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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2000)
Business continued from page 1 room. “Everything happens out of here,” Silverman said, sitting at his desk with a computer and two phones. Gecko Designs specializes in digital graphic design and creates Web sites and business stationery for clients from all over the country. Silverman said he got started by creating a Web site for a client for free, and his business has been growing ever since, gaining new clients by word of mouth or peo ple who saw his work on other Web sites. Each site he designs includes a link to Gecko Designs’ homepage, which shows the company’s mis sion statement next to a towering skyscraper. Silverman said most of his clients find his company this way and assume that the sky scraper is the location of the busi ness. ^ All of his client contact takes place over the phone and the In ternet. Although he has never lied or misled anyone who asked him . about his company, Silverman does attempt to make his business sound a bit larger than it really is. “I always say ‘we,’” he said. And so far, except for an instance where a client wanted to tell Sil verman’s supervisor about the outstanding service Gecko De signs provided, no client has ever asked to speak with another rep resentative, Silverman said. “I think it’s very important not to lie to anybody about it,” he said. When his cell phone rings, Sil verman knows it might be a client calling and checks his caller ID. If it is a client, he answers the phone in. a professional manner, rather than the “hello” his friends hear when they call his other line. Silverman said he had a fellow RA with a British accent record his voice mail greeting, trying to imitate the voice mails of large companies. But besides some attempts at making his company sound big ger than it really is, Silverman takes his business seriously, working anywhere from five to 14 hours a week, depending on his clients’ needs. “It’s important that I feel like I’m doing just as good of a job for Jeffrey Stockton Emerald Entrepreneur and fine-arts major Gabe Silverman contemplates the future of his business, Gecko Designs. Silverman specializes in digital graphic design. them as if they had a company that had a building like that,” he said. Brennan Guth, who runs a kayaking school in Missoula Mont., is one of Silverman’s clients who actually does know how and from where Silverman runs his business. Silverman’s young age did not stop Guth from hiring Gecko Designs for the cre ation of his company’s Web site once he met Silverman and saw how skillfully and professionally he did his job. “He has a lot of entrepreneurial zeal,” Guth said. Guth said he especially appre ciates the speed with which things get done at Gecko Designs. This speed, however, can sometimes get him into trouble. “Sometimes I have four or five clients and they all want things done yesterday,” Silverman said. Silverman suspects that clients sometimes wonder why a project does not simply get handed 4o an other department or another floor, but it hasn’t created a problem yet. The only place a client’s project sometimes gets transferred to is Gecko Designs’ office in Montana. “The Montana office would be my parents’ bedroom,” Silverman said. Many students walking by Sil verman’s residence hall-room wonder about the gecko cups and shirts in his room but do not know that the small room serves as Gecko Designs’ headquarters. Silverman said he usually does not tell people about his compa ny unless they ask. “I don’t like to sound like I’m bragging about it,” he said. Jonan Scheffler, a sophomore majoring in computer and infor mation science is one of a few of Silverman’s friends who know about his business. Scheffler, who recently started his own company with Silverman’s help, said he and Silverman often talk about business. Scheffler said Silver man not only knew how to get a business license, a business bank account and advertising, but he does everything for Gecko De signs on a very professional level. Silverman plans to continue to expand Gecko Designs after grad uating from the University. “Some day, I hope, I’ll have this huge business with a great big skyscraper, [where] other people are working and I’m off having a good time,” he said. Silverman plans to remain his own boss and one day drive a blue Dodge Viper to work. Until then, he has a model of the car sit ting on a book shelf to remind him of his plans for the future. 008233' montage southern bistro 959 pearl street ~ 343.4361 dinner: every night! 5:00 pm - 3:00 am lunch: mon - fri 11:30 am - 2:00 pm open now! Make a change and get involved. Deadlines: Jan. 28: Deadline for candidate filing Ballot measure deadlines: Jan. 24: Ballot measures by initiative Feb. 1: Ballot measures by referendum For more information contact the ASUO Elections Board at 346-3724 or asuoelec@gladstone.uoregon.edu. You can also stop by the ASUO office, Suite 4, EMU. YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON Convocation with Keynote Speaker JOHN KITZHABER, M.D. Governor of the State of Oregon 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 19,2000 Ballroom Erb Memorial Union
