We learned a lot. About things neither of us ever planned to learn, but were necessary to help us during these months of change. Especially with Lea's visa application and what I went through to hire an employee.

It was so much information, we had to share it. Not only did we figure it could help anyone else going through similar business changes, but it forced us to organize and archive what we learned for our own reference.

If you are an employer seeking non-US workers, or you are a non-US worker applying for a visa, Lea's three-part series on moving from Canada to the US is a must read:

• She covers the TN visa application process in part 1, including documentation requirements and working with an immigration lawyer.
• In part 2, Lea details crossing the border and her application and interview with US Customs.
• She concludes the series in part 3 with information about banking in the US as a Canadian.

If you are an employer looking to hire your first employee, or even your first remote employee, check out my four-part series on hiring Lea:

• In part 1 I share how I hired a Human Resources consultant and put together the internal documents and resources needed to hire my first employee.
• Part 2 covers on how I handled employment verification for a remote employee, as well as all the document storage requirements for employers.
• I detail the nuances of payroll for an out-of-state employee in part 3.
• And I sum up the series in part 4, with a focus on employment-related taxes, both federal and state.

Subscribe!

If all this sounds good to you, we've got even more! Lea and I will be blogging more about our workflows and processes now that we are a team, as well as the tools we're relying on.

Be sure to subscribe to our business blog to stay updated!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: employers, employment, hiring, human resources, remote workers, taxes, US work visas

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

Just over two years ago, I joined Lea Alcantara as a co-host of the EE Podcast. We had a fantastic run. Great content, great guests, and loyal listeners and sponsors. And while we didn't know it at the time, it was the first step towards the two of us working more formally together.

Over the past year, though, we felt a bit constrained talking only about ExpressionEngine. EE is just one of the many tools we use, and EE is just one of our many areas of expertise. So, three months ago, we decided to re-brand the podcast: CTRL+CLICK CAST.

A Broader Focus

CTRL+CLICK CAST is still a tech podcast. But rather than focusing exclusively on ExpressionEngine, our topics are about content management systems and the industry culture, business practices, and web design and development techniques that surround them.

This mission allows us to dive into all of our web- and tech-related passions: design, HTML, CSS, branding, business, project management, conferences, social issues and, of course, the other CMSes we are using.

Everything You've Always Loved

While our focus has expanded, CTRL+CLICK is built on the solid and reliable foundation of EE Podcast. We are offering the same level of high-quality content that we’ve always delivered. We are sticking to the same bi-monthly schedule. We are continuing our episode transcripts. We are inviting great guests to share their expertise.

And because ExpressionEngine remains one of our favorite tools, we are still covering EE topics … just with less frequency, so that we can discuss other CMSes and broader industry topics. Also, all EE Podcast episodes are available in the CTRL+CLICK archive.

Don't Miss Out!

We are now five episodes in. We launched with a business discussion about managing transitions, when Lea and I shared our experiences re-branding the podcast and joining forces at Emily Lewis Design. We talked with Jae Barclay about calendars and events in ExpressionEngine and with Brandon Kelly about the Craft CMS. Jenn Lukas joined the show to discuss women in technology, and Ben Callahan shared his wealth of knowledge about responsive web design.

Next week, we are talking with Tracy Osborn about funding and maintaining startups. In November, Jonathan Snook is joining the show to talk about modular CSS, and Jack McDade will be our guest to talk about the Statamic CMS. And we're closing out the year in December with our annual Year in Review episode.

We Love Love

Whether CTRL+CLICK CAST is news to you or you're already listening, we would love your support!

• Follow us on Twitter
• Listen on iTunes or on ctrlclickcast.com
• Subscribe to our RSS feed
• Tell your friends and colleagues

We also have sponsorship opportunities for folks who want to promote their products and services while supporting CTRL+CLICK.

