Electrical CAD Specialist

Exploring Credentials vs. Personal Qualities

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:48:00 +0000

I’ve been thinking a lot about my past in what I could have done differently, especially with regards to education (who hasn’t in some way I suppose). In the context of today, sometimes I wonder if formal education could be considered a sales tool for an entrepreneur. I consider myself more of a self-taught skilled person, and in combination with the talents I have been given, can do some pretty great things.

I’ve been frustrated in the past with some people I encountered, with a very high level of education, but in a subtle way, lacked some kind of intangible quality. I suspect that there are many people with the most basic level of education, possessing this intangible quality in a huge way. Do you know what I mean?

During my downtime, sometimes I use StumbleUpon to explore entrepreneurial material. Yesterday I came across very interesting article that is related to this topic:

http://www.paulgraham.com/credentials.html

The article speaks about the historical use of credentials in the workplace, and its relation to academia. Particularly in large companies, the performance an employee is hard to gauge, therefore credentials are used as a yardstick to measure future success of a new employee.

However, in a small company this does not work. If the person does not have that ‘intangible quality’ that I mentioned.

Furthermore, if you are a one person company, a freelancer, or any other situation where your talents (or lack of!) are in the spotlight, this phenomenon is accentuated even further. If you lack that intangible quality, it will become evident very quickly.

The article closes with the suggestion about the emerging type of marketplace, a new era based on measurement. The new model has advanced rapidly because it works so much better, and it shows no sign of slowing.

Stretching Yourself in a Challenging Economy

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Lately I've been struggling with finding work to do. But sometimes this can be a way to explore new ways to make a living. If I pursued all of the things I am doing now, and things in the economy turn around, I would likely be too busy.

As it is now, there are signs of economic recovery in some of my activities. Projects that were on hold because of the economy are now back in action. It is surprising how I've been affected economically by H1N1, GMs struggles, and the other world events all have a similar impact as well.

Being in business for yourself makes you appreciate and realize what impact these events has on the bottom line. When I was employed by someone else, I did not fully grasp how that comes into play.

I also have the agility now, to shape my future as I see it, and adapt to situations like the ones mentioned. The challenge for big companies is to stay afloat, and can rarely act in that manner. I am so grateful I can do what I do!

Seven Reasons to Use Electrical CAD

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:57:00 +0000

The specifics of the main reasons to use Electrical CAD are summarized in a short video I made on the subject, which has been updated to show actual clips of the software in action:

Seven Reasons to Use Electrical CAD (YouTube)

Of course, seeing these points being demonstrated live or online is much more informative and interactive. The products I offer either involve a trial, or a live or online demo (depending on geography). This gives an opportunity to specifically determine how the software will be a benefit.

Get Electrical CAD software like you rent or lease a car

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:35:00 +0000

In a previous blog posting Electrical CAD in a Recession I talked about using SEE Freedom as a way to finance the purchase of SEE Electrical (click brochure pdf):

"One of the new answers to a cash flow challenge is the emergence of new software plans. These plans allow you to pay a monthly fee for using the software. A great example of such a plan is a new one I've just been made aware of, called SEE Freedom from the company IGE+XAO."

The software comes in a few levels, with options that you can change as you go along. I have link to a shopping page with prices , and download link (or request a CD) to try out out the software, along with technical details of the software and the software company. If you're interested in Electrical CAD, and you are looking for a better solution, try it out!

Being a Self-Employed CAD Designer

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:49:00 +0000

So, I've been a self-employed CAD Designer for a little over a year. What have I learned? Here are seven things that any new business entrepreneur should know:

1) When you start out, you have a great idea about how you are going to go about your business. I had several: I was going to sell software, provide services to implement. I was going to design electrical control systems for other companies. Often, you will discover that what you thought in your gut was several great ideas, either don't materialize, or they go WAY slower than you thought. Be prepared to redirect, or even drop ideas, that are part of your business plan.

2) Always look around for new opportunities and new people to work with, even when you are busy. Before you know it, your existing work will be finished. Even if you did a lot of business, a few weeks of languishing will decimate your bottom line. This becomes easier with experience. Bring to the forefront those new items that are within the scope of your business, as new features or services that you offer.

3) Being a new entrepreneur means that the big ideas that you have, may take time to come to fruition. Make sure you can find new things to supplement your grandiose ideas, with some cash flow in the short term. Downplay the work that doesn't fit within the scope of your business plan, unless you are willing to either expand your business plan definition. If you feel that your company image may get too diluted, start an new second business if you think it has potential to be successful.

4) Balance the need for cash flow, while still working on your long term goals. Visualizing a balancing scale, working too much on one or the other, will give you problems in the development of your business. Working too much on short-term goals will make you feel too much like an employee, and while only working on long term goals is fun, it doesn't help the bottom line. You should feel it in your gut, if you are going too far to one side or the other.

