Member Spotlight: Mike Prachar

Member Spotlight: Mike Prachar

Mike Prachar is the Chief Operations Officer at Big Green IT, a Cloud Services company located in Rocklin, CA. Mike started out his career in telecommunications on the sales side, eventually moving into technical and operations. With a further shift in stride in 2010, Mike focused his career on IT, specifically cloud computing, and joined Big Green IT in 2015 with the purpose of building a first-class Microsoft cloud practice.

Big Green IT is a California-based professional services IT organization. They work with clients to choose and deploy the best technology solutions. With their expertise, Big Green IT has helped hundreds of companies shift from purely on-premise systems to Office 365, Microsoft 365 and the Azure Cloud.

What sets Big Green IT apart from other IT companies?

Generally, I think it’s the amount of time and effort that Big Green IT puts into understanding how our customers do their business, and finding solutions that are not just specifically good for their business, but also trying to design solutions that make the most sense for any given client of ours.

Note: Just a quick look on their website revealed how great their client service is! Listen to Jeff’s Philosophy on Business on their Career Page to hear about Big Green IT’s emphasis on providing the best customer support.

What business tips do you have for those just getting started?

Be smart. In my opinion, when you are just getting started, that’s the time where you have to be the most impressive with your clients and/or supervisor— this your time to make the best impression. I think it’s important to take the time out, in whatever you are doing, to do it right and do it better than everybody else. Whatever it is, from flipping burgers to designing integrated circuits, just do it well, do it right, and do it better than anyone else can.

What do you love most or find most rewarding about your job?

The most rewarding part for me is actually the back-end stuff that nobody sees. It’s creating systems, automating processes, building something in such a way that, when I’m done, there's an easier, faster, and more accurate way to accomplish tasks that somebody used to have to do by hand. Sometimes, it’s even simpler than that; sometimes the “easy” stuff is rewarding too. It’s kind of like the work equivalent of washing dishes— when you’re done, the stuff on the left-hand side of the sink is now on the right-hand side of the sink, and it makes you feel like you accomplished something.  And finally, one of the most rewarding goals we strive for is realizing business goals for our clients that make our customers’ experience better, especially when we are able to provide just the right results, exactly when the customer needs them or before they even have to ask.

What inspired you to get involved in your line work?

I used to be in telecommunications. My main designated role running the organization, was operations, and there were often times when I needed to do stuff with computers.  A lot of different tasks would bubble up to me because we didn’t have anyone that was officially trained do it. So, I would just learn how to do it. And over time, those efforts trained me; showed me what could be done, and what was out there, and I found it all interesting. As voice minutes, and people having top pay for phone calls, started to go away, I knew it was time to start doing something different. I recognized that I enjoyed this back-end side of the business and it kind of evolved into everything that I do today.

How has Big Green IT been dealing with the pandemic and do you have any stories or struggles that have occurred amidst our shelter in place?

From our company’s perspective, all of the infrastructure to work remotely has been in place for years; because of the information technology industry that we’re in. However, we do miss out on face-to-face customer interaction. While we’re doing just fine, that whole piece of the sales mechanism is just broken. We can get it done of course, but it’s missing the extra human touch. But other than that, everything has been really fine.  A lot of the tools people use [to work from home] has been out there forever and has been slowly gaining traction. Now, suddenly, everyone’s started using it. I mean, everybody’s grandma knows what Zoom is now. So, the need for what we do has only gone up, because we design and deploy those solutions. The business that we do has been dramatically accelerated by COVID-19. Microsoft is our primary cloud solution, and we’ve had tons of forward progress in the past two months.  As a rule, what we do in our daily work, is only in more demand than it was prior to the pandemic.

What we are concerned about, a concern that is very real but keeps getting delayed by stimulus packages and other things, is when clients start being unable to pay us. A big part of our business model involves us extending services to client. And we have to pay for those services regardless of whether or not the customer pays us. We've been very fortunate so far that none of our clients have gone under, and there are a lot of businesses that look like they're going to be in the right line of work to survive. However, some of them may not come out of this at all. In another few months down the road we could be hit with a big wave of bad debt.

