Where Did You Go?

Having not posted since July 2010, let me explain myself.

The remainder of July was busy with job interviews and follow-ups. After creating the previous entry, Job Search Organizer, all I really needed as a spreadsheet to keep track of my job interviews and resume submissions.

BASS COMPUTERS
After a few failed interviews, I got a job in August with Bass Computers in Houston Texas as a Web Designer/Developer. Although I accepted the job, the pay was much less than I hoped for but more than nothing ( and about the same as unemployment). My days contracting for Jenobi were inconsistent and almost over. I was told my pay at Bass was a starting pay, and without asking more questions about benefits, I started the job.

My daily responsibilities were to update items on the online store and print flyers for the front lobby store. My ongoing project was to update and improve the quality of the website. I lacked the confidence to grab this opportunity and do it right and my enthusiasm quickly faded. I was in an office with a nice desk and the women in accounting. I got to use a digital camera to take new product shots and I think the detailed descriptions I was adding were much better than before. The downside was I didn't get a good feeling there - and I wasn't clicking with people - it was not an interactive environment - it was very fast paced.

I got a call about a new job and decided to follow up on it. This new offer came with a salary, benefits and better everything. I got hired two weeks later.

Consolidated Graphics
I started at CGX as a Programmer in September. Although the first few months I was scared of my abilities, it has improved since then ten-fold. The lures where immediate. CGX met me halfway on the interviewing process, allowing for after-hour calls and lunch time interviews. Right away in the first week, I had met more people there in my first week than in my month with Bass.

I have been working in postscript and javascript as well as html, xml, and graphic programs such as illustrator. I picke dup pageflex and have gotten to work with high-end clients. Although I thought Bass was doing great stuff with thier recycling programs and got to learn alot about computer hardware, this was more up my alley.

PERSONALLY
In November, after putting my girlfriend through a year and a half of shady employment and stress I proposed to her with more promise than before. We got married on April 30th and now are trying to get into a house.

Thank God for change.

Job Search Organizer

Applying for jobs this year and keeping up with everything else, I opened a spreadsheet to keep track of my jobs. As I started creating the spreadsheet, I figured I could create it in Excel, and maybe create a section on my development server to organize my jobs through the web.

And the question that always comes up when I come across these tools of procrastination is that someone else has already done it. Question is where do I find it?

I figured creating a database where I could enter the job details, the date submitted, the status of my position search (apply for, submitted, followed up, scheduled interview), and other details. I would create a notes field where I could copy and paste info into and a page that would print out my results. I would a field that would alert me by email when interviews are scheduled or reminds me to follow-up on positions.

Agents
I have one agent/head-hunter or whatever you call it working with me through one company. I have job profiles through dozens of site and several job search queries bookmarked on Firefox that I run through daily. It all seems so overwhelming. I want one place, one location to do it all.

Agent Software? Head-hunter software? Do I even need it?

Our History (Moved from our website)

Recently, I decided to update my website again. Although I was comfortable posting a brief history of my experience on the About Us page of my website, I have decided to replace that history with more explanation of the services I could provide as a company. But never fear, (if you did fear I am sorry and concerned), I have moved that history to here.

Our History

From the stage to television, from logical to creative, the experience that comes from us is more diverse than your average designer. My name is Brad A. Haines and I am the person behind BH Creative Design. Growing up, I felt I was going to do something creative. Art, band, photojournalism and computer science were among my favorite classes. Entering college, I found myself wanting to study interests such as architecture and motion graphics. I took a detour through theatre where I explored my creativity in scene design and directing. Enjoying the directing aspect of setting up a stage for something to happen for the audience, I also explored video editing. I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Directing from Texas State University.

I went on to explore my interest in editing, seeking out television stations and companies looking for video editors. I took up video editing as a hobby, but found I could expand my technical knowledge about video editing and motion graphics. I earned an Associates in Multimedia from ITT Technical Institute, where as a student, I studied everything from HTML and Visual Basic to 3D modeling, animation, flash and graphic design.

I began building my portfolio with a few video projects. I built my first portfolio website and then my first client website. I left my position in television broadcasting and began working as a web and multimedia developer. Over the next few years I built numerous interactive presentations and maintained dozens of websites for our company's clients.

Busy week for a vacation

I found myself planning business trips and tasks during my upcoming vacation which was planned months ago. I feel grateful to have business tasks to plan and realize it'll help me divert from the mindless eating, smoking and slouching these vacations usually permit.

Didn't have enough time today to get everything done and got a busy week ahead. Went through the first client review on the development phase on my first CSS site. Contracting out my friend Jay for additional CSS work even though I realize I have broken ground on my learning and application of CSS. Realize I am behind from other developers and designers but it feels really good to have a tableless website now - and one I will be proud to display.

Realize I have 6 clients I have contacted in the last few days. Every once in a while I write this not to boast but to realize I am already living my dream and not far off or fooling myself on this. I am so thankful for some of my clients' positive feedback and the confidence and motivation I get from that feedback.

