We were lucky to catch up with Gayatri & Rajesh Bollapragada recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gayatri & Rajesh, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Hi there! My husband is a tech engineer and I am a trained part-time educator who has served in Frisco ISD for a few years. We have always wanted to start a small business that serves the community and families around us. Around the time of the COVID 19 pandemic, we were looking to start something new. We began our business journey in 2020 and started a Co-working Space (COLLAB 360) and a STEM learning Center (Techie Factory Franchise). We are happy to have embarked on these ventures together!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
This is the story of how my husband and I turned entrepreneurs. In 2020, before the pandemic began, we purchased an office space in Mckinney. It was an investment property and we were having a tough time renting it out. We saw a high demand for temporary rentals and virtual offices during that period. We saw that many commercial renters want to avoid a long term lease and are looking for flexible options. So, we decided to convert our property to a fun co-working hub called COLLAB 360 Co-working Spaces. At COLLAB 360, we provide affordable services to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the community. Since we started out, we are blessed to see our rentals and co-working memberships grow. We also kept looking for other opportunities in the education space around this time. In 2021, we invested in a STEM Learning franchise – Techie Factory. At Techie Factory, we teach Robotics, Coding, Digital Animation and STEM to kids ages 7-14. Techie Factory encourages creativity, enquiry and discovery skills in STEM. Our goal is to help children build key technology skills for the future. We’re thankful for the opportunities to serve the community around us through our businesses.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Getting the word out on social media about our new business was a big challenge for us. We published ads for our businesses on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and NextDoor. We tried to get the word out as much as possible. For online search-engine success, we update our website often with relevant content. We make sure the website contains important keywords defining our business. We ensure the keywords show up consistently in all our web and social media content. To ensure people can find our business, we have setup ad keyword searches on GoogleAds. We continue to partner with businesses in our community. We offer their services at our location or take our services to their locations. Affiliate marketing attracts more customers (without having to spend too much on marketing) . COLLAB 360 serves as an affiliate to many bigger Virtual Office businesses in the area. Techie Factory partners with other STEM education centers in Frisco/Mckinney. When we collaborate with like-minded organizations, it is a win-win for all involved. This way we have tried to increase our market presence and bring our services to a bigger audience.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Communicate frequently with existing and prospective customers about your services, offers and promotions. Use newsletters, emails, and social media marketing to grow your clientele. Focus on providing the best customer service possible to your clients. Gather truthful Google or social media customer reviews from happy customers. Display your customer testimonials and stories on your website or on social media. When we provide our customers with the best service, we get the good word out without much effort. Customer satisfaction always lead to positive growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.techiefactory.com/frisco/enroll
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techiefactory_frisco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TFFrisco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/collab-360/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tf_frisco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPak97BqYGGo54jYVP2K-fg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/collab-360-mckinney-3
- Other: www.collab360coworking.com https://www.facebook.com/collab360cowork/