How have you been adjusting to working at home now?

For me, I've been working from home for over 20 years, sometimes more and sometimes less, but I developed the work ethic, patterns, and routines I need in order to be effective at that a long time ago. So personally, it’s been great. I’ve been getting all kinds of stuff done. I enjoy this much more than a 3-hour commute and sitting in meetings. Often, travelling for a one-hour customer meeting could derail my productivity for the entire day.

Do you have tips for those that struggle to work at home?

Everybody’s got their own routine. Some people dress nicer on work days than they normally would to just hang around the house. I learned pretty early on that getting up in the morning and taking a shower as if I was driving to the office, and not sitting in my pajamas at my desk all day, just because I could, was my ticket to being productive from home. It’s been hugely helpful to me to do the whole nine yards every morning. It’s the rhythms and patterns, all the same things that make people more efficient and productive in their daily lives regardless of whether they're at home or commuting somewhere.

Another important thing, I think, is to invest in your workspace. Whether investing means spending an afternoon just moving furniture around or actually buying specialized furniture (it depends on what your work consists of). Having a workspace that is work-oriented helps greatly. And, depending on what your home environment is like, you may need some sort of isolation to help others understand that that space, whatever it is, is your work environment. My kids are old enough now that it’s no longer an issue, but I remember working from home when they were younger. Little kids don’t really understand how to respect work boundaries very well, or if they do understand it, they know a great button to push when they want ALL their parent’s attention is to completely ignore those boundaries. If you can make it happen, I strongly recommend an office door you can close!

Why did you decide to go to start coworking?

When I was doing this 20 years ago, coworking places didn’t really exist. Working in coffee shops doesn’t really work when you need to communicate professionally with other people. Many times, you’ll need a more professional environment like Davis Coworking. For plenty of people, that could be how they choose to invest in their workspace. At Big Green, we have a handful of workers that are nearly 100 miles apart, and Davis Coworking has been the perfect compromise between driving all the way into the office and just having video calls.

What do you enjoy most about working in Davis Coworking?

About a year ago, we started trying different places to have an offsite meeting where Jeff [CEO of Big Green IT] and I could meet outside the distractions of the office to get some focused work done. I must have tried a dozen places, from big expensive conference room facilities, all the way down to small coffee shops with an extra room. Many coworking spaces have an open design. Those can be very economical and are just fine for working with headphones on. But, if you need to communicate with another person in the same space as you, it's uncomfortable and can be disruptive to everyone around you. Davis Coworking’s facility turned out to be perfect because it’s got two actual conference rooms with doors where we can speak freely. The monthly subscription model also works well for us and it's almost exactly right in the middle [location-wise] between Jeff and I. So it turned out to be awesome!

Contact information

If you would like to contact Mike about his work or are interested in Big Green IT, check out their website at biggreenit.com or contact their company at (916) 787-3223.

Or you can find Mike on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mikeprachar!

---

Member Spotlight: Deema Tamimi

Member Spotlight: Deema Tamimi

Deema Tamimi is the founder of the local nonprofit organization called Land & Ladle and a local resident here in Davis. She has worked in product management and marketing within the tech industry, and with these experiences and her passion for food sustainability, Deema has developed a multitude of wonderful projects in the Yolo and Sacramento community. From Giving Garden, Davis Eats, Caneberry, Land & Ladle, and more, Deema has created so many great programs that help our local food and agricultural systems.

We had a wonderful conversation about food sustainability, agricultural technological innovations, as well as an optimistic perspective on how COVID-19 is changing the world as we know it. 

Deema’s strong passion for promoting food sustainability, reducing food waste, combating food insecurity, and bringing the community together was highlighted throughout our conversation, and it’s truly a delight to share her story with you all!

What is Land & Ladle?

Land & Ladle is a non-profit organization based in the Yolo and Sacramento area. We aim to bring people together to discuss sustainability in food systems through educational programs, community events, and developments, as well as through technological innovations, marketing, and storytelling. We focus on the communal, sustainable, equitable, and functional aspects of food to push for greater innovations to better our local food system.

What kind of events does Land & Ladle work on?

