Kilobites by Sanico

No one likes a Flaker. You know the type, a person that commits to something 100% and then cancels a touch before the commitment. Or worse, they fail to show up at all and let nobody know.

Yes yes yes, we all know the type. Let me dig in here.

When we built Sanico Software we started with a few inner core principles. Principles we never stated out aloud but instead knew subconsciously. One major one, NEVER EVER FLAKE ON CLIENTS.

Why? Because, as I stated at the start, no one likes a flaker. It works the same in business. When you flake on a client, in particular when you COMMIT to a specific date 100% and fail to follow through you will tarnish your reputation. Like sinking sand, the more you flake, the worse your reputation sinks.

From personal flaking to flaking in business, it all ends the same, in disappointment.

Frequency Matters

“Right right right, Sav I get it, but what if they have a super valid reason?”

Valid reasons exist, for example, the other day an engineer on our team said to me that a family member of theirs passed away. They asked for a day off work and without a second thought I granted it. They asked if I required a certificate to show proof. I scoffed to myself, I required no certificate.

“But Sav, what if they are a flaker and they are lying?”

Ahhhhh let me explain further. This engineer never ever flakes. The total opposite, they show up on time to …

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A friend of mine recently contracted for a company that asked them to sign a non-compete agreement a few days after they concluded their employment.

What on Earth? For any business owners, lawyers, or anyone with street smarts, I am sure you would react straight away and say: “Don’t sign that”.

The company of my friend failed to sign a proper sub-contractor agreement at the commencement of their employment and wanted to sign agreements after the fact. I call this amateur and unprepared.

To serve a non-compete agreement to a sub-contractor after the termination of their employment with no prior agreement in place undermines the intelligence of the sub-contractor. Do they take them for a fool?

For future sub-contract work, sure, create a formal legal agreement. However, and a huuuugggeee however, for work in the past that commenced without a formal legal agreement, no.

Not only that, the business persisted to pester my friend to sign the document even after they said a firm “no”. Another amateur move which demonstrated the evident unpreparedness of the small business.

No Seatbelts

I compare a lack of legal preparedness to not wearing a seatbelt in a car. Someone might drive without a seatbelt for over 10 years and evade the misfortune of a car accident. However, if the misfortune ever occurs they risk a preventable fatality.

The same with law. Sound legal advice and agreements …

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The phrase “less is more” comes to mind when I use this tool. Improving accessibility for users who suffer from colour blindness has become paramount. Beyond accessibility problems, utilising colours that contrast correctly is a general must when it comes to design. The title mentions developers but I do believe anyone developing graphics could utilise this tool.

What is so good about this tool?

UI Colors has been built to work in unison with Tailwind CSS. The creator @erikdevries_nl has labeled the tool as a Tailwind CSS Color Generator.

Starting designs from a single colour can make it difficult to visualise an entire palette. If I were to use a colour dropper to view the hex value of the Sanico Software purple, I would be left with #6d2cd4. Now I have a primary colour.

Before attempting to find a secondary colour, I can first go to UI Colors and paste this hex into the primary input field.

Bam! Now I have 11 shades of my primary colour with example components. I can export these shades as a palette in Hex codes that will be utilised in my Tailwind CSS project.

If desired, I can then add a secondary and tertiary colour and view more example components.

Everything I have mentioned is on the Free Tier. Additional features are available for a reasonable price of $50USD/year. I now pay for the yearly fee, however, I have zero affiliation with the tool - I just …

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I have dealt with many clients in the past who have said they don’t need to advertise since they are too busy.

I have also witnessed several of those clients hit unexpected dry spells that resulted in a frantic search for more business.

In my opinion, there is rarely a bad reason to prepare for the near future, especially in a world that changes from day to day.

How can you prepare for the near future?

My statement above may seem difficult to digest given the future is not predictable. However, in this case, I see preparations as preventative measures that help minimise exposure to a downturn in business.

There is no guarantee that advertising means your business will avoid a downturn. However, inaction to promote your business guarantees no new channels besides word-of-mouth.

Don’t forget, competitors to your business actively search for ways to be seen. If they are consistent in their efforts while you take zero action, their business may start securing your prospective clients.

What type of advertising do I mean?

Advertising is far deeper than the modern thinking of Google Ads and Social Media Marketing. Yes, the aforementioned channels are positive for advertisement but there are many different ways to seek business.

You could walk directly into a business to meet the owner, invest in a website, invest in billboards, attend local events, wrap your car, …

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When a new employee starts I ask them to upload a portrait shot of their faces for every account they use internally at my company. Not a picture of their dog, not a picture of the beach, and not a picture of their favourite anime character. A picture of them.

I request them to add a portrait shot of their face because of the wise words that my professor in America said to me long ago:

If you do not author any document with your full name then I will refuse to read it.

Why would he refuse to read a document without an author? He reasoned that if someone fails to author a document with their name they must lack a sense of pride for what they wrote and want to hide from accountability. Therefore, he refuses to waste his precious time to read it.

When a person writes their full name it holds them accountable to the material they wrote. A dog tag of sorts. I wholeheartedly agree with my professor and utilise the same logic with profile pictures.

In the online world I see many people write horrible things authored by fake aliases and accompanied with profile pictures of dogs, cats, famous people, and other nonsensical images.