And we'd love to hear from you. Are you enjoying the new format? Tell us! Want to learn about a specific topic or hear from a certain guest? Let us know!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: CTRL+CLICK CAST, EE Podcast, Lea Alcantara, podcasting, podcasts

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

Today is a big day for my little company! Lea Alcantara, my EE Podcast co-host of two years, is joining Emily Lewis Design, LLC as Lead Designer! More than just my co-host, Lea has become a trusted friend and our relationship is the best professional collaboration of my career.

If you are lucky enough to know (of) Lea, you know that she is genuine, fun, straightforward and, of course, talented. She's also my perfect teammate. She is on the same page as I am when it comes to details, priorities, deadlines, integrity and client value. And she brings qualities that I tend to lack.

Of course, hiring Lea wasn't just so I could work with the best designer and ExpressionEngine expert I know. Our clients now get a kick-fucking-ass team of one of the best female web designers and one of the best front-end developers, both of whom can seriously rock a CMS. Like Butch and Sundance, we are impressive individually but unstoppable together. And as much as that level of self-pimpage makes me uncomfortable, it is true. We've proven it with the EE Podcast, with our own businesses and with our contributions to the community. We'll continue to prove it.

How We Got Here

I'll let Lea tell her own story, but the beginning of our latest collaboration started with a phone call in May that Lea would be moving to Seattle in June. Due to US foreign worker laws, Lea wouldn't be able to continue running Lealea Design and, as a result, we couldn't keep doing the podcast in its current iteration. Lea had come to terms with closing her business, but neither of us wanted to walk away from the podcast.

While we had never really talked about it, I had thought (dreamt) about working with Lea more formally. Turns out she had too. (Though I suspect we both imagined a more planned and official partnership, as well as a less-rushed timeframe. But I've learned opportunity never shows up at the “right” time. It just shows up and you better fucking grab it.)

And so we decided that I would hire Lea. She would bring what clients she could over, and we would continue doing the podcast through ELD. It would allow Lea to work while living in the US and would get us on the path we both envisioned for a shared company.

Since Lea is a Canadian national, it wasn't just a simple process of hiring her. We first needed to address her worker status. Then I needed to get my company structure and accounting ready for an employee, including registering my business in Washington.

Those three sentences are the most microscopic tip of the iceberg of what we each have had to do in terms of paperwork, consultants, lawyers and more paperwork. But we both plan to blog about the details of those experiences over at the ELD Blog in the coming months … so I won't bore you with it all here. Suffice it to say, it was a shit-ton of work in a very short period of time with a lot of uncertainty.

And totally worth it. Now that all of those one-time ordeals and requirements are over, Lea and I are focusing on what we're doing, what we want to do and how we can continue to contribute.

Where We're Going

Our immediate focus, of course, is our current clients. Continuing to give them the same quality and reliability they expect from both of us. We are also seeking new projects. Now that we can offer Awesome Squared™, we are aiming for larger-scope projects and clients that need full-cycle design and development. In addition to targeting larger projects, we are also considering the types of clients we want to work with; who we can get passionate about and help the most.

Beyond that, we plan to rebrand. I have to admit that, even now, I'm uncomfortable with the idea of an established professional like Lea working for a company with my name. It just sounds weird and feels weird. And it was weird to try and get Lea's personality and a team message into my site that was originally designed from an individual freelancer's perspective.

Rather than investing too much of our time now trying to make my current site and brand (hah) work with our new structure, we will be renaming ELD, probably in the next year. There will be a gorgeous new brand (courtesy of Lea's genius, of course), new messaging, new design and possibly a new CMS.

We're also planning some changes with the podcast. And, as I mentioned, we'll be blogging more from the new ELD Blog (if I'm lucky, I'll blog here more often too). We will both continue to be involved with and support programs like Web Standards Sherpa and Ladies in Tech, as well as conferences like Converge and events like those from Environments for Humans.

So, please stay tuned! There will be much awesome.