Land & Ladle helps with local food events that focus on bringing the community together. We also try to do fun things associated with communal food events where we gather people to eat food together. The last food gathering we had was a BBQ, and some of the proceeds from the event went to the Yolo Food Bank. We’ve also organized lightning talks and  panels for experts to have discussions about the innovations in agricultural and food occurring in the Yolo and Sacramento counties. Land & Ladle’s blog is also where we try to highlight leaders in the Sacramento and Yolo region working on sustainable food or equitable food system work. Ultimately, we’re trying to highlight that there is really great work happening in sustainable and equitable food right here.

How has melding your experience in technology and passion for food helped in your development in Land & Ladle and your projects?

When I first started working in food, I came at it from a very tech-y angle. With Giving Garden, I wanted it to be an app where people could connect and share food and ideas about gardening and healthy cooking. We ended up realizing that trying to build a social an app with so much happening on Facebook and Nextdoor didn’t make sense, and I also discovered that a lot of the stuff that I was excited to work on was actually not tech-related. It was getting people together to talk about food waste and issues, and a lot of it  was more grassroots organizing and education. You didn’t need to build an app for it; you just needed to get the right people in the room, having the right conversations. The only sort of technology needed was a website and social media. I think some of the hardest and most meaningful work is about bringing people together, helping people to see things in a new way, and trying to make the world better in the food system through grassroots efforts.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work? 

I think for me it’s when people come together around a shared vision and work so well together that they can deliver something real, that changes their community. Even if they don’t reach their end goal, they still deliver something that they can feel really proud of. The part that’s most exciting to me is the teamwork. I had to learn when I moved into community work that it’s actually quite a lot harder than in my tech career work because you have a lot more people to think about with a lot of different opinions and perspectives. You have to respect that and make sure that their voices are heard while still making steps toward a deliverable whether that’s a recommendation, plan or a report. People working well together, that’s the part I enjoy the most.

Do you have any business tips for those just getting started in your line of work?

My biggest advice for someone getting started is to focus and set boundaries. 

It is really easy to be pulled in multiple directions. I recommend it to everyone who’s starting a company: be very focused, set boundaries on time because people will always come up to you with things they think are a great idea, and you’ll love those ideas and you’ll want to help, but if you do that, you’re taking time away from your own business. I personally have been really bad about this and need to take my own advice.

How has COVID-19 affected Land & Ladle’s operations?

Events are definitely something that we have to re-think if we’re participating in them or if we’re partnering with people. So there will definitely be a different way of approaching these events just because the world has changed and we can no longer pack people in a room. 

I do think that, in terms of COVID-19 and local food systems, that this has exposed the fact that our food system, the supply chain, and accessibility to food  are really quite fragile. This pandemic has allowed a spotlight to be put on food system and food equity. There have been some amazing and creative efforts to try to make sure that we’re getting food to those that need it. I’m hoping a lot more is going to be done to strengthen local food systems and also to figure out ways for restaurants and chefs to survive in this changing world.

How do you think COVID-19 is going to affect sustainability within the food industry?

I think packaging may be increasing [from increased use of plastic from takeout]. We did a bit of ordering in, here and there, to support local restaurants, but I felt a bit conflicted about all the packaging and its impact on the environment. I hope it will inspire innovative work around packaging further and that we will invest in research and companies trying to make better packaging. 

There’s a company that does mycelium or fungi based packaging called Ecovative and they have a model where people can start these mycelium packaging factories in their own communities. I hope more locally based solutions like this take off because we need them. Even though my full-time work right now is in tech, a lot of my passion-project time is focused on resilient and communal food innovations that allow for a more sustainable food system. 

How has working from home been during COVID-19? Have you learned anything during this process that you would like to share?

One of the most interesting changes I have noticed, is that it’s made everyone much more human in the workplace. Prior to all this, especially in the corporate world, there was always this feeling that you couldn’t show your real life. You had to be very guarded and professional. We’re having to deal with the fact that a child might jump on our call and say something funny or see people’s bedrooms or their roommates in the background during a meeting. So I think that this has made people be more human and embrace their colleagues as full people with lives and families outside of work. I find it refreshing.

