I wanted to share our Years in Review. A few days before Christmas, our office environment is typically humdrum with hardly a few phone calls and emails. As the 18th century poem Twas the Night Before Christmas goes, “Not a creature was stirring”, except for my programmers, who were clicking and scrolling and clacking mouse and keys, making beautiful things out of zeros and ones. As evidenced by the repetitive motion of toes tapping and knees jerking, I’m feeling quite antsy. If you’re an entrepreneur, you should understand that when the flood of communication from clients suddenly stops cold, a metaphorical whiplash ensues. You long to push forward with force, but doing so requires the presence of customers; the ones who have gone home to enjoy their families. So you (if you’re like me) wait it out patiently, setting your sights toward the days following Christmas. Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas. My kids love Christmas. As far as the corporate modus operandi goes, at least in my industry however, it’s all about getting beyond Christmas so that you can get on with business. Bah Humbug!
Full of anticipation on this, the day after Christmas, I leaped from my bed with excitement. Plans and sugar plums were to be realized, starting today. On the short stroll to my car the air was unusually warm, the sky was a pleasant blue, and birds were chirping gleefully. Mary Poppins, with umbrella in hand, fluttered down from her chimney perch and greeted me with a smile. What a beautiful morning!
Then it happened. The key slid steadily into the ignition. A slight turn of the wrist. Click click click. The battery was dead. For the next 15 minutes, jumper cables were laced from one car battery to the next and neighbors could hear (sorry) the revving of engines. I drove the car to Pep Boys and waited… waited… waited. So much for taking the bull by the horns.
Times like this call for a mocha. Some turn to booze; I turn to caffeine. The half mile walk to the quaint coffee house was well worth the smooth lather of caffeine that warmed my throat and eased some anxiety. It is from here that I write this post. Contradictory to my former prediction, this time is now for reflecting and journaling. It’s strange how things turn suddenly like this.
Sitting here at this java shack during working hours brings back memories. Three years ago, my team had no place to call office. We would migrate from coffee shop the coffee shop, so as not to wear out our welcome. In the interest of saving money, we hijacked their Internet, work space, and electricity. Though there were an abundance of interruptions, employees enjoyed particular daily perks: free cups of specialty drinks and lunch.
We still bring in coffee and treats on occasion, but these benefits are now enjoyed from an actual office desk. Looking back, it’s amazing how far we’ve come. At the start of 2012, we were on a path toward doubling the size of our business. That was the plan anyway. Yet, the economy and other events outside of our control changed the tide. A struggle befell us. The proverbial water rose to our noses and we strained to stay afloat. This year, on the other hand, we enjoyed stability and slight-but-steady growth. We incorporated, trimmed our administrative staff, and hired an additional developer. We’ve had long-term programming jobs, as well as government projects. There has been a steady flow of work since January and not even I – The Big Cheese – have missed a single paycheck. Some of you business owners will view this as a feat in itself.
So what’s on the horizon for this next year? Well, after the auto shop fixes my battery, it will be time to launch forward toward achieving greater stability and growth. Next next year, we plan on blogging more – which means that you’ll get more fresh ideas on how to grow your online business. We’ll experiment with various blogging formats: text, voice, and even video (this blog post was the result of a voice-to-text memo). In addition, if there’s enough interest, we hope to roll out various subscription packages. You’ll be able to choose from search engine optimization, social media, content development, Pay-Per-Click, and reputation management subscription options. This will all go toward maintaining the investment you’ve already made into your website and toward growing your Internet presence. We hope to a hire a Traffic Development Engineer, another Programmer, and a Salesperson.
If you are already a customer of SiteHatchery.com, you may get a phone call or an email from us about optimizing your website for mobile and handheld devices (i.e. responsive design). If it all works out, it’s going to be a great year for both SiteHatchery.com and our clients!
Please feel free to give us a call or email us if we can help you in anyway. Here’s to a great year!