05/23/2002
Charlie Tragesser, CEO of the network technology consulting and design firm Polar Systems, Inc., came late to the small business world. Directly after graduating college, he started working for IBM and eventually became their Northwest regional manager. Nine years ago he took an early retirement and purchased Polar Systems, which had been in business in Portland since 1981.It was an adjustment to go from running an IBM region of 1,100 people to having just 20 employees, but Tragesser found the new arrangement pleasing.
"It's difficult to get people to feel like they have ownership in a large company. In a small company, you have a much easier time getting people to understand that their contributions directly affect the success of the business," he says.
There were other matters of convenience that attracted him to the small business lifestyle as well.
"I really enjoy not having to travel to New York for meetings," Tragesser says.
However, it didn't take long for him to discover the headaches that come with being a small business owner. When a credit reporting company listed Polar Systems as having a delinquent account, Tragesser knew it was a mistake and, concerned about the damage such a report could do to his company's reputation, asked the credit reporting company where they'd gotten the information. As the information had been obtained on terms of anonymity, Tragesser was forced to spend valuable time doing his own detective work. He was also concerned about potentially faulty information in their other credit reports and asked to see copies. Yet the credit accounting firm would only grant him the privilege of accessing information about his own company if he bought those other reports.
Finding that small business enjoyed none of the rights that individuals have in regard to errors in credit reporting led Tragesser to contact Kevin Mannix, who was then in the state legislature. It was Mannix who put him in touch with J.L Wilson, NFIB state director.
"I saw there was an avenue where I had the possibility of accomplishing something as a small businessman that I couldn't do by myself," says Tragesser.
Wilson invited Tragesser to become a Leadership Council member, and he has been active with NFIB ever since. He especially likes the fact that NFIB shapes their agenda based on what their members consider important and takes "marching orders" from the ballots.
Quick Facts:
Name: Charlie Tragesser
Business: Polar Systems, Inc. (www.polarsys.com)
What services does your business provide?
Network technology consulting, design, integration and administration. We specialize in network security, application delivery, data storage management and value-driven product procurement strategies. We're currently celebrating our 21st anniversary servicing the Northwest.
How many employees do you have?
20
Do you employ family members?
Not until recently, when my son Tim joined us as a business development representative. My management team actually recruited him. It will be very interesting to see what the future will bring for Tim with Polar Systems.
What kind of changes have you endured since you've been in business?
We've changed from a product-focused business to one that is centered around services and consulting. There has been tremendous fallout of our competitors in recent years. The technology industry has been through a very difficult period that we hope is behind us.
Tell us your number one legislative concern on the state level.
Taxes.
Tell us your number one legislative concern on the federal level.
Today it's the law pertaining to Section 125 Cafeteria Plan Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for un-reimbursed medical expenses. Small business owners as well as their employees have some risks of loss, which are unnecessary, and the law needs to be revised to better protect both employer and employee.
Why do you like being a small business owner?
I just like to run my own show. Having done big business, this is more fun.
