DOMINIE

I am actually on my 4th version of my website. People say they have the best new version with all the capabilities your website could ever possibly need and more. They say they know what’s best. They can make it happen for you and they can do it now. They can make it perfect. They can bring more business to the site. They can make it look more appealing. They can make it look more professional. They can make it more effective. They are the authority. They are the new up and coming bright new star in the world of website development.  First of all, who are they? I sure have learned a great deal about what to expect and what watch out for as far as promises made and delivered. So let’s go over some simple Do’s and don’ts.

 - Do interview many, many people before making a final selection on who will do the job. Look at some of the work they have done and be sure that they have experience building sites that are similar to the type of website you are looking to achieve. For instance, don’t hire someone to do an information type website if you want an e-commerce type website.

 - Don’t be in a hurry. Take your time. Look around the internet to see sites that reflect the type of site you would like to have. Try to find out who created those sites.

 - Do get references. Once you start to get resume’s, don’t just go by what they present on paper. Talk to the people they worked for before. Ask lots of questions. Find out if they finished the job on time. Were they easy to work with? Did they cause any problems? Did it cost more than they quoted?

 - Don’t give money in advance. Make a payment schedule. Give a small amount for each small milestone completed. This way you can keep track of progress and stay on task. This will also help keep the completion date on track.

 - Do your own website hosting. This saves you the monthly expense you would have to pay someone else. The other more important key here is that you wont have to give out any personal information. It is so easy to host your own site. Anyone can do it with the help of online videos and technical support.

 - Don’t pay someone else to host your site for you. I have learned that if they can, they will hold you’re your website hostage. This can completely stop all sales and communication via email. So please pay particular attention to this small but very important detail.

 - Don’t ever give out personal information of any kind. Whenever personal information is needed, you can go into the back office of the website and key in the information without the programmer knowing the passwords or banking information. Unfortunately, there are people who make a living cheating. Why, because they can get away with little or no consequence.  Most people don’t have the resources or the stamina to pursue legal action. 

 They say, “Someone should make a movie or reality show about you.” I never thought anyone would be interested in what goes on in my life. But as it turns out, whenever I get the glimmer of an opportunity to spend time with close friends or family, the juicy details of my life seem to spill out all over the floor. Or perhaps that’s just the overflow of wine. That has happened a time or two. I think my dog’s life is far more interesting. What must he be thinking when he’s running around the office like a total nut. “Greenie, greenie, greenie, squirrel, food, poop, greenie, greenie.” I love having Bozley (my Australian Shepherd) here. He is the Watch Commander who lets us know when anyone or anything is within 50 feet of our building. Bozley is usually in all of our photos and at all our events.

 So what’s so interesting about my life? I guess it’s the struggle. For over Twenty years I worked in costuming for film and Television. When I started in that industry, I didn’t have any friends or family to help me get in. I literally started at the bottom. I worked hard to make my way. I’m no stranger to hard work.

 I’ve been working night and day and night since 2009 on being a well-established brand and respected handbag designer. The truth is that it is incredibly difficult to earn your space on the shelf. It feels like giving birth to a herd of baby elephants.  I have high standards and high expectations, as do the consumers. Every detail has to be just right. The manufacturers want to charge me more than they would charge a big company because they can, which makes the product costly. Then I try to get my product into stores. Even though I hear every day that my idea is brilliant, I hear “no” a thousand times before I hear “yes” once. I mean, what the hell!!!

 Every once in a while I get a victory - a great night’s sleep. Followed very closely by more and more struggle. It seems like 3:15 AM has become an old friend. I lay awake at night wondering and hoping. Will anyone give me a break? Does anyone remember that someone once gave them a break? Why don’t you just say yes? Why does it take so long to return a call or write an order? How in the world do people get things done this way? What will it take? Will I succeed? I sure as hell am not the kind of girl to throw in the towel. Can my husband survive this? I hope so. THE STRUGGLE IS VERY REAL!!!!