, Australia, and other European countries. We feel great whenever we hear from our clients about the positive impact we have done on their business. We continuously strive to transform more such businesses and make some positive impact!

Back in 2002, technology just started evolving and I had this very clear vision of working on different technologies under one roof. Back in that time, full-service agencies were in high demand, and I saw an opportunity in it, so I started working towards building such an agency that provides all business services under one roof. A place where organizations would get all their digital problem solved and this is how I ended up building Skynet Technologies.

When I started the company, my idea was to service organizations to fulfill their technical needs and help them grow using technologies and I somehow managed to achieve that goal.

Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.🔗

In 2002, our first design was a website for a US-based company. That was an enormous website with four thousand pages for one of our first clients based in Michigan. They sold dental equipment and different kinds of dental supplies. The client wanted us to design the website by applying all the best possible SEO tactics and that too they wanted a functional website in no time.

I with my time started working on the requirements and delivered our first product within the time limit.

In the initial time, I was the one-man-army who managed everything, but later I hired two people, one took care of the core backend, while the other took care of product data. Hiring those two people was the best decision I made, and because of that, I was able to focus on business expansion.

When we create a website, it is crucial to stick to all the requirements the client has asked for. Because technology has its limits. As a developer, we outstretch the restrictions as much as we can and try to create the solutions as per the demand.

Likewise, we leveraged our understanding of the client’s requirements and operations and offered strategic guidance with technical expertise in the best possible way. Later that website grew to more than 50k products.

Initially quoting the prices was a bit difficult for me, so I visited many such agencies disguised as their potential client. That was the only way I could have known the market rates for such services.

When you are in a business, it is about building trust. And we tried creating a hamlet of loyal customers by providing them most apt products and services.

Describe the process of launching the business.🔗

I wanted to establish a brand that is unique and not get influenced by competition. Though it is a hypothetical situation, the way we are structured as a company has made us tough and un-influenced by competition.

When I launched Skynet Technologies, I tried focusing on the target users’ persona. That was the first point I worked on rigorously and thankfully, things went in the right direction.

Our very first client came through one of my friends’ referrals for whom we built a dental clinic’s website. Later we got in touch with the Michigan-based dental equipment supplier for whom we built a huge website.

There were failures as well that gave me time to realize what wrong we have done. In the beginning, it was about assumptions; one wrong step and we wouldn’t be able to make a progress by leaps and bounds. One such wrong step was quoting the wrong services and prices, which sometimes resulted in disputes, but later we developed a strong Scope of the project which described every service included in the project, which almost ended the disputes eventually.

I hired a few enthusiastic professionals, made our website, managed the finances, and finally launched Skynet Technologies.

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?🔗

As I’ve mentioned, we targeted the correct segment of users from the very beginning and that is one reason Skynet Technologies always grabbed customers’ attention. We always targeted at the right time and right place, which led to highly-qualified leads for us, and that resulted in serving exceptional services to our clients. That’s how we grab and retain our clients’ attention!

When you are in a business, it is about building trust. And we tried creating a hamlet of loyal customers by providing them most apt products and services.

To increase traffic and sales, we tried working on almost all the major CMS and eCommerce platforms to serve a wide array of customers, tied up (and still collaborating) with several new technologies, and became their business partners, for example, we are Pimcore silver partner, international eCommerce expert partners of Aimeos, Adobe Bronze solution partner, etc.

We have gained a significant number of customers through our website and business referrals. Apart from SEO, I write guest articles on a lot of websites, which expanded my business network and granted us more and more business. Moreover, our satisfied clients always recommend us in their business circle, which also contributes a major stake in client acquisition!

Our customer support is robust. We give equal importance to all our customers and leave no stone unturned to make them happier. And as we know, the more happy customers you have, the more success you’ll reap. We have significant repeat customers as well.

Social media plays a huge role in keeping in touch with our existing customers and reaching out to new ones. We post regularly on LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media accounts. And as I said, digital marketing is our biggest forte; we use it for us as well.

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How are you doing today and what does the future look like?🔗

Before Covid, we were doing very well, but ever since Covid hit the world, our business is skyrocketing. Because of the increasing demand for eCommerce, organizations are focusing much on their online presence. Everybody wants to be on the web now. The Internet has become a place where companies are interested in because they find most of their users on the internet.

Thus, this trend helped us, and our expertise in different technologies became the cherry on top. We’ve generated a profound increase in profits and the reports and data say it all. We have managed to cut down the cost by nearly 15% and we are witnessing about 18% growth in our profits YoY.

Leveraging the current high demand, we are planning to expand. More upcoming collaborations are in process, which will give a profound boost to our business. We are aiming to conquer our biggest goals, which we will disclose soon.

We are working on acquiring organic leads, and this is what our inquiry completion looks like, and we are so proud of it.

Do not waste time waiting for the ‘right time’, start now.

Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?🔗

I’ve been lucky throughout this journey that I never missed any opportunity because I could sense the future. My goals were always long-sighted and prudent. I always believe in moving even if it is at a slow pace. Thus, I never took a pause, and ever since Skynet Technologies came into existence, I am trying to triumph over every small and huge hurdle. Because I know success lies in each tiny-mini victory.

It's not that I haven’t made any mistakes, however, I try to learn from them and try not to repeat the same mistake. Over the years, many experiences crossed my path and made me more realistic and determined toward my goal.

What platform/tools do you use for your business?🔗

We are working on industry-best technologies. Drupal, Magento (Adobe Commerce), Aimeos, Laravel, osCommerce, Shopify, and many others. These all technologies have proven track records and help us to cater to a variety of organizations.

Lately, Shopify has transformed its overall experience and included itself in some prominent industry names. Our developers have ample experience in all the platforms and tools that we use to create noticeable solutions.

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?🔗

Self-help and business books have played an important role in my success. I always find some time to read and write. Among all the books I have read, I found Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom very helpful.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or just starting out.🔗

Do not waste time waiting for the ‘right time’, start now and make every moment ‘right’. And if you are focused, then uncertainty is no longer a problem; your focus and determination help you to solve every problem.