5) When dealing with a new customer, or even with a new product or service with an existing client, make sure that you have the financial understanding of what will happen. Define the terms of your working relationship as much as possible. The worst thing that can occur in a business relationship is an unforeseen negative.

6) Be prepared to sell yourself to others. People will not just knock at your door and ask you to do work for them. You have to create the opportunity for them to realize that they need you to do some specific work for them, and then you can talk working terms.

7) Make sure you take time for yourself. I made the mistake of abandoning some of my personal activities because I thought that's what I had to do. Remember that sometimes you are having so much fun doing what you love, you are doing work when you don't even realize it. Don't be too hard on yourself if after a long night finishing a task, that you sleep in, or go at a slower pace a bit the next day. Don't discount reading relevant material, and even thinking about your business, as not qualifying as actual work.

This is my experience. Any thoughts? Please share your experiences too...

Electrical CAD in a recession

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Why would one consider Electrical CAD in a recession? There are probably more reasons than you think.

There are many companies who are trying to stay in business by reducing staff, in reaction to their shrinking list of orders. Just imagine those serving the automotive sector, and you can guess what kind of state they may be in. How does your skeleton staff handle the orders now? How will they handle it in the future, when things pick up? It will pick up.

You are trying to hold on to your salaried employees, and they may even be looking for things to do. Things are slow. Why not try out an electrical CAD package to see if it is a good fit for the company? Maybe this is just the answer to handling the work when things pick up. It will pick up.

One of the new answers to a cash flow challenge is the emergence of new software plans. These plans allow you to pay a monthly fee for using the software. A great example of such a plan is a new one I've just been made aware of, called SEE Freedom from the company IGE+XAO.

SEE Freedom allows you the customer to use the software for a monthly fee, which includes use of the software, access to the latest version, and a maintenance contract (help hot-line, major and minor software releases). Imagine an increased financial visibility due to a pre-set monthly fee allowing your borrowing capacity and cash flow to remain intact. This should make the CFO more comfortable!

I heard this little gem about crisis, which fits well with the current economic times:

Richard Nixon told reporters when returning from his celebrated visit to China. “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word crisis. One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.”

Don't worry, things will pick up. Just be ready.

Electrical CAD Standalone vs. CAD Add-on

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:22:00 +0000

One of the main topics when exploring Electrical CAD is whether to use a standalone product or an add-on to an existing CAD system. There are many reasons why I believe a standalone product is the way to go.

First of all, let's look at the history of a CAD software company like AutoCAD. I don't mean to pick on it, but it is the standard for CAD. CAD was originally designed for mechanical and structural diciplines, and they found many new uses for CAD, specifically electrical schematics. Many companies went on to create add-ons to AutoCAD for electrical purposes.

Several of those companies, created parallel standalone products while developing the add-ons. After some time, it was realized that with the add-on product, it became difficult to enhance the software any further. The add-on product was abandoned, and the standalone product remained, to be developed further. If there was ever a reason to believe the capabilities of an add-on product are limited, this is it. How much more sense does it make, to use a product that was created for Electrical CAD at the very beginning?

The second important factor is the commitment to AutoCAD. One must realize that when you purchase your software to go on top of AutoCAD, you are also committing to AutoCAD itself. If you want to go this route, you are likely stuck with an add on that will require updates to both AutoCAD and the add-on. Your yearly budget for total updates and/or service contracts will be higher.

I've seen scores of companies changing over to AutoCAD compatible products, to the various versions of software from the IntelliCAD consortium, including a product I have, called progeCAD. It boasts a selling price of 1/10th the price, with full compatibility.

In future blog posts, I will be getting further into the various companies that offer Electrical CAD, specifically those from different parts of the world.

Reasons to Switch to Electrical CAD

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0000

There are many reasons to switch to Electrical CAD. There are the basic underlying reasons, efficiency, standardization, accuracy, automation of tasks, and the reuse of existing circuits for new projects.

The specifics of the main reasons are summarized in a short video I made on the subject:

Seven Reasons to Switch to Electrical CAD (YouTube)

Of course, seeing these points being demonstrated is much more informative. The products I offer either involve a trial, or a live or online demo (depending on geography).

Any comments or questions for clarification are welcome. Perhaps I can redo the video using this feed back.

Introduction to Electrical CAD

noreply@blogger.com (MikeGalenkamp) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Many people that design control systems today are using AutoCAD (or another clone like progeCAD, for example) to create Electrical Schematics. This has been the standard in North America for quite some time.

The challenge has always been how to get the job done more efficiently. Studies have shown that electrical designers using this method must spend substantial amounts of time (more than making the original) to complete the project. This does not pose much of a problem when the project is relatively small.

But what happens when the projects start to grow? That inefficiency starts to become a monstrous beast that is hard to handle.

This is where Electrical CAD comes in, and companies take varying times to realize the need for this kind of software. I've been working with Electrical CAD for some ten years now, and I can help companies with this kind of transition. I can also relate, because I've done it the 'old way' too.