Brenda Paquette came to me a few years ago looking to build a new website to help promote her holistic health classes and services. At the time, I had never even heard of Reiki before, and was completely in the dark about the various forms of angelic healing available today. Brenda had a vision in mind of a soft pastel theme for her website; Angel Guided Hands. She came to me with a couple of basic graphic ideas that we transformed into her own personal vision.
Working with Brenda has always been a good experience for me. It's nice to know folks who are grateful and who offer positive uplifting conversations. After building her website, Brenda has done her best to keep her site up-to-date using the Downeast Design: Content Management System that I include with all of my websites. Every once in a while, she might call for a little assistance, or hire me to help straighten out problems with her home computer. Our friendship has been friendly and courteous since day one.
I remember typing out all of the initial pages of content on her website. At the time, I was new to the terminologies of her field. I really had no idea that there were classes that you could take to learn spiritual healing methods like Reiki, Meditation, Lightarian Rays and Attunement to name just a few.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Rhad Davis solo Musician
I used to list stuff for sale on eBay for a local pawn shop in Biddeford. One day, while doing my work, a gentleman walked into the store to solicit advertising to the store owner. This is how I met Rhad Davis, a salesman, local musician and one of my longest standing customers for websites.
It wasn't something I would have ordinarily have done, but when Rhad discovered that I was a professional website developer, he worked out a special deal with me for advertising. He paid for my ad for the first year in exchange for a website for his own music act. It ended up being a good deal for both of us.
I invited Rhad to my place, where we sat down together and collectively designed the visual outline of his new website. Since he is a pianist, we set the theme of his website around the piano. Rhad didn't even realize until he came into my home that I am an accomplished musician too. We jammed a little bit that day, and really connected both musically and as new business companions. It turned out that Rhad is a very talented musician, and we had a lot of fun that day creating music and graphics for his new site.
The finished website was nice for the time period in which it was constructed. It's been quite a few years now, but the site has really served him well.
It wasn't something I would have ordinarily have done, but when Rhad discovered that I was a professional website developer, he worked out a special deal with me for advertising. He paid for my ad for the first year in exchange for a website for his own music act. It ended up being a good deal for both of us.
I invited Rhad to my place, where we sat down together and collectively designed the visual outline of his new website. Since he is a pianist, we set the theme of his website around the piano. Rhad didn't even realize until he came into my home that I am an accomplished musician too. We jammed a little bit that day, and really connected both musically and as new business companions. It turned out that Rhad is a very talented musician, and we had a lot of fun that day creating music and graphics for his new site.
The finished website was nice for the time period in which it was constructed. It's been quite a few years now, but the site has really served him well.
Fisher James Discount Office Furniture
One of my longest standing clients is Fisher James Discount Office Furniture in Biddeford, Maine. I met Robert Hayward, owner of Fisher James, back in 2006 when we first started doing business together. As I remember, I was hungry for a website client who could take advantage of my unique shopping cart software. Fisher James made a good candidate because they have thousands of individual products which they could easily showcase on their website.
We worked out a fair deal where I could further enhance my software using his website as a sort of sandbox. Bob saved lots of money, and I was able to complete my software.
While working with Bob, I learned a bit about the office furniture business, and even picked up a couple of similar clients as a result of gaining experience in this field.
A couple of years ago, Bob needed some website updates. I just so happened to need a new office chair. The chair that I wanted would have cost me several hundreds of dollars. It was good timing for both of us. We worked out a fair exchange, the website was updated, and I ended up with a great office chair. It's nice to have a connection in the world of office furniture, and Bob has always treated me right.
Because of our friendly relationship, I am always eager to help Bob with whatever small requests he has for me. He doesn't call that often, but when I do hear from him, we spend more time gabbing about our personal lives than the work at hand. Sometimes, I like to drop in on him just to see how he's doing. To me, this is the best kind of customer, because it never feels like work, regardless of what needs to be done.
We worked out a fair deal where I could further enhance my software using his website as a sort of sandbox. Bob saved lots of money, and I was able to complete my software.
