There hasn’t been much going on at Agenceum this week, though I am spending more time looking at C# and the .NET framework on an unrelated programming project.

One very cool new development, however, is that producing new web templates is much faster than before. This is due to having a fairly strong grasp on how to effectively use CSS to create the kinds of cross-browser compatible layouts that I typically need. As a result, I am feeling pretty comfortable with what I can make work. My rough CSS notes, collected over several months, have helped me grok what’s going on with the simple layouts I am using. At some point I will revisit them and reformat them into a cheat sheet / howto guide.

Current Push

There are a few areas that I can work on:

• Creating the simple low-cost packages
• Designing simple templates for specific kinds of entrepreneurs and artists
• Distributing information about the packages to organizations that have members crying out for promotional websites.

This is all marketing. I am feeling the need to collect all these strands of effort into one tracking system that uses a simple formula to manage dozens of different marketing channels. I can feel the shape of it in my mind.

Things are slow right now, but there have been a few key developments:

• I printed 35 sell sheets for the $500 Photo-Website package at DigitalLizard. The quality was quite acceptable, as was the price: US$13.00 for those 35 double-sided prints, and $7 UPS Ground shipping.  This was 1/4th of the price I had quoted from another POD place. I had previously requested a print sample kit from Digital Lizard but never got it, so it was with some trepidation that I placed my small order. Their automated system is pretty good, I must stay. I’ll be using them again for some of their post products.
• I got a chance to catch up with client Mark Pensgen, and he clued me on on the value of step-by-step guides that go through the very basics of writing content. Essentially, anything I can write that illuminates the process of making anything for a website is well worth while, even things that may seem really basic. Those basic steps help anchor the more complex ones.
• I downloaded the trial version of Camtasia Studio for Windows, with the idea of using it to make screencasts describing how to use software to upload websites and edit HTML. It’s US$299, but it’s very polished and easy to use. I’m impressed.
• I converted my davidseah.com website from Expression Engine to a WordPress Template as a favor to a new acquaintance. This has given me more up-to-date knowledge of the current WordPress page architecture, which opens up WordPress as a new platform to offer customized websites

That’s really it for now. There are a few lingering projects that I need to unstick. The low price point that I’m setting for the work is proving difficult to work with if I want to maintain a “cost-effective” work to revenue ratio. I’ve decided, though, that no matter what the cost is, the work should be the same. I believe I mentioned that a few weeks ago; the trick is keeping the process moving along.

Goodness, I almost forgot to have the staff meeting! Here we go.

Status

Chelsea’s website is live! We also have a new $500 Photo Website Package, based on this same template and my buddy Sid’s portrait photography. The surprising thing to me was that I could repackage the exact same template and still feel I was delivering value; having three examples of the site helps. Sid’s photography also really helps make the package a great value. I am having 35 two-sided flyers printed with the information on the photo website package, which cost me about $20 including shipping from Idaho. Not a bad price at all, though I’m taking a gamble on quality.

Also, reconnected with two other website projects. The first of these projects is a design/education project, really. I just passed the HTML files onward and provided some guidance. The second of these projects is for Mark’s more traditional business website, and we’re waiting on content. I got some excellent feedback about what would be helpful in this case: examples of how to write content for a small business, and how to find examples, etc. I was reminded that just knowing how to start is precious information!

I also have been evaluating Unify, the PHP application that allows easy editing of a static website without the need for a CMS or a database. Client Mark gave it a try, and he liked what he could do with it, so that’s a big relief.

Upcoming

I’m trying to close down as many open projects as possible, so I can launch the next round of packaging. Based on Mark and Chelsea’s feedback, the package concept is attractive. I may even be able to raise the price, which would be good because every client is going to need additional design and content guidance, and this extra time needs to be taken into account.

There’s quite a bit of support material to write, and a lot of it can be streamlined further and included in the package. I would say the next immediate production plan would be to create several examples of the “business template” that are attractive and easy to understand. Then, I can create a second sell-sheet. Again, this can be very simple.

Next, packaging the design services is next. I’d prefer, actually, to outsource this to other designers, so I’ll keep a lookout for interested parties.

So here we are again on Tuesday. I’m making it a quick status meeting because I have another meeting tonight.

