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Swearing online and in person

September 21, 2011 20 Comments
Curses!

Curses!!! Foiled Again.

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending my third WordCamp Portland event. As usual, it was a great event. It is consistently one of my favorite events of the year.

During one of the sessions led by Aaron Hockley, the topic of ‘personal brand’ (a term I’m not a big fan of, but for lack of a better one) came up. It’s something I wrestle with a bit and I wanted to throw my situation to the room and see what they had to say about it. I said something to the effect of:

If you hang out with me in person you’ll find that I swear. I swear a lot. I swear like a sailor. But, you will rarely, if ever, catch me swearing on my blog, Twitter or Facebook. This originally started because of my kids and just trying to keep my content clean in case they were around it. Then, I started a business and the line between my ‘personal brand’ and my business virtually disappeared. People who know me online know that I am VegasGeek and am also 9seeds. So, keeping it clean now seems like the right thing to do for the business.

After a bit of discussion, CamiKaos grabbed the mic and gave an interesting perspective. Cami had interviewed me back in 2009 at WordCamp Portland and she remarked that we had been chatting casually for a while before the interview, but as soon as the camera was on, Bam! I went in to ‘professional’ mode.

I asked Cami if she had noticed specifically that I don’t swear online. Without hesitation she said yes.

I immediately started thinking about the people I know both online and in person. Do I notice when they swear? (sure) Does it change the way I feel about that person? (nope) Do I notice when somebody swears in person, but doesn’t swear online? (not really) And, as a business owner, the most important question, would I choose not to work with somebody because they swear? (nope)

I brought this up at dinner after WordCamp. Todd said that I didn’t swear that much, but that the swearing increases proportionally based on the number of beers that have been consumed. It’s funny because it’s true.

I’m curious what you think.
- Do you think it hurts somebody’s ‘personal brand’ if they swear (online / in public)?
- Do you think a potential client would base a decision on it?
- Do you think somebody’s ‘personal brand’ extends to their company/job?
- Do you think this is all a moot point thanks to the amount of tattoos I have? :)

(image from flckr user joeshlabotnik)

Filed Under: Family, Personal Tagged With: , ,

Hire an assistant. Now!

July 25, 2011 17 Comments

When we started the company, there were three of us. The other two guys did the bulk of the design/development and I did some development, but mostly I ran the business. I spoke with all prospects, I managed all projects, dealt with accounting… all of it. Then earlier this year, one of those guys left to pursue other interests. Once he left, I took on the bulk of the design work on top of what was already on my plate. This was not a smart move.

For a couple months we rolled forward without making any significant changes to the way things were. We were working crazy hours to deal with everything on our plates and there was never a time when I felt like things were under control. I had lists of every shape and size. Notes on this project and that. But, there wasn’t anything that resembled a method to my madness. It was just… madness. Finally, when my stress level was reaching epic proportions, I made the decision. We need a project manager and we need one now!

As I started putting together the job description for this new position, I quickly realized that it wasn’t just a project manager I was looking for. I needed an assistant with project management skills. I interviewed half a dozen people for the position, but none felt perfect. As I was taking a couple of days to ponder my options, the exact person I had in mind for the position asked if the position was still available. Without a second thought, the position was hers. Welcome, Sarah.

Getting up to speed

Now that we had our person, the real fun begins. We set up an initial meeting to do a bit of a brain dump. I spoke for nearly 2 hours straight while she took notes. A lot of them. When the meeting ended and I saw the amount of information that had been floating around in my head, I was amazed. I knew I had been trying to manage a lot of information about a lot of projects, but seeing it all on paper was a real eye opener.

Over the next few weeks we worked together to find the processes that worked best for us. There is no such thing as a perfect solution when it comes to project management. We tried a few options and settled in on what felt comfortable. We’ve tweaked it over time and what we have now seems to be doing the trick. But, we’re still tweaking as we go.

Once we had the basic framework for project management in place, we started looking at all the areas of the business where she could take tasks off my plate. It should be no surprise that email was one of the first things that came up. On any given day I receive a handful emails from people looking for our services. I started by CC’ing Sarah on all client emails. Within a week she had taken over the ‘first line of defense’ answering the emails that have fairly standard responses. Over the next couple weeks she had taken over the bulk of all new prospect emails. If she did nothing else, she’d be worth her weight in gold! Lucky for me, this was only the beginning.

During those first couple weeks, Sarah turned my ramblings from that first meeting (along with all the emails and new prospects that had shown up since) in to an organized spreadsheet. We had tabs for existing projects, pipeline prospects and deals that we failed to capture. We’d meet a couple times a week to discuss each list. It’s amazing how a 10 minute meeting looking over a list can be so much more productive than 2 hours of pouring through your inbox trying to find all the details…

These are only a few of the things she’s taken off my desk so far. As we continue to refine our processes, I know there will be more.

