The lights are always on.

This morning I awoke to a gnarly rain and wind storm. The lights flickered all morning, but nothing went out. Meanwhile all across the county, power lines were dropping like flies. One of the perks about living here is that despite our wild winter weather in Humboldt, the power always stays on in our building. What makes us special? Well, we are on the same …

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Getting our ducks in a row

The comprehensive online storefront, client intranet, and gallery that is the core of this business’ success resides at a dot com domain. (If you’d like to know what domain, please return our Non-Disclosure Agreement.) When we completed our trademark registration for the business name we also registered .net, .biz, and .info domains which we currently have set up to auto-forward to the .com website. We …

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Every day is so different…

In 9 years, not one single day has been boring. In this business, every day is so different from the next. As long as you’ve got it in you to take each day and make the most of it, you’ll find that there’s never and end to things that need to be done. The biggest quality an entrepreneur needs is discipline, and motivation. Ok, that’s …

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This one goes out to Don.

Here’s a sad but interesting coincidence … as if all coincidences aren’t interesting enough:

Last week we printed a 7′ Magic Pak banner display for the National Brain Tumor Foundation. They placed their order by phone after reviewing our website and approved the artwork I designed for them on Monday. As it turns out, just the day before my friend Don Wolski passed away after a long battle with brain cancer. We’ll miss you Don.

Don was the long time host of our local NPR radio station’s Bayside Hayride — a hokey yet enjoyable mix of old-time string band, bluegrass, folk and country tunes that airs every Sunday evening at 5:00 pm. He was also a founding member of the Redwood Technology Consortium — a local non-profit group serving as the primary information and educational resource on issues related to the technology industry on California’s North Coast.

What touched me most about Don’s struggle with cancer was the way the community turned out in full force to support him and his family. Once this tight-knit town was aware that Don’s treatments were financially challenging for his family, a benefit tamale dinner was coordinated with all the proceeds going directly to them. Hundreds of people showed up. Local businesses donated food, drinks, and services. And everyone had a great time dancing to the musicians who played pro bono.

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The beauty of this business

Or, I should say one of the beauties … is that the bright idea we had one day a few years back for an online storefront full of graphic solutions has proven itself to be successful. Here’s just one example:

When I got to my desk this morning, one of the first emails I downloaded said “Thank you for your order”. I just love it when that happens, especially when it’s unexpected. When customers place an order on our webiste they receive an acknowledgement email and we receive a copy. So I immediately logged into the shopping cart admin area of our site and clicked on “check orders” to view a new job ticket complete with payment infmration and all the materials required to produce a new order for shelf talkers. The comments field included clear instructions for artwork we would be receiving from the customer.

While they could have chosen to submit artwork through our Client Intranet or via our FTP site, this customer chose to provide a link for downloading the files from their site. We will preflight the files, contact the client if there are any concerns (of which rarely there are), produce the job, ship it, and charge the card they provided. This usually happens without ever talking to the customer. Such is the beauty of e-commerce.

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Learning from the Geese

I just love this time of year in Eureka… Throughout February and March, literally tens of thousands of once endangered Aleutian Geese stop by on their migration back North to Alaska. I understand the annual Morning Fly-Off at the the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is quite a sight to see as flock after flock take flight from the grassy fields. While I have not …

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Bicycle Deliveries: Paid Time Off!

Went on A Bike Ride on this Sunny Spring Day Went to drop a job off at a local print shop. We print ‘em, they cut ‘em. We’ve got a great arrangement going on. They bill us at the end of the month for the variety of bindery service they help us out with. We’ve known the owner of this shop for years. He’s the …

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Learn What it’s Like to Live and Work the Dream

“I’d Rather be the Captain of My Own Dinghy than a Junior Officer on the Titanic” – Dr. James Chan, founder and principal of Asia Marketing and Management (AMM) We’re glad you’re here. Step into our shoes, and experience what it’s like to be a self-employed small business owner in one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. You’ll learn about our everyday lives, …

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