Old Business

Several client projects are finishing up. Even small projects take a few weeks to complete. Sometimes this is due to my availability, and sometimes it is due to the client. This may be a necessary condition to take into account when dealing with people who are just starting their web presences. There’s a lot to learn not only about the Web, but about Internet-based marketing and personal branding.

I’ve started to finalize some illustration for a lion logo. It’s been a while since I’ve had to do this, but I’m finding that Freehand is again superior for pure drawing and shape-making compared to de-facto industry standard Illustrator. Just sayin’.

New Business

An interesting lesson from the past week is that the number of templates I need is actually quite few. I will have four examples of people using the same template, and people don’t seem to mind. One nice thing about this template is that it’s designed to work with the photography that my buddy Sid is providing to his client; that suggests that a photo+website package is something we could offer. We have enough variety now to show that this particular website template is effective for what it does. It looks nice too.

Development

I bought a license of Unify to try out on my staging subdomain. It’s $16.00. I have a few clients staged on the staging subdomain, so I’ll be able to evaluate its ease of use for editing content, without requiring a database or blog backend. I’m also planning on continuing to look at CodeIgniter, WordPress, and CushyCMS as possible solutions and/or development platforms.

Conclusion

That’s all for now! This is a finish week, closing off as many projects as possible, and perhaps launching some new ones.

I visited five different locations to work today: home, Starbucks, Ashish’s office, Bonhoeffer’s (a local coffee shop), and Sid’s studio (with no Internet). So I’m just getting to the Staff Meeting report.

Current Business

I’m getting close to finishing two of the projects, now that final content is in. What is interesting is that every one of these tiny projects takes many weeks of calendar time to complete, with scattered bursts of activity. I could complain about that, but instead let me just list the criteria that small client projects seem to share, so I can design a process around them:

• These projects are very “spiky” in terms of activity. When the project starts, there’s a surge of activity. Then, as time goes on, the urgency ebbs as other priorities take over; a new job-related priority springs up, difficulty in finding time, changes in direction. The low-cost website is, perhaps by nature, a non-priority purchase because the amounts involved are small. This leads to rescheduling and delay. It’s difficult to run an efficient creative production engine with that kind of input, so I think I need to design a spiky creative production engine that is modeled after a fast food sushi system in reverse; empty trays float around the track, representing available work units on certain days. The enterprising client needs to load the tray with their work before production begins. The main idea is to make it apparently that there are limited production slots, and that timing and preparedness is required. This would also help even out my own planning; being reactive to client needs that can strike at any time, without a maintenance or retainer structure in place, is tough on scheduling and energy.
• Clients often don’t have their own project managers. I have not been offering project management beyond what I have on Basecamp, because the least fun thing in the world I can imagine is chasing after other people’s projects when they are not ready to move. It’s not their fault, but it takes time, and that requires money that is not in the budget. To handle this, I might just have to add a project management fee, so people feel they are paying to be managed. Often times, it’s a relief. I may call this a continuity maintenance fee for projects that linger beyond the original date, if the client needs help getting the ducks lined up in a row. This would be very minimum project management, consisting of use of the Basecamp area.
• Content Quality Assurance is implicitly included in this as well, in areas where the client feels they aren’t expert. This includes supporting content creation, such as photography, logo design, copy writing, marketing, and business strategy. The website often can’t go live until this is done. To identify this as a hangup, I am going to create a website preparedness checklist for clients, with boilerplate copy and links to resources to pound them out. I can also provide custom services at a higher rate.
• Website Maintenance I’ve talked about. I think I have some solutions in place.

Agenceum Processes

There is enough stuff going on that it’s becoming a significant mental burden. This is the combination of scheduling creative time, sending off status emails, doing the creative and technical work away from distraction, and making sure I’m not forgetting anything. And this is with only a handful of clients. On top of that, there’s the need for R&D and expansion of all the support material for each client. This material is reusable, but it’s a drain on my mental capacity the more I have to switch between clients. Ideally, I handle all clients and projects the same, which means I am feeling the need to establish a methodology.

I spent the past day writing up and distilling what I know about web agency processes into a diagram that will help me contextualize everything I’m doing. I’ll post that next as a separate article.

On Deck This Week

• Finish integrating Chelsea’s website with new content and photos
• Convert Chelsea’s Website to CushyCMS or something similar
• Logo work: Chelsea
• Logo work: Leo
• Catch up with stalled projects, get new status update, evaluate need for new support docs and methodologies.
• Create small website kit, based on a single template.