John Hooley (developer and owner of Blue Bridge Development has taken me to the next level. A lot of my prepress/print business has been slowing down (especially during the winter holiday months). It has gotten pretty lean from November through February. The economy in the last two years hasn't helped any either.
Fortunately, I started marketing a couple of years ago and now have a huge advantage over my competition (I really don't have any competition - I will explain that in my next blog post).
John has helped me strengthen my web design and SEO skills for my clients. I have found that when you get older you tend to not be really motivated to take on new challenges. I have come to really appreciate what it takes for a web designer or developer for that matter. I have learned a lot and feel that I can take the task on confidently. There still are some hurdles but my clients have been very happy to this point.
I found John through a PCC newsletter about some of their business graduates. I met him for coffee to explain how I was trying to grow my business. We have done a tradeout of services for each other and now have him as a strategic partner for my web projects. I bring him in to meet with clients that are potentially interested upgrading their website. Clients really appreciate being having experts in the field offer great solutions to build their business.
John has even sported a couple of the projects that we have been working together on (see his portfolio site here).
