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Amidst Another Economic Shift, IT Consulting Owner Shares What It Takes to Overcome Odds

MADISON, Wisconsin (Viz Release) August 3, 2020 – – Owner Nancy Peckham was a part of a small percentage of woman-owned businesses when she started her IT consulting business, Valicom, in 1991. Her telecom expense management firm has been a success through many telecom industry changes including digital disruption, the recession in  and the global recession in 2008. With this experience, Nancy hopes to ignite hope amongst small businesses across the globe during another economic challenge.

“When I started the business, my office tools consisted of an Intel 10286 (100Mbps memory) which was a second-generation home computer, word processing, and spreadsheet (Excel) software,” explains Nancy. “In the first five years of business, we kept our ears to the ground and listened to marketplace needs. We discovered that there were quite a few errors and overcharges in carrier bills. Based on that, we began offering invoice auditing services. There were several changes that were occurring and new technology that was being introduced in the industry. Mobile became mainstream in the marketplace and the use of the internet was becoming more widespread. In addition, we listened to our clients and noticed the need in the marketplace for assistance in providing more accurate cost allocation and payment of telecom and mobile bills.”

The need for a vendor-independent consulting firm wasn’t enough to hold off discrimination and bias as a female in a male-dominated industry. Industries associated with technology, especially in the ’80s and ’90s, was vastly run by male ownership and operations. “It was difficult to gain respect as a leader and a successful business owner as a woman in the field of information technology. There were significant challenges being taken seriously with sales to clients, developing partnerships with telecom vendors, attracting dedicated employees, and involvement in making a difference with industry associations. Luckily, I learned a lot from my mom who also started a business in a male-dominated world. Looking back, I would have given myself a handful of advice to get through those challenges. My advice to women who are courageously jumping into a business owner role is:

Be confident and assertive. You will gain respect by being knowledgeable and by communicating effectively. Listening to the needs of your clients or customers and unwaveringly championing your cause, purpose, or “why” is really important to provide a solid foundation for growth.

Once you solidify your plan through market research, having the necessary capital to get you through the lean years will allow you to reinvest and grow. Establishing values – your purpose and vision- will provide the framework for everything you do and the people you work with.”

Technology has changed and the demand to control complex telecom environments continues to increase pushing Valicom to evolve. We are excited to work with some of the brightest minds in the TEM industry to redesign our interface with guidance from Nielsen Norman Group training,” explains Nancy, excited to launch the redesign of the TEM software, Clearview, in January.

Only 5% of leadership positions in the tech sector are held by women in 2020 and although the global climate is uncertain, watching Nancy’s journey should provide hope and inspiration to men and women seeking stability in a world of change. To learn more about Nancy’s story, visit www.valicomcorp.com or email marketing@valicomcorp.com.

ABOUT VALICOM

Valicom is a values-based, woman-owned business, offering premium telecom expense management solutions via an intuitive and robust tool, Clearview. Clearview tracks voice, wireless, and data assets in one interface with ease by controlling inventory, invoices, contracts, procurement, and budgeting with reporting and dashboards. Valicom’s TEM solutions lower costs, reduce risk, and increase operational efficiency.

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