Most small businesses turn to a custom software developer after they’re established. Custom software, after all, is a big investment; one that typically makes the most sense after you’ve had a few years of operations and know what’s best for your business.
But for Show Circuit Online Sales, a livestock auction business, custom software helped make them what they are today, a multi-million dollar success. It all started nine years ago with a vision.
The Business Idea
“We started with nothing but an idea of an online sales platform,” says Jen Hummel, Show Circuit’s Sales Admin Team Manager. “We did not have an existing platform to make better or work that was being done manually we wanted to automate. We had nothing.”
While the Show Circuit team considered existing online auction platforms, they knew they would be attempting to force a platform to do what they wanted or settle for not having specific features they knew would help set them apart.
“By building a custom platform, we could really hone in on what our buyers need, what our sellers need, and what we need on the backside,” Hummel said.
They approached Bob Baird, now AxiaTP’s President of Software Development, and his development team with the idea, some competitor research, and how they wanted to operate differently.
“We built our program literally from the ground up with the team,” Hummel said.
Growing with the Software
Show Circuit was able to achieve their initial vision for their auction platform when they launched, including sellers’ ability to view their sales and analytics, a buyer portal to access invoices and sales histories, and backend operations that made life easier for Show Circuit’s accounting team.
But launching a custom software platform is never a one and done scenario. As the business grew, they relied on our development team to help achieve new goals.
“Over the course of almost a decade now, we’ve been able to automate so much, and make it better for every single person that interacts with the system, regardless of what their role is,” Hummel said.
Top-Level Support
While big changes have happened to the platform’s development team through the years—including personnel changes and their acquisition by AxiaTP—one thing has remained constant: top-level service.
“They treat our business like their own business,” Hummel said. “They are so invested in us, and when we do run into problems, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, it doesn’t matter what we need from them, if we’re having a problem someone is there to solve it.”
And help doesn’t just happen when there’s a big problem. The Show Circuit team knows they can rely on our development team to help creatively solve new pain points in their business, with everyone diving into the problem at hand. The team also doesn’t just focus on finding one solution; they take time to find the most efficient and effective option to make sure Show Circuit is getting the most benefit.
“We’ve been able to develop such a good, strong relationship with our team within AxiaTP. It’s been a really good experience for us,” Hummel said.
The Big Picture
Having an ongoing investment in custom software is a big financial commitment. But Hummel is quick to note that it’s the right one for them.
“If we could see the whole picture, it would be the obvious choice,” she said. “If we looked at where we would be if we tried to cut corners or just do a little bit but not fully invest in it, there would be way less success and way less financial return. The AxiaTP team tells us all the time that they’ve never seen so much growth in a company so quickly, and on our end that wouldn’t have been possible without having a custom platform.”
Can custom software launch your dream business or help take your existing business to new heights? The AxiaTP team can help! Explore custom software solutions with our team or get a quick quote to get started.
Learn more about the Online Sales Platform built that our custom software development team created in Show Circuit Online Sales’ case study.