SpinWeb has some extra office space that is not in use and I would like to rent it to an Indianapolis business looking for a great deal on beautiful office space. There are 4 sections in our office (2 upstairs and 2 downstairs) and we are not using one of the downstairs sections.
Details:
- Approximately 900 sq ft
- High speed wireless Internet
- Alarm system
- Water cooler
- Access to a beautiful conference room with projection equipment
- Office shared with a great, fun design agency
- Fantastic location (86th and College in Nora)
- Ample parking
- Snow removal service
- Janitorial service
- In the heart of North side restaurants and shopping
- Private kitchenette and bathroom
- Flexible month-to-month terms
- All utilities and Internet paid by SpinWeb
- $750/month flat rate
- Optional: can be sliced into a smaller piece for lower rent
Contact:
Michael Reynolds
michael@spinweb.net
866.SPINWEB x1200
SpinWeb was featured on the ROWE blog today:
Cali and Jody » Blog Archive » The ROWE List.
Very exciting! We have been thrilled since migrating to ROWE and it’s great to be featured on the blog. Thanks, Cali and Jody!
Unless you have not seen a single piece of news in the past few months, you are probably aware that these are uncertain economic times. Though we all hope for a fast recovery and stronger economic times soon, it also pays to be pro-active and look for ways to become more efficient and re-evaluate how we are investing money into our businesses. Here are some ways to reduce costs while actually improving sales, service, and flexibility in your business.
Replace Your Office Software with Google Apps. Most businesses use Microsoft Office on PCs to allow employees to create documents and spreadsheets. However, did you know that Google also offers an office suite that happens to be free? Additionally, utilizing Google’s office suite (which includes Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations) allows your entire office to collaborate on documents and track changes in real time. This can reduce your expense for purchasing and upgrading office software to $0.
Replace Expensive Office Phone Systems with Cell Phones. Most businesses have a traditional phone system that consists of big, clunky phones that sit on desks. At the same time, many companies also provide cell phones for key employees. Why pay for both? Ditch the desk phones and go to a sleek, efficient, mobile-only system. Inbound calls can be handled by an auto-attendant such as Onebox, or by a live reception service like The Intelligent Office (be sure to ask for Matt!). These services will route inbound calls directly to the appropriate mobile phone and present a seamless experience to the caller. Not only can this reduce your costs, but it also facilitates better customer service since employees are no longer tied to a desk.
Re-invest your Yellow Pages Budget Into Online Search Marketing. Many businesses are beginning to understand that the Yellow Pages is a dying advertising medium and is producing fewer and fewers qualified leads as time goes on. At the same time, the online search market is booming (ever heard of Google?). Reduce your Yellow Pages budget down to $0 and re-invest that money into Search Marketing and I can almost guarantee that you will get a dramatically better return on investment. Search marketing reaches more people and allows you to generate targeted leads, unlike the Yellow Pages which has a higher percentage of people who are just price-shopping. Before you start your search marketing campaigns, be sure that your web site is current and professionally-designed.
Network, Network, Network!. As customers become more and more cautious, trust becomes even more important. Referral marketing and networking is a great way to build a network of trust that can lead to strong business relationships. Consider investing in memberships like BNI, Rainmakers, and other groups that are designed to facilitate referrals. While these groups include an initial investment in the form of membership fees, the rewards typically far outweigh the cost when done with full commitment and participation.
Reduce Travel and Communication Costs Through Videoconferencing and Web Meetings. With gas prices and travel expenses still high, it pays to consider holding meetings via Skype or other videoconferencing services. Skype is free and allows two people to talk and see each other from their computers over the Internet. Need to meet with a group and share visual aids? Hold meetings via GoToMeeting or DimDim (which is free). Both services even include a VoIP option which means no phone cost.
There are many ways to save money and keep sales strong in an uncertain economy. Interested in learning more about any of these ideas? Have some ideas of your own? Please comment.
Well said:
I admit that I’ve been guilty of subscribing to the “you’re just born with it” school of thought when it comes to taste but I’ve come to realize that this is somewhat elitist and also just plain not true. Additionally, it serves as a cop-out and an excuse to avoid the responsibility of having good taste.
Don’t be lazy - learn to understand the details that matter.
