“Encourage each and every team member; listen to their ideas because those ideas might just be the very thing that gives your product the big competitive edge.”

Journyx is not your average software company. They strive to be relentlessly creative and to build tools that help you spend your time on things that matter. After all, time is all we have.

Founded in 1996 by Curt Finch, Journyx offers customers two solutions to reach the highest levels of profitability: Journyx – project, time and expense tracking software – and Journyx PX – resource management software that provides work and financial forecasting for a complete picture of project and budget status, employee time and availability. Journyx has thousands of customers worldwide, including Crate&Barrel, Schlumberger, BP, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Callaway Golf, Honeywell and many others. For more information, visit www.Journyx.com.

BusinessInterviews.com: Can you elaborate on how time-tracking data can facilitate greater profitability throughout an organization?

Curt: Time tracking data- when used correctly – helps to automate project management, project costing, project tracking and project estimation improvement, as well as internal, external and reverse billing. It can also provide critical insight into where time is being spent and if things could be done in a more efficient manner. For example: Knowing a project is behind schedule or over budget towards the end of the project’s life span does no one any good. Knowing this information sooner will help you act accordingly with your peers, employees and your personal projects and get your time and project management in the office back on track.

BusinessInterviews.com: Can you share the first issue businesses need to address when creating their PTO (Paid Time Off) plan?

Curt: The first issue businesses absolutely must talk about when creating their PTO plan is what to do about employees who quit or are let go of. Many states require that the balance of vacation pay be paid when an employee leaves the firm unless the company has formed a policy that specifies otherwise. For example: if you choose to disallow vacation time to resigning employees and you run a company of high turnover then you can re-allocate that PTO in advance to those who are more likely to stick around.

BusinessInterviews.com: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about managing a team?

Curt: That every single person has a different personality with an entirely different set of values behind the way they communicate, create and connect with other team members. As it sometimes happens, those things clash with each other. However, I’ve learned that if an environment of “try everything” is encouraged, people really feel they have a say in what the next big project can be. They all have a stake in the welfare of the brand, the product and the company. From there, that suddenly cohesive team can now take your company far.

BusinessInterviews.com: Can you share your thoughts on the art and challenge of creating a sustainable competitive advantage?

Curt: It’s really a multi-faceted process, but my top three key rules are: establishing a recognizable brand identity, hiring for a cohesive long-term team and continually pushing the boundaries of innovation and growth. All three of these depend on each other completely, as well. Encourage each and every team member; listen to their ideas because those ideas might just be the very thing that gives your product the big competitive edge.

BusinessInterviews.com: What inspired you to recently revamp your User Community?

Curt: We’re in a new era of Information and ever-advancing technology, and no corner of a business should be left untouched by that. Every company – especially in the Information Age – should be looking towards the simple idea of “how can we do this better”. The User Community in particular is a place where we interface with our customers the most, and they’re really our top priorities and our biggest product champions. Any way which we can make a user interface, product or website easier to use, cleaner to understand and get information to them as fast as possible is a route worth taking.

BusinessInterviews.com: Do you think that there’s one single thing all entrepreneurs should know?

Curt: If I had to narrow it down, I would narrow it down to this. I started out in the developer world at places like IBM. Going from there to running my own business, I really came to learn that it was not so much about software anymore, but about people. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned since starting Journyx in 1996 has been in understanding which people are right for which jobs. Business is really all about people. I am still learning, but am finding that sources such as online assessment tests – like Affintus – can help a lot. But also, listen to those instincts, hire those introverts and extroverts alike, give everyone a fair chance and find that they’ll take your company far.