Do you have any tips for those that might struggle to remain productive at home?

Take a break from the screen when you can. I go out on my deck and just sit there every once in a while just to get away from my computer. Even if you just schedule 15 minutes to sit out, it’s super important. I just sit, soak up the sun, and let my brain have a break. I’ve had some days where I haven’t done that and the constant Zoom-ing and screen time feels like mental overload.

What do you enjoy most about Davis Coworking? 

For me, I love the feel of Davis Coworking from multiple perspectives. I like the way that it just feels bright and open. Stylistically, it’s not too stark, and it has a nice, warm feel, which goes really well with the other reason I like it: it’s very community-focused.  Do did a really good job from the beginning to ensure that people saw it as a way to meet people and for people to potentially network and learn from one another, especially for freelancers.

When I started working at Davis Coworking, even though I wasn’t working with the people around me, it just felt good to be around people. We were all together trying to make it work in this new digital nomad world. Anytime she had gatherings, I met someone interesting and we had a really good conversation, even though a lot of those people weren’t working on anything that was the same line as my work. It’s a great community.

Contact Information

If you are interested in Deema’s work or in Land & Ladle information can be found at landandladle.com or find Deema on Linkedin (linkedin.com/in/deematamimi)!

Member Spotlight: Lyle Phipps

Member Spotlight: Lyle Phipps, CPA of Prepared Accounting PC

Lyle Phipps is a CPA (licensed in both California and Massachusetts) who recently joined us in Davis with his partner Grace (an associate professor at UC Davis). He founded Prepared Accounting in 2013 to provide tax and bookkeeping services to small businesses and startups.

Prepared Accounting employs 4 people and currently works with a combination of for-profit and non-profit organizations (domestic and international) to establish or restructure their accounting and tax systems. Lyle’s previous employment with KPMG (Federal Tax and Executive Services) gave him a head start in learning how to help businesses and owners manage taxation and outsource their accounting function.

We recently shared a great conversation about how COVID-19 has been affecting operations, and experiences in the accounting industry as well as the challenge that his clients have experienced during the recent pandemic.

Read below to learn more about Lyle through our Q&A with him!

How has developing Prepared Accounting been for you?

It’s been great! It’s been slow growth but the growth that we’ve got has mostly been from referrals so at least we did not spend a ton on Marketing. Also, it has been important for us to choose who we work with. ,We’re in a good position and we like the size we’re at, however, we also want to help as many people as we can.

What sets Prepared Accounting apart from other firms?

I think one of the things that sets us apart is that we’re pushing bookkeeping and tax planning together. Normally, you’ll get bookkeeping services from a bookkeeper, and then tax service preparation from a tax preparer, and then tax planning service from somewhere else. And then you’ll end up hiring a CFO or fractional CFO at some point. We are a one stop shop from books to tax.

What business tips do you have for those just getting started? 

Hmmm, remember that your most valuable asset is time--in both startups and life. When you are an entrepreneur, your wheelhouse has to be getting the right person in the right chair. Sure, you could learn to drive Quickbooks and do the bookkeeping, but that doesn't mean it is the best use of your time or that you should do your own entity formation.  Tinkering with technology has brought me quite a bit of short-term joy but it has also kept me from focusing on sales growth for my business.  Time is money. Oh yeah, and tax is money too. 

What do you love most about your job? What do you find most rewarding?

I get excited when I help small-business owners save for retirement. It feels purposeful and emotionally rewarding to be a part of those good decisions.  There are a lot of tax advantages in that playbook, and people get pretty happy once they learn the game. 

And I think that, as for a purposeful or meaningful business, what I’m finding now is that I am finding purpose because I’m helping other people find their purpose as well. So by helping other businesses get started and thrive, and I’m actually helping someone actualize into a lifestyle that they want: that might be that they love to travel, that they want to run their business on the cloud, and that need some accounting help in the meantime.

What’s one thing - either industry-related or not - you learned after COVID-19 hit the US?

I was deeply impressed by how flexible and creative business owners became to protect their employees.  We saw tough Main Street sole proprietors and partnerships go sleepless while figuring out ways to pivot the business model within COVID market conditions to keep their people employed.  We happen to work in college towns where the word “corporation” has a lot of negative connotations; the reality is that we are all working hard and together to keep this sweet life going.