While working with Bob, I learned a bit about the office furniture business, and even picked up a couple of similar clients as a result of gaining experience in this field.
A couple of years ago, Bob needed some website updates. I just so happened to need a new office chair. The chair that I wanted would have cost me several hundreds of dollars. It was good timing for both of us. We worked out a fair exchange, the website was updated, and I ended up with a great office chair. It's nice to have a connection in the world of office furniture, and Bob has always treated me right.
Because of our friendly relationship, I am always eager to help Bob with whatever small requests he has for me. He doesn't call that often, but when I do hear from him, we spend more time gabbing about our personal lives than the work at hand. Sometimes, I like to drop in on him just to see how he's doing. To me, this is the best kind of customer, because it never feels like work, regardless of what needs to be done.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
An Inside Glimpse of a Web Developer's World
Downeast Design is my own website development company. I have been building websites since the Internet was still new. I began in 1995 while working on my own personal projects and by 1997 I was employed as a full time web developer by a local Internet Service Provider. I began building websites under my own name in 1998 and have upheld an excellent business reputation since.
I have built many hundreds of websites over the years. As many sites come and go, there is always a constant flow of new ideas and business models which has given me loads of experience in the website design industry. As a web developer, I am hired to build sites in a wide variety of interests from real estate to car dealerships, from restaurants to local bands and so on. I've built sites for photographers, decorators, artists, furniture stores, massage therapists, spiritual healers, non-profit organizations, rental companies, business firms, plumbers, printers, and many other fields of interest too. The list is really too long to elaborate.
The point being, web masters get to see the inner workings of a lot of different types of businesses. With each website that I have built, I have learned a variety of new things about each of the businesses that I have worked with. It's fascinating to me to be able to reflect back on so many colorful experiences. I thought it would be an interesting concept to share some of those experiences with the general public.
The experiences that I want to share are always going to be positive. I'm not the kind of writer who would slander or reveal trade secrets. I'll provide links to the customer's web pages so that my readers can get a further glimpse of the subject that I am sharing my experiences about. Sometimes, my stories could be funny, other times strictly informative. I might share clues about individual's personalities or highlight non-related insights about things that intrigue me while working with new clients.
It's nice to learn new things, and I guess that's what this blog is really going to be about. In most cases, I suspect that I'll share new things that I picked up along the way. While these things could be new to me, they could be old knowledge to a lot of other people out there. So, the nice thing about blogging is the fact that the reader can contribute to the post with their own comments. I'd like to encourage discussions, so long as they are on target with the blogs that I write.
I have built many hundreds of websites over the years. As many sites come and go, there is always a constant flow of new ideas and business models which has given me loads of experience in the website design industry. As a web developer, I am hired to build sites in a wide variety of interests from real estate to car dealerships, from restaurants to local bands and so on. I've built sites for photographers, decorators, artists, furniture stores, massage therapists, spiritual healers, non-profit organizations, rental companies, business firms, plumbers, printers, and many other fields of interest too. The list is really too long to elaborate.
The point being, web masters get to see the inner workings of a lot of different types of businesses. With each website that I have built, I have learned a variety of new things about each of the businesses that I have worked with. It's fascinating to me to be able to reflect back on so many colorful experiences. I thought it would be an interesting concept to share some of those experiences with the general public.
The experiences that I want to share are always going to be positive. I'm not the kind of writer who would slander or reveal trade secrets. I'll provide links to the customer's web pages so that my readers can get a further glimpse of the subject that I am sharing my experiences about. Sometimes, my stories could be funny, other times strictly informative. I might share clues about individual's personalities or highlight non-related insights about things that intrigue me while working with new clients.
It's nice to learn new things, and I guess that's what this blog is really going to be about. In most cases, I suspect that I'll share new things that I picked up along the way. While these things could be new to me, they could be old knowledge to a lot of other people out there. So, the nice thing about blogging is the fact that the reader can contribute to the post with their own comments. I'd like to encourage discussions, so long as they are on target with the blogs that I write.
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