Thanks to Douglas Karr, I discovered a very useful list of usability rules that make good sense to review every now and then:
50 Web Usability Tips that Help You Attract and Retain Web Visitors.
A nice reminder that little details matter.
If you have not heard of Twitter, chances are you will soon. Twitter is a communication tool that allows individuals and organizations post small updates which can then be seen by “followers” of that person or organization. Followers can choose to receive Twitter updates via the web, instant messenger, or text message. Twitter is free and it takes a few minutes to create an account.
So how can Twitter be used in business? It’s a very popular tool for connecting people in a social setting but more and more businesses are using Twitter for business communication, as well.
Technical Status Messages. Twitter can be used to convey information about the status of systems that customers rely on. A great example of this is the way that 37signals uses Twitter to broadcast updates on system outages on their products (such as Basecamp, which is used by SpinWeb). If Basecamp is down, 37signals sends out a quick “tweet” which says something like “Basecamp is down for about 10 minutes… we are working on getting it up and running as soon as possible. Sorry for the problem!” This nice little message is delivered to my cell phone which quickly keeps me in the loop so I know what’s going on. It’s quite handy.
Product Updates. Another great use of Twitter is to send product updates. For example, if your company writes software and you release a new version, you can send out a quick message announcing this and encourage your customers to download the latest version from your web site.
Blogging. You can connect your Twitter feed to your company blog, which means that whenever your write new articles and post them to your web site, they will be announced on your twitter feed. Everyone who is following you will then see a note about your new blog post.
Public Relations and Media. Media professionals can use Twitter to send real-time updates from events that they are covering. Hosting a fundraiser? Post updates on money raised throughout the night. Covering a political rally? Post notes and developing stories.
Remember that most Twitter users receive updates via text message directly to their cell phones. This makes Twitter a very powerful way to communicate instantly to a large group of people. Careful and thoughtful use of Twitter can supplement your business communication in a very efficient way.
Interested in following SpinWeb on Twitter? Look us up and become one of our followers by clicking here!
I came across this blog post from 37signals today:
The difference between common knowledge and universal knowledge - 37signals.
I enjoyed this because it’s something we constantly struggle with at SpinWeb. The struggle is “how do we make this easy for our clients” while still following common usability rules. As tech-oriented people, we (i.e. the team at SpinWeb and similar teams at similar agencies) often do forget that the average person has no idea what Twitter is and has never used Facebook. We take many things for granted and so we sometimes forget that others don’t live in our world.
It’s a fine balance point between providing extreme education and support, and at the same time asking our clients to take a leap of faith and supplement their existing knowledge with some new skills that we are happy to teach. The best relationships are a result of both parties making an effort to learn and grow.
Email is a powerful tool for communication in business. When used correctly, it can help you move projects forward, gather valuable information, and delegate actions. When used poorly, however, it can become a source of frustration and inefficiency. Here are some proven guidelines for improving the effectiveness of your email communication.
Use a descriptive subject line. I see subject lines all the time that consist of “Hi” or “Question”. This is absolutely useless and makes it impossible to glean information about the message while scanning or searching subject lines. Instead, use a descriptive subject line that gives a very short summary or label related to the actual topic of the message. This will make your recipient more likely to read and act on your message and makes it easier to scan in a long list of messages.
Keep it short. Most people today are very busy and will have very little patience for an email that rambles and requires extreme effort to digest. Talk in clear, concise points and keep it as short as possible. In general, the longer the email, the slower your recipient will reply - if he or she replies at all.
Separate topics by paragraph. No one wants to squint through a long email that has no visual separation between topics. Keep your topics short and concise and separate them by a double-space. Paragraphs in email should not be indented, either.
Keep it actionable. This is an often-ignored guideline. Your recipient is probably very busy and has many other emails fighting for attention. The easier you make it for your recipient to act, the more likely it is that you will get results. People naturally want to process the things that are easiest and so by keeping your message clear and actionable, you increase the chances of a response. If you need something, say so succinctly. If you have a question, ask it clearly. Whatever action you need, get to the point and make it easy for your recipient to help you.