How has Prepared Accounting been dealing with the pandemic? Would you like to share any struggles or positive stories that have occurred amidst all this?

Thanks for asking.  Our employees have always been able to work remotely, so that platform was already there when we closed our Massachusetts office.  We were in the middle of a tax season race when the shelter-in-place orders hit, and we needed all the time we could get to be available to help people apply for Payroll Protection loans and Economic Assistance Disaster loans.  We are doing a marathon now with the extended filing deadlines and new tax-law changes that were embedded in the CARES Act. 

If you have been working at home, how has that process been for you? Do you have any recommendations and tips for those struggling to remain productive at home?

Setting priorities and sticking to our systems became especially important when my routine was broken.  I try to be disciplined about this, but all too often I find myself eating work dessert before my vegetables.  That is why I love coming to work at Davis Coworking, I get reminded of what people look like when they are focused and working up to speed.   

What are you most looking forward to once our shelter-in-place order is lifted? 

Too many things, really.  Playing ultimate Frisbee and meeting new people in Davis to climb and surf with.  It is exciting to meet people on a new coast and hard to do so when meetups are on pause. 

What did you enjoy most about working at Davis Coworking?

Do Tromp has a way with plants and people and design and technology and they really all come together at Davis Coworking.  Being in the environment and community that she has created is a joyful quality of life for me. 

What has been your favorite part of working in Davis so far?

I really like the way Davis has developed its infrastructure. I enjoy the focus on bicycles as transportation and enjoy not having to get into a car to go to work.  I can use the car in the driveway if I want to, but not having to get into it just feels like the right way to live. The weather has also always been pretty good. The ability to live locally, the ability to have produced, all these farm stands locally and still have businesses still doing things locally. So still have the ability to make money and invest, but also be able to buy locally and grow locally. There’s just so much sun, and water, and rich soil here. Right now, the going is really good here and I hope it continues.

Have you encountered any struggles with Prepared Accounting that you would like to share? Is there anything Davis Coworking or the Davis community can do to help? 

Wow, thanks for that helpful question.  We are looking for introductions to business owners who are wearing too many hats.  Also, we would love to meet the best and the brightest accounting and bookkeeping and tax professionals you know who would value a flexible work environment.  We especially love MBA Moms who want to keep their skills sharp. 

Are there any issues that you would like to draw attention to? This is a very general question, but would be a wonderful outlet to garner support for a possible interest of yours.

We are highly aware that Information Security and Privacy are major concerns of our clients and we know it is important to go the extra mile here. We consult with IT professionals, enforce multi-factor / 2-Step authentication and have verified database encryption for all of our business applications and hard drive encryption on all of our laptops. We have written policy, annual employee training, and when working in a coworking space we employ privacy screens and even our own network devices for this reason. We know it is a small community here in Davis, and are very careful to respect privacy at all times.

Contact information

If you would like to contact Lyle about his work in tax services and bookkeeping, check out Prepared Accounting’s website at preparedaccounting.com

Or email him at: info@preparedaccounting.com

Member Spotlight: Luke Ensberg

While we cannot work together at the time being due to COVID-19, we would still love for you to get to know some of our members at Davis Coworking. We hope that this member spotlight will introduce you to some of our amazing coworkers and local businesses here in Davis, as well as stimulate coworking interaction as best as we can. 

For our first spotlight, it was an absolute pleasure to talk with our resident structural engineer, Luke Ensberg, about his company Ensberg Engineering. Read more below to learn about Ensberg Engineering and some great tips and tricks Luke has for those working at home!

Member Spotlight: Luke Ensberg

Luke Ensberg is a licensed structural engineer and Davis resident. He started Ensberg Engineering in September 2017 to provide structural engineering services to homeowners and business owners in California. He has 9 years of experience designing wood-framed housing, high-end custom homes, and multifamily residential over concrete podium. He has also designed steel museum and mall buildings, tenant improvements, and a masonry auditorium. 

He has been told by architects, contractors, and homeowners that he is personable, helpful, and easy to work with.

