12 Nov
Sounds like a funny thing to say considering I’m in that business. It’s just that I’m particular.
At the end of the day, we don’t want to deliver something we’re not proud of. eLocomotive isn’t here to turn the crank. Some people are looking for that. They need someone else.
Those that want to excel; that want advice; that are willing to take advice; They need us.
8 Nov
I was amused by this quote I saw on someone’s Woot comment:
“There are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand Binary and those who don’t!”
Since Convey Computers moved into the building, things have really started to get geekier. I did my part with the C++ refrigerator magnets but they really elevated things with the “Decaf” and “!Decaf” signs.
I may be working on a Saturdays but at least I’ve still got my sense of humor.
6 Nov
This year seems to be about reshaping, retooling, and refocusing at eLocomotive. We’ve finally admitted to ourselves that we don’t want to do sub par projects. We aren’t going to work with customers who don’t want the same. You’d be surprised how many people want mediocrity. We’ve made major strides to improve operations and define our process. We’ve stopped acting like a startup and started acting like a small business.
Now it’s time to step on the throttle. A tough economy doesn’t change things for us. We always watch our expenses. We’re always selling because our team knows that solid performance is the best sales tool. Our changes are about our own growth and drive.
We don’t want to be mediocre and we don’t want to do it if it’s not going to be great. Now that these changes have started, we’re going to step it up.
11 Jul
After talking with one of my clients recently I was stumped. They want to include personal details about their team but it just didn’t seem to fit with the company’s brand or business model. I realized we might be missing a key ingredient: Why do those personal details matter?
Take me in relation to eLocomotive. I could tell you that I was a Honda certified mechanic before I went to college, that I love hiking, or that I have an extremely athletic mutt that still acts like a puppy at 8 years old. None of this seems relevant in the context of eLocomotive.
I do tell people things like:
It may not be relevant that I’ve played soccer since I was 4. It probably is relevant that when I was young my father’s company installed AS400s and I started working on computers when I was 8.
Telling a story in your website is much more compelling than stopping at buzzwords. If all you say is the facts of what you do you risk becoming a commodity among your customer’s websites. Find a way to bring the relevant personality to your marketing and your website.
15 Nov
After 4 years of waiting, eLocomotive is beginning a mobile website campaign targeted at events and businesses.
We tried selling websites formated for mobile devices in our first year of business. Although everyone thought it was interesting, few were ready to buy. Now, with mobile phones in every meeting, we’re going to begin recommending them to clients again. At this point, it seems foolish not to create a version of your website formatted for customers on the go. We’re bringing it to our partners now and will make a big push first half of 2008.