The Payoff

As I said before, I had a lot of information floating around in my head. Since I was always so busy with everything that was on my plate at the moment, it was virtually impossible to step back and look ahead or behind. I was just rushing from project to project putting out whichever was the biggest fire.

About 4 weeks in to having Sarah on board I had that ‘A HA!’ moment that let me know I had made the right choice. I received an email from a prospect who I had talked to a couple months before. We had exchanged a few emails about a project, but it didn’t go anywhere and he ended up falling through the cracks. Sarah saw his name on that original list of prospects, reached out to him with a simple email asking if he was still in need of our services, and the next day he emails us asking for a contract and invoice so we could start his project. Without Sarah sending that email, it’s unlikely we would have landed that client.

While that is the most obvious example of the benefits of having an assistant, there are plenty of more subtle benefits as well. My time at my desk has been significantly more focused and productive now that I have less to manage on my own.

If I could give you just one piece of advice, stop trying to do it all yourself. Hire an assistant and in no time you’ll be wondering how you managed without them for so long.

Twitter Comments

rzen RT @andrea_r: RT @vegasgeek: Hire an assistant. Now! http://vegasgeek.com/q7x
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andrea_r RT @vegasgeek: Hire an assistant. Now! http://vegasgeek.com/q7x
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Filed Under: Work Tagged With: , ,

May the 4th be with you…

May 4, 2011 Leave a Comment
Star Wars

Many years ago I worked for a software company doing tech support. Like any office, on occasion we would have clients or business partners drop in. On a day when a client stopped in, I just so happened to be wearing a Star Wars t-shirt. It was the first time I had ever worn the shirt.

Quick aside, I -like- the Star Wars movies, but I am in NO WAY a HUGE fan of Star Wars (or Star Trek, for that matter).

As the client was walking through the office, he looks in to my office, sees my shirt and says, “May the force be with you.” It took me a minute to figure out WTF he was even talking about. I then realized I was wearing the SW shirt and chuckled.

From that point forward, whenever that client would call for support, he would reference Star Wars in some way. For example, he’d use “May the force be with you” instead of “Goodbye.” I’d hang up, head over to my buddy’s office and we would laugh our fool heads off.

I love a good running joke. This one has been going on for the better part of 15 years now and it still cracks me up.

Happy Star Wars day. May the 4th be with you!

Twitter Comments

krimonster Lisps are sexy - RT @vegasgeek: My own little "May the 4th be with you" post: http://vegasgeek.com/mt4bwy
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PVAddict Happy Star Wars Day! RT @vegasgeek: My own little "May the 4th be with you" post: http://vegasgeek.com/mt4bwy
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vegasgeek My own little "May the 4th be with you" post: http://vegasgeek.com/mt4bwy
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Filed Under: Personal

No, I will not sign your NDA

April 19, 2011 12 Comments

I’m the first point of contact for our small business. As such, I’m the one who reads all of the contact form submissions. Here is part of a form submission I received recently:

Before I talk to you about my project, I need you to sign an NDA.

What I think they really mean is: I don’t trust you.

The fact that you recently saw The Social Network and think every developer is going to steal your idea and turn it in to the next Facebook behind your back is not my problem.

I have a pretty standard response that I send to people who ask for an NDA. For my developer friends, I’m posting it here for you to use as you see fit:

No, I will not sign your NDA and here’s why; I don’t like signing anything that I don’t read and understand completely. Language in NDAs (and most contracts) love to throw in all sorts of legalese that just don’t give me a comfy feeling by signing without having somebody else take a look at it first. So this means that I’m 1-2 hours in, and maybe out of pocket if it turns out to be something I need to have a lawyer take a quick look at, and this is just to talk about YOUR project.

I have not looked at your NDA, but I give you my word that we are honest and trustworthy people and as programmers we are far too busy to be stealing any ideas to work on for ourselves.

I realize this doesn’t sit well with some people. If this is a show stopper and you need to find a different developer, we understand completely. However, I’d be more than happy to talk to you about your project with the understanding that any information you tell me IS held with the strictest confidence.

For any prospective clients who are turned off by this, I offer you this link. No hard feelings.

Twitter Comments

LookSharpDesign +2! RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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nanderoo RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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williamsba I usually sign, but I'm a glutton for punishment :P RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA
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caseysoftware RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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ryancduff RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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lewayotte +1 RT: @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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sdenike RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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ahockley RT @vegasgeek: Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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vegasgeek Blog post (rant): http://vegasgeek.com/nda - No, I will not sign your NDA.
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Filed Under: Work Tagged With: , ,

Donkey Kong Art

January 4, 2011 1 Comment

I have good friends. For example, Shayne. For Christmas he sent me the Donkey Kong wall art that I had mentioned I thought was really cool after seeing the wall art he put up in his kid’s room (Super Mario). It took me a couple weeks to get around to putting it up, but holy crap, I freakin’ love it!