What do structural engineers do?

First, you have to understand that architects decide how a building will look. Engineers figure out how to make the building stand. We determine how large to make the beams, columns, and foundations.

What do you love most about your job? What do you find most rewarding? 

Buildings are puzzles with pieces that have to fit together and be able to transfer force from one part of the structure to another. It is sometimes difficult to figure out how to fit these pieces together in a way that is architecturally satisfying, but that's the job. I love the challenge of solving this puzzle.

What inspires you most? 

The society has entrusted me with professional licensure, and this inspires me to insist on excellence in my work product and in the product of consultants I work with. There have been plenty of times when my project budget ran out, and I just kept plowing ahead to finalize the work because it's not finished until it's right.

What’s one thing - either industry-related or not - you learned after COVID-19 hit the US?

Any long term solutions to the pandemic will have to be consistent with the fiercely individualistic American character. This attitude ties in with entrepreneurialism because people prefer to take personal responsibility for their lives and decide the amount of risk they will undertake. With the pandemic, as in business, outcomes will be affected by the back and forth push between this individualistic spirit and government regulation.

How has Ensberg Engineering been dealing with the pandemic? Would you like to share any struggles or positive stories that have occurred amidst all this? 

I have responded to the pandemic by working from home, which has been a major blow because I love working at Davis Coworking. I miss the friendly folks there. I wear a respirator mask when I visit job sites. On struggles, we may be at the front end of a massive economic drop-off. My work is part of the construction industry, so the drop-off will hurt my workload on one hand, but the perennial demand for California housing means I will probably always be able to find work, even if the projects are small ones. Some people will always have money and want to build in a recession because construction labor costs drop.

What are you most looking forward to once our shelter-in-place order is lifted?

I can't wait to walk into a grocery store without a Darth Vader-like respirator mask on. I feel like such a weirdo, but whatever. I am an introvert, so don't worry about me being stuck inside. I am looking forward to my 7-year-old son getting to rough house with his friends.

What do you enjoy about working at Davis Coworking?

First, everyone there is nice. Second, when I am at work at Davis Coworking, I can focus on my work. When I go home, my mind is free to be with my family because I got so much done at the "co-work" as I call it.

Have you encountered any struggles with your business that you would like to share? Is there anything Davis Coworking or the Davis community can do to help?

My struggle is finding people to hire with incredibly high standards who don't already have full-time jobs at big engineering companies. I never realized what competition there is for talented labor. Davis Coworking could identify a liaison in the UC Davis career center.

If you have been working at home, how has that process been for you? Do you have any recommendations and tips for those struggling to remain productive at home?

Because my work is done on a computer, I have been able to work at home. The difficulty is that, with a 1-year-old and a 7-year-old, my family wants my attention. It is hard for them to see that I am home but not to be able to interact with me. This is why I like working at Davis Coworking: when I am at work at the coworking space my mind can be in my work, and when I am at home, I can mentally be with my family. My recommendation: if you are a professional working from home, hire a nanny. If you can buy help, buy help. Otherwise, you will struggle to do well with your work and your parenting. Also, have the grownups in your house take turns taking care of the kids. One parent plays defense while the other parent works, and then flip roles. If it is your turn to work, and your kids ask you for something, refer them to the "on duty" parent, and do not stop your work. If it is your turn to be "on duty" don't let the kids ask the working parent for anything.

Are there any issues that you would like to draw attention to? This is a very general question but it would be a wonderful outlet to garner support for a possible interest of yours. 

Two issues come to mind: First, climate change is a disaster rolling slowly toward us. I am afraid for my kids' future. I encourage folks to vote for a candidate who takes climate change seriously and will cause America to rejoin the world's effort to combat climate change. Second, I think political division is plaguing this country. I know that Davis is solidly liberal, but I encourage my fellow Davis dwellers to consider the potential validity of conservative positions and see people at the other end of the spectrum as fellow countrymen. I hope that the country will not let the fringes from both sides control the political conversation. We have more in common than not in common.

Contact Information

If you would like to contact Luke about his structural engineering practice, further information can be found on his website www.ensbergengineering.com