Social Media Seminar for Business

Tomorrow I will be attending a Social Media Seminar for Business sponsored by Katy Check-A-Pro with as a guest of one of my clients. They will cover social media, getting lost in the buzz, where to start, etc. I am very excited about this as I am participating in this search right now with my own business, and doing it for myself so I can do it for my clients later on.

I started this blog last year under a different name, and finally I have began to integrate social media for business into my web design business. My Facebook page receives from 0 to 10 hits a week. It seems like I put more effort into it than desired, but I love doing it. With 150+ friends, I would hope to catch a primary or secondary reference or visit. I haven"t seen many hits from Facebook yet. Yesterday I added one of my friends company page as a friend. I was very surprised to see his page and will check it out tonight or this week.

A few weeks ago, I received an email that looked like a job op, but instead was possibly a spam. The idea seemed very interesting though and this morning, broken links left me with a broken spirit for this email. Here is the link that works: http://atticusgraphics.info/. The product being pushed was called FanPagePop. Maybe it had overwhelming traffic and is having issues, or maybe it was all a hoax. A very well thought out idea but a hoax. It advertised a customized Facebook page in the same manner everyone pushed out customized MySpace pages and layouts years ago.

Is that right? Years ago? MySpace? Will Facebook be the same. It will if they charge for it and very quickly. If Myspace guy, Tom, wants his people back, he should be ready to welcome back his people - if they will come back. How many people go back and get the old dog from the pound when the puppy got hit by a truck? That old mut is still as cute as ever. My sisters dog is about 8 years old. Last year, my sister got a kitten, and that dog has more life now than we have ever seen. Could these social media networks work together to improve each other. It seems like they started. Myspace changed it's layouts. Facebook integrated music apps. But it seems both just went stagnet after that. Twitter came up and stole their thunder and like an old juggling act, they seemed to have went to the dressing room and cried.

Last week, out of curiousity, I finally looked at a Twitter page. I let myself get overwhelmed ad shelved it for the time being - knowing it may benefit me rather than hurt me.

So much more to discuss, but I gotta go to work.

I will report on my experience as soon as I can. I am in the process of getting ready to move again. I have much excitement about my new office space and will be going with my woman to pick out a desk in these next two weeks.

Waiting for gold

Yesterday morning I spent my pre-work time signing up with webdesignfinders.net. I opted not to pay $190 for a platinum listing and went for gold. The gold listing requires you to cross link on page your home page back to the website.

I immediately woke up this morning and checked the analytics on my website to see if I had any new traffic. I am on a mission to spread out my traffic sources. Currently ( am very heavy on direct traffic and very sparse on search engine and referral traffic. My two clients have signed up with local agencies for their industries - their traffic on their websites have been even spread.

I did come up as the last listing on the first page for houston, tx, which I was plased with. Here are the links for the search results and the link, I think, to my info page:

http://webdesignfinders.net/texas/houston-web-designers.html

http://webdesignfinders.net/details/7765.html

Marching On

Every once in a while, I have to advertise and sell myself on my business. I have to put the dreamer against the accountant and hope they come to an agreement. I have to believe I can do what I do. One day came recently where I wanted to throw in the the towel for a round. The respect for a boxer comes after he fights round after grueling round, and he only breaks for water and fix up before he gets back in the ring and continues to fight. Many of us wouldn't last the first few rounds, especially after brutal blows, our confidence gets shaken.

I lost my first client last night. After getting paid for designing the website, the client had not responded to proceeding on to develop the website. They went with an industry organization that sells templated sites. I went through my natural reaction of disappointment as I read the news on my Blackberry in bed with my girlfriend. My curiousity is why she would pay for the design and not extend the payment a little further for the development. And I fell asleep forgetting my victories and remembering my losses.

Currently I am working with an old employer as a contractor. Recently, my hours have increased and at one point, my business was quiet. I had a thought of trying to approach my old employer with hopes to work my old job again. I was going to do it with a need for stability. But before I approached it, I put out the feelers to all the quiet clients. Out of five quiet clients, two of them got in contact and are active clients again, two have not responded, and one chose something else. The victory was the two that chose to proceed on. As promising as the lost client site was, the active clients' site is just as promising. The most positive aspect of the lost client is that I now have a templated site to sell to a future client.

And in the corner, I have my client that has been supplying me work for the last couple years. Although his website has no bells and whistles, he is the client that I have developed a work relationship with that I shoot for with other clients. And as I write this, I become as grateful for this client as I do for the active clients and the lost clients. Regardless of the outcome, I have had the opportunity to do this work. I have a computer, the skills and the know how, the time, and the home to work from. I have the family and girlfriend and friends that support and encourage me in my endeavor. I have the fans, the cheers, and the manager in the corner that takes my spit. I have the ability to change my perception of what is going on and how it affects my present and future. And finally, I have the present and the future which means I March on through the end of the March Madness and continue to work.