Published in: Commentaries

Tags: Emily Lewis Design LLC, growth, hiring, Lea Alcantara, self-employment, small business

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

Community hasn't always been something that was important to me. An introvert and a bit of a loner, I tend to be most comfortable in my own little bubble. Over the past few years, though, community has become a big part of my life as I've discovered how great it feels to be part of something bigger than myself.

For my October contribution to The Pastry Box Project, I write about this power of community.

Give & Get

I first began to appreciate community when I decided to become a web designer. At the time, there weren't any higher-ed programs available (not that I had the money or time for that …), so it was up to me, myself and I to learn how to write markup and style pages. Fortunately, there was an established community of web designers, developers and standards proponents who shared their knowledge and experiences. Blog posts, tutorials, and even other folks' portfolios were my curriculum.

Thanks to this community and willingness to share, I learned the trade and got a job in the field. I have absolutely no doubt that I wouldn't be where I am today without the active and open web community. And this is why I now contribute my own experiences and knowledge, hoping I can do the same for someone else.

This cycle of getting and giving is the focus of my latest Pastry Box contribution. I highlight a newcomer to ExpressionEngine, who reached out on Twitter to find help with her first EE project. The EE community, which has always been a prime example of sharing and giving, responded immediately with resources, ideas and support.

Go read it!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: community, Emily Lewis, ExpressionEngine, shameless self promotion, The Pastry Box Project, writing

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A very special episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 80, Lea and I were at EECI 2012 US! A completely different episode than we've done before, we had a ton of fun with a record 10 guests participating in trivia challenges and interviews.

Episode #80

Our live and uncut episode from EECI is unlike anything we've done before!

We kicked off the show with a trivia challenge between three EECI attendees. Kelly Cook, Jean St. Armand and Aaron Sherrill competed to win a sweet prize pack including a Mijingo title and licenses from Pixel & Tonic and Mithra62.

The middle of our episode features interviews with EECI speakers. Eric Lamb and Ben Croker joined us to discuss add-on development, while Brad Parscale and Ryan Irelan discussed community.

We concluded the live podcast with a trivia Master's Tournament featuring EE pros Chad Crowell, Anna Brown and Michael Boyink who competed for the coveted “EE Master” title, as well as developer licenses from DevDemon and a year of hosting with EngineHosting.

Have a listen yourself!

A Million Thank Yous

If you were at EECI or paying attention to Lea on Twitter before the conference, you know we had a bit of drama: Lea realized at the last minute that her passport was expired. There were about 36 hours when we didn't think she'd be able to make the conference. Thirty-six hours of me freaking out and trying to come up with the resources necessary to pull off a successful podcast without my partner–in–crime.

While Lea ultimately made it to the conference, I wouldn't have been able to keep my sanity during those 36 hours without the incredible people at EECI who offered help and support without question:

• Ryan Battles, who was 100% ready to help with anything I needed … from pinch-hitting for Lea to doing a speaker interview.
• Laurie Ruggles, who tolerated my bitching and whining on Sunday night.
• Ryan Masuga, who helped me come up with potential folks to act as guest co-host.

And a huge thanks to our trivia prize pack sponsors, who (literally at the last minute) chipped in licenses and titles for our trivia challenge winners:

• Eric Lamb, Mithra62
• Brad Parscale, DevDemon
• Nevin Lyne, EngineHosting
• Brandon Kelly, Pixel & Tonic
• Ryan Irelan, Mijingo

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, we continue our “Get to Know #eecms” series with guest Kyle Cotter!

Be sure to check out our schedule for other upcoming topics, and don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Aaron Sherrill, Anna Brown, Ben Croker, Brad Parscale, Chad Crowell, EE, EE Podcast, Eric Lamb, ExpressionEngine, interviews, Jean St. Armand, Kelly Cook, live recording, Michael Boyink, podcasts, Ryan Irelan, trivia

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

I've been an editor longer than anything else I've done in my entire career. It began when I was 15 and was appointed a Section Editor of my high school yearbook. That year, I fell in love with writing and developed a passion for helping other writers communicate. I also discovered I was pretty good at organization, deadlines and details.