Just for fun, I shot a time lapse video of me putting the artwork up last night. It was a perfect excuse to use the iphone’s TimeLapse app, the gorilla pod and the Glif iphone camera mount. (the site URL has geek right in it, so you should come to expect this…)

Thanks again, Shayne.

Twitter Comments

vegasgeek Donkey Kong Art http://vegasgeek.com/aij
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Filed Under: Personal

Why I’m now a Bose customer for life

January 3, 2011 7 Comments
Bose AE2

When it comes to headphones, I usually stick to garden variety ear-buds. I’ve had several pair from Skull Candy and they do the trick nicely. Especially considering they cost under $20. But, I don’t always like to use ear-buds and would rather have a pair of over the ear headphones. A few years back, my friend Todd introduced me to the Bose Triport headphones and, even though they were a fair bit more than I normally would pay for headphones, I LOVED how they blocked out all background noise, were nice and light and sounded great. I was sold. I picked up a pair that weekend and have been using them ever since. That is, until recently.

About a year ago a piece of plastic broke on my Triports. The same had happened to Todd’s pair and he used epoxy to hold his together. I’m not nearly that handy and I just sorta dealt with it. They still worked, they still stayed on my head, I saw no reason to abandon them. However, a few months back, I started to notice that another piece of plastic had cracked on them. This crack was due to the previously broken piece not performing it’s function anymore and what’s worse, when this crack made it’s way to breaking, it would render the headphones useless. I had heard that Bose had a replacement policy for defective headphones, so it was time to make a call.

I called the local Bose outlet and confirmed that they do have a policy for defective products. Sweet! We headed in and when I got there, the employee was super helpful. I showed him the broken piece and the new crack. He pulled out a binder and looked up the model. He informed me that they no longer make the Triports, but there is a new model available and my current Triports had a $60 exchange. He took me over to the display where he let my try out the Bose AE2 model. After testing them out for a couple minutes, I was sold. They are nice and light, sound great and they are a better built pair of headphones than the Triports. What’s not to love?!? I asked how much this model costs and he informed me that they were $150. I was a little bummed that after the $60 for my defective triports, I was still going to drop almost $100 on a pair of headphones. That is until he corrected me. “No, you get this pair for $60 + tax.”

Bose didn’t have to offer me a credit on headphones I’ve owned for 3+ years, but they did. When I was ready (but not thrilled) to pay $90 for the replacements the employee didn’t need to correct me and save me an extra $30, but he did. I should also mention, when I handed him my headphones, he didn’t ask for a receipt, where I bought them, how long ago I bought them. He just asked how he could help.

Hey retailers, want to know how to make a customer for life? High quality product, very generous defect/return policy and great customer service. Sounds pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Then why do so many of you get it wrong?

Thanks Bose. I’ll definitely be back!

Twitter Comments

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DIY Sangria

December 29, 2010 11 Comments
DIY Sangria

A couple months back I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with Chris Brogan at Texas de Brazil. When the waitress was asking us what we wanted to drink, Chris suggested a pitcher of sangria. I’m not a wine drinker, but agreed to split it with him. I am glad I did. It was my first time trying sangria, and it was VERY tasty.

Since then I ordered sangria at another place, and pretty much hated it. The main difference being the first sangria was made with red wine and the second used white wine. Well, at least now I know I need to ask if it’s red or white sangria before I order next time.

I had the brilliant idea of making sangria at the house for Christmas. I went online and checked out a few dozen recipes, but couldn’t find one that sounded exactly like what I wanted. So my wife and I just started making a list of items and headed off to the store to grab the ingredients and create our own version. We bought enough ingredients for 2 batches. We made the first batch the night before so we could test it out. If it was good, we’d match the recipe the next day. Otherwise, we’d tweak as needed. I’m happy to say that we liked the first version enough to make the same version both times. I had offered to share the recipe if all went well, so here you go!

