This past week here in Michigan has been a strange one. Last Thursday we had a thunder and lightning storm in the middle of February. Along with it came a ton of rain and then freezing temps that night and next 3 days. At the same time the electricity was out for 3 days due to down power lines from falling trees.

Basement flooded, frozen pipes, etc... Half way through the process of cleaning, my wife paused and made a statement. Something to the effect of 'Can you imagine what it must have been like for the folks devestated by Katrina?'. It made me think of how fortunate we were and how God protected us from much worse.

During the outage not only was the office shut down, but the cell phone tower we use was out as well. Three days of no phones and email. A trip in the car 11 miles to town was necessary just to make a phone call. At least it wasn't the horse and buggy.

Even though it was a challenge for our family it was a great learning experience for us and our girls. The break from the everyday work was also restful. I think that sometimes God just slows us down.

Until next time...

The word 'outsourcing' can be a very sensitive word depending upon the audience. Some are just plain scared of it, others have lost jobs because of it, and others gain great benefit from it.

I'm not going to get into the economics or politics of it here today. But, what I want to do is share a recent experiment with you. Recently, I had the need to get a small Access database program completed. My resources were tied up so I decided to try the outsourcing route.

My tool of choice was www.rentacoder.com, which is an online portal for finding developers of many varying talents. I posted the job bid request with some very specific details on a project that should only take 3 to 5 hours to complete.

This time I left it open for anyone to bid, not just United States based freelancers.

Man was I in for a suprise. I received bid requests that were horrbily mispelled and simple concepts were misunderstood, 99% of them coming from overseas.. It was a frustrating experience wading through all the requests, because so many were that way.

So, did I outsource the project overseas? No, I didn't. The reason was quite simply a business decision. I couldn't afford to have the language/cultural barriers have a negative influence on the timeliness and quality of work. Could I have saved money? Maybe not much on a 3 to 5 hour project, but small or large you've got to consider opportunity cost.

Until next time...

33 years old!

Watching the down hill skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics you can't help but think ... these guys are crazy. But the more I watched them it occurred to me that the ONLY way for these guys to win is to lay it all out on the line. They can't hold back at all.

They make split second decisions and if they second guess themselves the lose. Is it time to put it out there and just go for it???

Until next time.

Holy smokes! It's been over a month since I last emptied my brain onto the www. Much has happened since. Travel, New clients, Site Launches, etc...

Travel...
Flew United (great commercials lately) down to Dallas/Fort Worth via O'Hare (great airport) to meet with a few of my clients, but one in particular, Fun Time RV. It was great to meet faces after 3 years of doing business. Visit their awesome dealership (i think you could get lost on the lot) and some of the folks that work there. Watch their site in the coming months for many changes and some fanatical upgrades to draw in more qualified prospects using their site.

New Clients...
Crestview RV just south of Austin, TX came on with us in the past few weeks. They are the 2nd largest dealership in TX (Fun Time being the largest) and sell more Jayco units than anyone else in the USA. We are working toward having their new site up and running March 1st. Gotta get to work!

Holiday Travel Trailers in Albuquerque, NM also joined us just last week. They are a smaller dealer, but they see the benefits of the Internet and how using InteractRV can help them reach more prospects and sell more units!

New Projects...
Johnson County Special Utilities District launched their new website beginning of this week. Nearly 7 months in the making, but what an awesome improvement. The web is a great way to keep their customers updated about their policies and happenings. However, the greatest improvment was adding the ability for their customers to pay their bills online using credit cards and checks. Plus being able to view 2 years worth of readings and usage history. All within a few clicks.

My eye lids are telling me to vacate the office and head to bed so, until next time ... The best way to develop a great reputation isn’t by marketing – it’s by acting in a way that earns respect - Norm Brodsky