The following year, I became Editor–in–Chief of that high school yearbook and helped the publication earn a coveted, highly-competitive Silver Medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (I'm still ridiculously proud of that). I continued with my newly-discovered passion in college, also serving as yearbook Editor–in–Chief during my Freshman year.

Once graduated, I took a job as a news writer and was promoted to editor soon after. Then I discovered how to write HTML and CSS, and a new passion took my focus.

But writing and editing have always been a part of my days. Having opportunities to write about HTML, CSS and other web topics is the perfect marriage of my two passions. And I'm thrilled to be able to take it to a new level as Managing Editor of Web Standards Sherpa!

A Bit About Sherpa

Web Standards Sherpa launched in early 2011, providing reviews of reader-submitted sites. Sherpa authors offer feedback, advice and best practices to help our readers tackle their site challenges, from content to accessibility to design to pretty much anything web-related.

Earlier this year, publication slowed on Sherpa due to organizational changes, as Editor–in–Chief Steph Troeth (probably one of the best editors I've worked with as a writer) stepped down to focus on other opportunities.

When Steph left, I threw my hat in the ring to move from Sherpa author into an editorial role. I was no longer actively managing Webuquerque, and I wanted to explore new ways of contributing to the community. Also, as a writer, I felt I had a unique perspective that (at least in my experience) few editors have: understanding the sometimes-challenging process of writing; that it isn't just about deadlines, but ensuring writers have the support and critical feedback necessary to write well and maybe even enjoy writing.

A month or so later, I got the job. And since then, I've been working with the Sherpa editorial team to begin publishing again.

My Role

As Managing Editor, my job is diverse. I work with the Sherpa editorial staff to make sure they have what they need to do their jobs. I work with Sherpa authors to pair them with site reviews and topics. I edit articles to ensure they are not only stylistically and grammatically correct, but are also in keeping with the Sherpa voice and mission.

But that's just the job description. As Managing Editor, I get to work with a great editorial staff and authors who have been my web heroes since I wrote my first <h1>Hello World!</h1>. I get to read and learn about techniques, best practices and real world challenges. And, most of all, I get a chance to be the kind of editor I always wanted to work with as a writer.

Changes at Sherpa

Aside from my new role at Sherpa, we are also making a few other changes. While we will remain a review site, we are expanding beyond strictly reader-submitted site reviews to educational articles that will help our readers learn best practices and meet real-world challenges. Our goal is to have a healthy mix of reviews and educational articles, but all of our content will continue to provide information that helps our readers improve their work.

We also launched the Ask the Sherpas program on our Facebook page to address the emails (and Tweets and Facebook comments) we get from readers that aren't requests for site reviews, but questions about the challenges they face.

Get Involved with Sherpa!

Like any publication, Sherpa's success depends on our readers and whether we can meet their needs. So let us know how we can help and what you want!

• Submit a site for review
• Ask a question
• Talk to us on Twitter, Facebook or email

Content Coming Soon!

While the process has been (necessarily) slow, Sherpa is gearing back up for publication as I write this! We have four authors currently working on articles/reviews for the site, and we are already producing content for Ask the Sherpas.

Stay tuned! Great content is coming your way!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: editing, Emily Lewis, shameless self promotion, WaSP, Web Standards Sherpa, writing

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

On the heels of our discussion about Stash with Adrienne Travis, Lea and I talk to Stash creator Mark Croxton in episode 79.

Episode #79

For Add-on Development with Mark Croxton, Mark shares details about Stash, including how it can be used to subvert parse order and some lesser-known features of the popular add-on. Mark also discusses how Stash and his other add-ons have evolved, as well as his thoughts on best practices for add-on development.

Have a listen yourself!

Free Add-on from EE Garage!

