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Trexta: A Tale of Terrific Support

It isn’t every day that you come across a company that truly values their customers. Sure, most companies give lip service to “customer support,” but we’ve all had those nightmarish experiences while attempting to return a defective product or request a refund for a broken item. This is why my recent experience with the folks at Trexta came as a pleasant surprise.

I recently purchased a protective case for my iPhone. After weeks of online research, I had finally settled on the Racing Series iPhone case by Trexta. I instantly fell in love with the embroidered white racing stripes against the matte-black leather, so I ordered the case from a 3rd-party vendor on Amazon.com. It was a little more expensive than other cases I had found, but I have no problem paying a bit more for a well-designed product.

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How to Build a Cheap Website for $100 (or less!)

Problem: You’ve got a great idea for a website, but you simply can’t afford to hire a professional web designer to build your site.

Solution: Build it yourself, for less than $100!

Let’s face it. Not everyone can afford to hire a professional web designer for $1,000 or more. In reality, not every website warrants such an investment. But there are hundreds of folks who would love to build a blog, family website, photography showcase, or a site for their small business.

That’s where Hundred Buck Website comes in! Design + Build + Host = $95

Got $100? You can build your own website!

In less than one hour, this FREE step-by-step tutorial will show you how you can design, build, and host your own website for $25 to $100!

And not just a cheaply thrown together site, either! The steps in the tutorial include:

1. How to find a unique domain name.
2. Registering a domain name.
3. Setting up a web hosting account for up to 100 domains!
4. Installing a browser-based content management system.
5. About a hundred professionally-designed templates from which to choose!

Hey, even the tutorial site itself was built using this method! Check it out at: HundredBuckWebsite.com

Under the Hood: Hearthstone

Founded in 1993, Hearthstone Management, Inc. is one of the nation’s premier operators of assisted living communities for older adults. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Hearthstone manages 37 communities throughout the United States, all designed to meet the needs of the growing population of seniors who require assisted living services.

Despite having built a strong reputation for themselves in the industry, upper management realized that their website and marketing approach had grown stale, and felt it was time for a change. Due to my previous work and ongoing partnership with Senior Service Match, I was invited to participate in the redesign of Hearthstone’s website.

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Design as Process vs. Product

At TEDGlobal in London, Tim Brown talks about how design got small—and why it’s becoming big again. Design is moving beyond the sculptural object displayed in lifestyle magazines or on pedestals in museums of modern art. It’s returning to its roots, when design thinkers like Isambard Brunel created innovative breakthroughs.

It’s time to begin thinking of design as a process for problem-solving, rather than merely for the creation of products.

Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion

Well, it’s finally out! Social media rockstar, Gary Vaynerchuk, has just released his long-awaited book entitled, Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion. If you rely on the Internet in any way for your livelihood, or if you’ve got plans to build an online business, then this book is a must-read.

About gary vay•ner•chuk

Nobody has succeeded at utilizing social media to create a personal brand like Gary Vaynerchuk. After primarily utilizing traditional advertising techniques to promote his family’s local wine business, Gary rapidly adopted and leveraged social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook to promote Wine Library TV, his video blog about wine.

As his viewership swelled to over 80,000 a day, doors opened to a book deal, several national TV appearances, and a flurry of speaking engagements around the world. Gary’s dual identity as both a business guru and wine guy has made him the “Social Media Sommelier.”

About the book…

This book is a 90-minute read, and weighs in at just 140 pages. The tone and pace of the book is not unlike listening to Gary speak, and it’s simply loaded with practical advice, step-by-step instructions, and real-world examples. In addition to a complete, 21-step outline for building your personal brand online, Gary even “threw in” about half a dozen phenomenal business ideas for anyone with the ambition to go for it!
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