Anyone that uses a social media platform will understand what I intend. Sure, people write terrible things with their full name and a profile picture of their face, but at least they assume full responsibility and accountable for what they wrote.

I call …

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Google reviews are critical for establishing credibility and demonstrating past client/customer satisfaction. Below is a quick and simple guide showing the easiest way to request more Google reviews for your business listing.

1. Find your Google My Business Profile

You must be logged-in to the Google account that owns or is a manager of the Google business listing. Click the top right icon and either login or check which account is currently active. As seen in the image below, my Sanico Software account is currently logged in.

You will know if you have the correct access if you see a screen similar to below. You will have options to Edit Profile, Read Reviews, Add Photos etc. which is not shown if your account is not the owner or manager.

If you do not see these settings and you are the owner of the business, you may not have ownership of the business listing. You can head over to Google’s support article where Google explains how to request ownership of a listing.

2. Navigate to Read Reviews

Assuming that you have the correct permissions to edit the business listing, click Read Reviews which will open a modal window.

3. Click Get More Reviews

You will now be viewing a modal window that displays past customer reviews. As a side note, ensure you respond to any previous customer reviews. An appreciative response shows authenticity from the owner.

Next to the previous …

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Imagine starting your very first job as a software engineering intern and finding yourself not in those bustling tech offices or recreating those ‘day in a life as a software engineer’ videos you see online but in the comfort of your own home. The realm of remote work has become your reality. 

As a working student who transitioned from a traditional office environment to a remote software engineering role, this shift felt like exploring unknown waters, bringing in new knowledge, processes and challenges. In this post, I’ll share my personal journey of adapting to remote work and how practical strategies helped me grow, not just professionally but as an individual.

Expectations vs. Reality of Remote Work: Before starting my remote internship, I had certain expectations about what it would be like, from online videos, articles, and blog posts about remote work. Some of these expectations were met but some took me by surprise.

Flexible schedule: I expected remote work to give me complete control over my schedule. However, there is some flexibility, but I still need to follow team schedules, deadlines and meetings.

Challenges in Communication: Expecting that communication is all online, I anticipated potential delays in communication. Although delayed responses are part of the remote experience, I’ve been fortunate to have great support from my mentor, Sav who has always been quick …

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From their first day my two Software Engineering interns contributed code to our software project with a complete programming environment setup through the use of one command, all thanks to my current favourite piece of software, Devbox.

Every so often a software application amazes me, Devbox 100% hit the sweet spot.

For any software devs out there we all know the pain to set up a development environment and onboard new employees. Simple in theory, a mess in practice.

This whole process saved me $1000’s in wasted engineering time all for a total cost of $0 to my business.

Let’s Go Back to Go Forward

Prior to founding Sanico Software I worked as a Software Engineer at several large private and public firms which includes IBM, the Australian Federal Government, and others. I remember when I started as an intern they sent me the link to the GitHub repo, pat me on the back, and said good luck.

Even worse, at another internship the team denied me access to the main repository because they claimed it required an excessive amount of time to onboard someone.

I remember at one large firm on the first day I downloaded the code and asked my mentor:

Me: “What version of Node and NPM do I download?”

Mentor: “Ummmm I don’t know, the latest?”

I downloaded and installed the latest version of Node and NPM but the project failed to execute. As an intern I felt bad to speak up, instead I tried …

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You’re not alone. As your website increases in popularity, so does the target on your back. A very common issue I have recently seen is scammers copying a website, making it look identical and tricking customers into fake purchases. Below are a few steps you can take to fight this issue.

Please note: Basecamp has been used purely as an example domain and this is not a reflection on their company. Separate to this, Basecamp actually provide an excellent service that we utilise ourselves.

1. Ensure the website really did copy you

I have had clients claim a website copied them but it was just a competitor in another country wholesaling from the same supplier. There is no crime for competitors to sell the same wholesaled product with similar imagery that the supplier provides.

Look deeper at the website’s contact information, about page, collection descriptions etc. and identify if there is copied text/images.

2. Search WHOIS to find the owner/registrant

There are many WHOIS tools you can use but you can just use the link in the title above to whois.com.

WHOIS is a protocol that queries databases which store information about an internets resource’s registered users or assignees.

Essentially, we are able to get further information on the registrar, name servers and abuse contacts.

3. Find the registrar and servers being used

The registrar should be one of the …

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All over LinkedIn and the general internet I see posts about how companies receive millions in funding. New companies with no product, no clients, and no business experience. Instead they possess a handful of hope and a bank full of millions of dollars to burn through.

These hopeful business owners, in particular in the software industry, aspire to create a unicorn software business. They dream to create a piece of software that people use globally. A subscription based SaaS model where customers pay monthly for sub-par services while business owners sit on a beach in Mexico lapping up the sun.

I picture a company like a tree. Every tree starts as a seed. Then it grows organically with the right level of nurture, water, sunlight, favourable weather, and optimal location.

From a seed to a seedling, from a seedling to a sapling, from a sapling to tree, and from a tree to a mature and established tree.

No, it’s not impossible to grow a software business organically, I myself started my software business from the ground up. Zero clients, zero word of mouth, zero funding, zero software, zero everything.

With a slow organic growth it provides the opportunity to learn every facet of the business. Skills that over time a business owner may hire an employee to fulfil. The skills I learnt include sales, negotiating, law, bookkeeping, human resources, accounting, marketing, and …

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