Include a signature. This courtesy is also commonly ignored. Every business email should have a signature. This is a small block of text that appears at the bottom of your message that includes your phone number and other contact information (company name, title, web site, etc.). This makes it easy for your recipient to call you if necessary, or find information on your company web site. Any email system will allow you to set up a default signature that is included automatically in every message. Don’t make your recipient go on a scavenger hunt for your contact information - include it in every email.
Remember to use proper email etiquette when communicating with your business contacts and you will be noticed as a great communicator and someone who is easy to do business with.
I stumbled upon this great article today on 43Folders:
Writing sensible email messages | 43 Folders.
This summarizes all my griped about today’s email usage. One of my biggest frustrations about modern business communication is how little time some people put into crafting a proper email message. Please read this and share it with all your friends 
Recently, many of our new clients at SpinWeb have expressed interest in what our process is for creating web sites. At SpinWeb, we have a highly systematic and proven process for designing, building, and deploying professional web sites successfully. The following is an explanation of how that process works and will offer a better understanding of why we do the things we do and what we are actually doing as a site is being created.
Blueprint
The first step in creating a professional web site is the blueprint. Just as you would not build a house without a blueprint, we don’t feel that a professional web site should be built without a blueprint. The blueprint process starts with an interview with our client during which we ask a series of questions that uncover the needs and goals of the web site. At the end of this process, we deliver a detailed document that outlines the framework of the web site, including site map, workflow, module attributes, and other pieces of information that will define the outcome of the web site. This is the “road map” that the design team uses to design the site. By creating a blueprint, we are able to identify necessary changes and requirements early on before actual design begins. This saves time and money. To see an example of a web site blueprint, please feel free to contact us.
Design Comp
After the blueprint is finished, the design team then creates a design comp. The design comp is a set of image files that represent the look and feel of the site. This is typically an image of the home page and and interior page of the site and is a full design of what the finished site will look like. This gives our client a chance to review the design before the next step begins so that any necessary changes can be made early on, which again saves time and money.
Build-out
Once the design is ready, build-out begins. Using the house analogy, this is where the beams, structure, and walls are put in. During the build-out phase, the design team creates the CSS/XHTML code that will frame the site online. During this phase, the design team not only writes the code, but also tests the site on all the major operating systems (Windows, Mac) and web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) to ensure that the site displays properly on those platforms.
Freedom Deployment
After the site is built out and tested, it is typically deployed in Freedom, which is the application suite used at SpinWeb. Freedom allows our clients to manage their web site using only a web browser. With a site deployed in Freedom, the web site owner can post news and events, edit content, manage online forms, post photos, send Broadcast Emails (like this one), manage products, and more from their own computers. All these updates can be made within minutes by anyone in the client’s company who is authorized. As we deploy the site in Freedom, the design team implements and styles each module to ensure that it is integrated properly in the site and that it follows the design guidelines of the site. For example, if the blueprint and site design call for an events calendar on the home page that lists three upcoming events, the events module must be implemented and styled on the home page.
Internal Delivery Review
This is the finish line. Once the site is fully deployed, we hold an Internal Delivery Review. This is a formal presentation that the lead designer makes to the entire team at SpinWeb. During this review, management (along with others in the agency) asks the lead designer to go through the entire site and demonstrate the functions and pieces of the site to ensure that everything works correctly. Special attention is paid to details like page styling, online form behavior, the structure of notification emails, code elements (such as proper title tags), e-commerce functions, and anything else that is a dynamic component of the site. If anything is found to be incorrect, it is either corrected on the spot or it is captured in a final list of items to correct. The site is only declared finished once this list is closed. Once the site meets SpinWeb’s high standards, it is ready for delivery.
Client Delivery and Training
The site is now ready to deliver to the client. At this point, we train our client on how to use the site and manage content. During this stage, our client posts and updates content and gets the site ready for launch.
Launch
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for! The site is finished and is ready for launch. At this point we review it with our client and make any last-minute minor changes that may be requested, and then launch the site. Because of the care and attention given to the process at each stage listed above, SpinWeb sites typically launch very smoothly and successfully.
Hopefully this insight into our web site creation process has been helpful in understanding what is happening at each stage. Though is takes time and attention to reach the end result, we feel that our web sites are so beautiful and successful that they are well worth the wait. To learn more about this process, please feel free to contact us.
