48Web

Building ManagingTheEdge.com

Andy Brudtkuhl — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:07:31 +0000

In this video we discuss building ManagingTheEdge.com - the website for our internet business podcast. Whenever we launch a new website we create a strategic plan with pre-defined goals - so we can easily measure success and ROI. In the case of this website, our goals were to:

Provide Engaging Content
Maximize Subscriptions
Develop a Community

In this video we discuss some design and layout strategies we used to help achieve our goals. We also discuss the WordPress plugins we are using to develop this findable and engaging website.

To build ManagingTheEdge.com we used WordPress 2.7, podPress, Revolution WordPress Theme, and Amazon CloudFront.

What do you think about the website? What do you like? What could use improvement?

Building GetANewBrowser.com

Andy Brudtkuhl — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:24:43 +0000

We touch on web design updates to help lower bounce rates, improve engagement, and increase RSS and email subscribers. All of these website updates are part of a web strategy plan that so far, appears to be working. We used WordPress 2.7 and a Revolution Theme to build this latest version of GANB. Enjoy!

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What Now? Making the Jump

Andy Brudtkuhl — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:13:15 +0000

Here is the first part of the “What Now?” Series - Making the Jump, featuring Liza Kindred and Brian Hemesath. We did record this in glorious HD but unfortunately no video host will accept an hour of HD footage (that’s a pretty big file).

Join Liza Kindred (Lullabot) and Brian Hemesath (Diligent IS, Catchwind) as they discuss common pitfalls and mistakes made when forming a business, and how to overcome various logistical and emotional obstacles.

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Special thanks to Liza and Brian for sharing their mistakes with us.. I sure learned a lot! Can’t wait for the next session!

The next session is…

Networking: Get out there!

Friday, February 13 - 11:30am-1pm

Andy Drish (Principal Financial Group) and Justin Brady (Test of Time Design)
will share various methods of getting out there and networking yourself
socially and digitally - whether you’re looking to start your own biz
right now or a few years down the road.

What Now?

Andy Brudtkuhl — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:59:13 +0000

Today we’re pleased to announce “What Now?” - a six-part entrepreneurial survival guide. We’ve partnered with Lava Row and Impromptu Studio to bring you an educational series for recent entrepreneurs, layoff casualties, and anyone interested in “Firing Your Boss“. If you are interested in learning about all the things we faced when starting our own business please join us. I wish this had been available when I made the jump.

We’ve lined up some killer speakers from right here in Des Moines, IA to talk about several key issues you run into when you start your own business…

You can get a series pass for $150 or pay what you want for individual sessions. All proceeds go to keeping Impromptu Studio a kickass place for entrepreneurs to succeed in Des Moines, IA. If you are interested, please register here.

Here’s the lineup…

Making the Jump: Mistakes and Hurdles

Friday, January 30 - 11:30am-1pm
Speakers: Liza Kindred & Brian Hemesath

OVERVIEW: Join Liza Kindred (Lullabot) and Brian Hemesath (Diligent IS, Catchwind) as they discuss common pitfalls and mistakes made when forming a business, and how to overcome various logistical and emotional obstacles.

Networking: Get out there!

Friday, February 13 - 11:30am-1pm
Speakers: Andy Drish & Justin Brady

OVERVIEW: Andy Drish (Prinipal Financial Group) and Justin Brady (Test of Time Design) will share various methods of getting out there and networking yourself socially and digitally - whether you’re looking to start your own biz right now or a few years down the road.

Avoiding the Day-to-Day: Staying Inspired & Motivated

Friday, February 27 - 11:30am-1pm
Speakers: Teri TeBockhorst & Ron Wagner

OVERVIEW: Ron Wagner (comic book & storyboard artist) and Teri TeBockhorst (serial entrepreneur & former owner of East Village Books) join forces to talk about the emotional side of being in business for yourself: how to stay motivated, how to avoid depression, and how to constantly reinvent yourself.

Running Cheap & Lean: Bootstrapping 101

Friday, March 6 - 11:30am-1pm
Speakers: Jason Walsmith & Doug Mitchell

OVERVIEW: Jason Walsmith (The Nadas, Authentic Records) and Doug Mitchell (CreateWOWmedia) share success stories (and horror stories) of how they bootstrapped their respective businesses.

Character: Don’t be an @$$hole

Friday, March 20 - 11:30am-1pm
Speakers: Adam Steen & Brett Trout

OVERVIEW: Brett Trout (Law Offices of Brett Trout) and Adam Steen (25 Connections) talk about the importance of character in business relationships, and how it can affect your reputation, referral network and bottom line.

Marketing: How to get creative in a tight economy

Friday, April 3 - 11:30am-1pm
Speakers: Mike Ferrari & Mike Wagner

OVERVIEW: Mike Ferrari (SmartyPig.com) and Mike Wagner (White Rabbit Group) share various ways in which they’ve creatively (and inexpensively) marketed their businesses in a tight economy.

Recording Managing The Edge

Andy Brudtkuhl — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 03:58:02 +0000

Check out Managing The Edge - an internet business podcast.

GetANewBrowser.com 5 Launched

Andy Brudtkuhl — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:50:48 +0000

Today we launched the new GetANewBrowser.com - check it out!

GANB is a blog written by Andy Brudtkuhl (me) discussing the business and technology of the web. It was built on WordPress 2.7 using the Revolution Theme. We like it a lot - hope you do too! We still have a few tweaks left so we hope you stick around…

Yes - it’s the fifth revision of GANB… Learn about it’s history here.

Thanks For 2008!

Andy Brudtkuhl — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:41:46 +0000

I know - I’m about a week and a half late on this… BUT

I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone that helped us build our company in our first year in business… I know, I copied Nathan’s idea - but he said it was cool…

Special thanks to the Des Moines Twitter community. We owe all the success of our projects to you. Thank you, you rock.

Let’s all kick ass in 2009!

Hello to Highlight Midwest

Andy Brudtkuhl — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:53:11 +0000

YouMetAndy.com Launched - A Social Business Card Experiment

Andy Brudtkuhl — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:42:02 +0000

This evening we launched YouMetAndy.com - an experiment to bridge the gap between online social networking and offline handshake networking. This is a simple site that creates a “personal landing page” for me and gives new people I meet a central location to get to know me and to subscribe to my content. I discuss the thinking behind this new process in a blog post at Get A New Browser, and also in the video I’ve embedded at the end of this post.

YouMetAndy.com was a relatively easy website to build. My goals were to create a simple interface between myself and new people I meet. I wanted to include content that I publish in various blogs and social networks as well as provide a means for people to subscribe to me. Lastly, I wanted an easy way to syndicate specialized message to people I’ve just met and give them as many means as possible to contact me.

The website was built with XHTML, jQuery, and CSS and the tracking is taken care of with Google Analytics.

createWOWmedia Website Launched

Andy Brudtkuhl — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:45:21 +0000

Today we’re proud to announce the launch of creaeWOWmedia.com. This site was built using WordPress and the popular Revolution Theme (as you’ve seen here).

This Web Development Project included:
- Implementing WordPress
- Customizing Revolution Theme
- Installing Plugins
- Search Engine Optimization
- Setting up Google Apps for the domain
- Google Analytics Installation / Configuration
- Keyword Analysis

[INSERT SCREENSHOT]

Want the same treatment? Let us know… We are WordPress ninjas that can get you a very affordable, modern website for a very small investment.