DIY Sangria

Ingredients:
1 bottle red wine (merlot)
1 cup ginger ale
4 oz lemonade
12 oz pineapple juice
1 dozen grapes
1 lime
1 orange
1 green apple
3 tbs sugar

How to prepare
- Slice grapes in half
- Slice orange in to rounds
- Slice lime in to rounds
- Skin, core and dice apple
- Add grapes, orange, lime, apple and sugar to pitch
- Use spoon to mix and gently mash fruit/sugar
- Add wine, pineapple juice, ginger ale and lemonade
- stir
- refrigerate for an hour
- Serve over ice

What we’d do different
For being our first go at this, I’m pretty happy with the results. That being said, we’ve talked about some options for what we’d do differently next time around. Here are some of the things I plan to try tweaking:

- Replace lemonade with orange juice
- Use a cabernet instead of merlot
- Not include the slices of lime

If you end up making DIY Sangria, report back and let me know how you liked it. Or, if you tweaked it any, let me know what you tried and what the results were. I’m already looking forward to making another batch this weekend!

Twitter Comments

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Filed Under: Personal

Today, we work on us

December 17, 2010 6 Comments

I’m sure you’ve heard the proverb “The shoemaker’s children are often shoeless”, right? When you are running a service based business, it’s inevitable; you are going to wake up one day and realize that everything about your business is out of date. Your website has 6 month old pricing, your brochures have photos of products that are collecting dust in the basement by now. You get the idea.

A couple months back, my partners and I came to the realization that we have been spending so much time working on client’s that we have totally been neglecting things that will ensure the long term success of our own business. Some of the things were simple, like setting up a newsletter signup form. Not a big deal, but if we don’t take the time to do it, another year will fly by and I’ll be saying, “gee, I sure wish we had done this a year ago…”

We tried to squeeze in some time here and there to get some things updated, but something would always come up. This was going to take a shift in the way we do things. We needed to do something big.

Internal Work Only Days
Starting at the beginning of November, we instituted a new rule at the office; No outside client work on Fridays. We work long hours on Monday-Thursday helping our clients, but on Fridays it is all about us!

Making your own internal rules is great, but we still have to answer to clients. I was a little concerned about having to explain this to new and existing clients. You never really know how people will react. Every response has been overwhelmingly positive. A lady I spoke with earlier this week said, “Congratulations! I wish we could do the same here!”

To be clear, this doesn’t mean we shut off the phone and stop answering emails. We are definitely available for our clients if there is an emergency. If a server is on fire, we’ll drop what we are doing and get right on it. But, changing the color of a link from blue to purple can wait until Monday.

Our results have been great. We have some new projects that we are working on that we’ll be releasing pretty soon. None of these would have happened if he hadn’t taken the time to focus on ourselves.

Give it a shot. If you aren’t able to give up a day a week, maybe take a day or two a month. Something, anything is better than nothing!

Twitter Comments

dvineexpression RT @vegasgeek: Today, we work on us http://vegasgeek.com/ffc #successtips
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Filed Under: Work

No new ideas Thursdays

December 6, 2010 Leave a Comment

I just finished watching this Ted talk given by Jason Fried (co-founder of 37signals) titled; Why work doesn’t happen at work.

This talk really hit home. For the final couple of years at my previous job we had enough meetings to make sure that it would be virtually impossible for people to get much done. What’s worse, just because the way my brain works, the lack of “getting stuff done” would turn in to stress. I would feel like I needed to come in earlier or stay later at the office until I had accomplished something productive. But, once you start going in early or staying late, that can cause stress in other areas of your life. It really was a no-win situation.

I’m happy to say, in my new gig, we don’t have a single scheduled internal meeting.

While listening to the Ted talk, Jason threw out the idea of “No talking Thursdays” and I literally laughed out loud. Not because I thought it was a silly idea. Quite the opposite, really. But, it reminded me of something my friend Jason Murphy and I had come up with a few years back; No New Ideas Thursdays. Here’s why:

Jason and had been friends and worked for the same company, but on two opposite ends of the building. Then, I got moved to an office right next to Jason’s. We weren’t working on the same team, per se. But, our goals were pretty similar and we would constantly chatter back and forth about how we could do this or that. The problem was, it wasn’t JUST work related stuff. We had a 1000 ideas for websites we wanted to build outside of work. Then we’d talk about how to build it, or how to market it, or software, or, or, or… It got to the point where we instituted No New Ideas Thursdays so that we would come in, sit down and actually work on one project for the entire day. It was amazingly helpful.

At 9seeds, we haven’t had to implement anything that drastic yet. Though, I believe we’ve each taken Radio Silence days where we just don’t start up IM or Skype and only check email every couple hours. If you have the opportunity, try it. It’s very productive!

If you work in a corporate job where you have to be somewhere from 9 to 5 (or 7 to 4 like at my previous job), take a few minutes and watch the video above. Then, send the link to your boss.

Twitter Comments

sdenike RT @vegasgeek: No new ideas Thursdays http://vegasgeek.com/guq
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vegasgeek No new ideas Thursdays http://vegasgeek.com/guq
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Filed Under: Work