Our sponsor EE Garage is offering our podcast listeners a free premium add-on! Listen in for details!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, EE Podcast will be live at EECI in Austin, Texas! Tune in to our live stream on Tuesday, October 16 at 4:45pm Central. We'll also be posting a recording of this live podcast on our regular schedule, Thursday, October 18 at 11am Mountain (1pm Eastern).

Be sure to check out our schedule for other upcoming topics, and don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: add-on development, add-ons, development, EE, EE Podcast, ExpressionEngine, Mark Croxton, podcasts, Stash

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 78, Lea and I talk to Adrienne Travis who shares her template development approach using partials and the Stash add-on.

Episode #78

For Stash & Template Partials, Adrienne discusses how the Stash add-on makes her development faster and more maintainable with template partials. She details her first project using this approach, including the planning process and learning curve.

We also talk to Adrienne about her new gig at Devot:ee, and discuss our plans for the live and uncut EE Podcast at EECI later this month.

Have a listen yourself!

Get Your Free Add-on!

Thanks to our sponsor EE Garage, podcast listeners can grab a free premium add-on! Listen in for details!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, Lea and I are talking with beloved EE add-on developer Mark Croxton!

Be sure to check out our schedule for other upcoming topics, and don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Adrienne Travis, development, EE, EE Podcast, efficiency, ExpressionEngine, optimization, podcasts, Stash, template partials, templates, templating

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

A new episode of the EE Podcast is available for your listening pleasure!

For episode 77, we discuss EE search options from basic core functionality to more complex requirements that need add-ons.

Episode #77

I was quite excited for EE Search, since I've only used the native EE search for my projects. As we discussed during the podcast, core provides just the right amount of functionality to take care of most basic search needs. Like I said, I've never had to use anything else.

Lea, on the other hand, has worked with clients who needed much more extensive search capabilities. She talked about some of the most popular (and currently active) add-ons available for search, including how she used Solspace's Super Search for an incredibly complex site search. We also discuss options for addressing performance, unique queries and special characters.

Have a listen yourself!

Get Your Free Add-on!

Thanks to this episode's sponsor, EE Garage, our listeners can grab a free premium add-on! Listen in for details!

Stay Tuned!

For our next episode, Lea and I are talking with Adrienne Travis about template partials and Stash.

Be sure to check out our schedule for other upcoming topics, and don't miss an episode:

• Subscribe to our RSS
• Listen on iTunes

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: add-ons, EE, EE Podcast, ExpressionEngine, podcasts, search

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!

I've always enjoyed project management. I did it professionally for a software company many years ago, and now I do it every day for my freelance business. Over the years, I've learned how essential project management is for just about every project.

And my definition of “project” is broad. Not only do I use project management techniques and tools for my client engagements and running my business, but I use it for the projects I'm involved with such as Web Standards Sherpa, EE Podcast and Webuquerque. I also rely on project management for the projects in my life, such as moving to a new house or mentoring an aspiring graphic designer.

For my August contribution to The Pastry Box Project, I list my absolutely–must–have–can't–live–without project management tools and resources.

What's Right for Me

My favorite project management resources these days are:

• Basecamp for project and task management
• Freshbooks for time-tracking, billing and expense management
• Shoeboxed for digital expense archival and organization
• Gmail Labels for communication organization
• Gmail Priority Inbox for task and event management, as well as general communication

These services and how I use them have been tried and tested. But, that's tried and tested according to how I work and what I need. That's the key: you have to find what works for you. And this is a process, albeit a very worthwhile process.

In my Pastry Box contribution, I detail how I use these tools and the workflows I have in place to help me save time and energy, but still get everything done.

Go read it!

Published in: Elsewhere

Tags: Emily Lewis, freelancing, project management, self-employment, shameless self promotion, task management, The Pastry Box Project, writing

Interested in HTML5? Buy the Cookbook!

I was a contributing author for the newly-released HTML5 Cookbook, now available for sale on Amazon! Get yours now!

P.S. Don't forget my book Microformats Made Simple is still for sale!