I-Tul has been recognized as one of the fastest growing businesses in our region, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.

We are exploring three secrets to our success.

• We partner with our clients.
• We get the job done right the first time.
• We plan our work, and work our plan.

We explored the first secret in our last post.  Today we explore the second: We get the job done right the first time.

The development of a technical solution for a business or non-profit agency is professional discipline.  It takes a certain amount of technical competence and just old-fashioned experience to:

• Understand the problem.
• Design the solution.
• Build the application.

Though to the general public, technology may look like magic, it is not magic.  It involves the careful application of certain disciplines to achieve a specific function.

Some people believe an off-the-shelf template can solve all their problems.

We actually had a client tell us recently that after reviewing our proposal, they decided to pull together a group of High School kids to design their business website!

It might work.  The truth is an off the shelf template can indeed solve some problems.  They solve off-the-shelf problems.

This is actually the premise behind a lot of technology engineers use to build unique applications.  You do not need to develop a new programming language when HTML works just fine.  But the question is, do you really understand HTML, PHP, or MySQL, or, are you just plugging widgets into your website hoping it will work?

There is a difference between a professional developer and a hack. A professional developer understands the engineering behind the technology.  A hack pulls together a variety of widgets and hopes it will work.

If you have your own way of working, or a proprietary process or practice that gives you a competitive edge, an off-the-shelf solution will only dull your competitive edge. If your technology limits you, you have a problem.

We hear all too often:  You are our second web-design company.   Once they try the hack, it seems, they come back looking for a professional.

“The website is a living changing document,” the email said, “so we act in a partnership of sorts.  As such, the goal of our relationship is long term.”

This was the response of one of our clients who is participating in our annual top to bottom business review.

This year I-Tul was – once again — recognized as one of the fastest growing businesses in our region, according to the Sacramento Business Journal.

There are three secrets to our success.

• We partner with our clients.
• We get the job done right the first time.
• We plan our work, and work our plan.

The first secret is expressed in the recent email we received.

The fact is we do not have clients, not really.  We have partners.  Our goal is not to build a quick and dirty website.  Our goal is to partner with motivated leaders who are building their success.

It may be a not so glamorous service like Rapid Rooter — not so glamorous until your plumbing fails.  Then they look downright heroic.

Or, it may be a community services agency saving the lives of kids like Casa: Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children.

It may be local professional services company like In2Focus.  Or a Helicopter Charter company based in New York City like Awesome Flight.

How can you turn your clients or customers into partners?

1. Care about your about your partners.  Take the time to listen to their needs.
2. Your client may come to your with a pain, a stress, a worry or a fear. First define their anxiety as a practical problem.  Help them move from the emotion, to the obstacle.
3. Identify a solution that matches your partner’s unique capabilities.  In our business we call this “User Interface Design.”  Everyone of your clients is unique. A solution they cannot apply, is not solution at all.  Start with the user in mind.
4. Finally, take responsibility for your work.  Stand behind what you do.  A partner is going to be in relationship with you for a long, long time.  Deliver on your promise.

As a business technology firm, we partner with the likes of plumbers, children’s advocates, professional consultants and even helicopter pilots.  In our partnership, we focus on the technology, so they can focus on making sure the community has clean water, safe children, competent leadership and thrilling rides over the canyons of Manhattan.

In our next two posts we will explore the next two secrets of our success.

FREE!!! For I-Tul clients only. Discover more about posts, pages, and content for your WordPress site.

We are pleased to invite you to a complimentary WordPress workshop where you can learn about post, pages, and media to fill your WordPress site with interesting content as often as you would like. Updates are at your fingertips.

Some of the topics we will cover during this session are…

• Creating, writing, editing, and saving post
• Pages vs. Posts. What is the difference?
• Adding, formatting, and labeling images for your posts and pages
• Uploading and organizing your images using the Gallery Manager

This session will be hosted online so you can see hands-on how to work with pages, posts, and images on your existing site.  Please  Email Us to Sign Up today!

When: September 19^th, 2011
1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Where: Online – Confirmed Attendees will receive login information for GoToMeeting 30 minutes before the class begins.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to explore, please email them to me before the class begins.

The I-Tul office will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day.

The rights of labor has a long and often bloody history in America. Unlike today, where general labor is often treated better than anywhere else in the world, workers used to be treated so poorly that death on the job would rarely even make print in the local paper. That mentality began to change with the Pullman Strike of 1894 when the U.S. military opened fire, killing 13 workers on strike and injuring another 57! President Grover Cleveland ended up reconciling with the strikers and Congress rushed to pass a law making Labor Day a Federal holiday.

That motion was really only a moral victory. True victories for labor against business did not begin to have a real effect on wages and standards of living until forty years later, but I think it is safe to say that now – 120 years later – labor and business are roughly on equal ground. As such, Labor Day is now just a great time for families to take the long weekend for a trip out of town or just an extra day to barbecue. Either way, early September always seems to be perfect for spending time outside!

We at I-Tul wish you and your family a great holiday weekend! We’ll be back in the office on Tuesday, September 6th!!!

FREE!!! For I-Tul clients only. Discover more about posts, pages, and content for your WordPress site.

We are pleased to invite you to a complimentary WordPress workshop where you can learn about post, pages, and media to fill your WordPress site with interesting content as often as you would like. Updates are at your fingertips.

Some of the topics we will cover during this session are…

• Creating, writing, editing, and saving post
• Pages vs. Posts. What is the difference?
• Adding, formatting, and labeling images for your posts and pages
• Uploading and organizing your images using the Gallery Manager

This session will be hosted online so you can see hands-on how to work with pages, posts, and images on your existing site.  Please  Email Us to Sign Up today!

When: August 24^th, 2011
1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Where: Online – Confirmed Attendees will receive login information for GoToMeeting 30 minutes before the class begins.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to explore, please email them to me before the class begins.

FREE!!! For I-Tul clients only. Discover more about posts, pages, and content for your WordPress site.

We are pleased to invite you to a complimentary WordPress workshop where you can learn about post, pages, and media to fill your WordPress site with interesting content as often as you would like. Updates are at your fingertips.

Some of the topics we will cover during this session are…

• Creating, writing, editing, and saving post
• Pages vs. Posts. What is the difference?
• Adding, formatting, and labeling images for your posts and pages
• Uploading and organizing your images using the Gallery Manager

This session will be hosted online so you can see hands-on how to work with pages, posts, and images on your existing site.  Please  Email Us to Sign Up today!

When: July 27^th, 2011
1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Where: Online – Confirmed Attendees will receive login information for GoToMeeting 30 minutes before the class begins.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to explore, please email them to me before the class begins.

FREE!!! For I-Tul clients only. Discover more about posts, pages, and content for your WordPress site.

We are pleased to invite you to a complimentary WordPress workshop where you can learn about post, pages, and media to fill your WordPress site with interesting content as often as you would like. Updates are at your fingertips.

Some of the topics we will cover during this session are…

• Creating, writing, editing, and saving post
• Pages vs. Posts. What is the difference?
• Adding, formatting, and labeling images for your posts and pages
• Uploading and organizing your images using the Gallery Manager

This session will be hosted online so you can see hands-on how to work with pages, posts, and images on your existing site.  Please  Email Us to Sign Up today!

When: July 13^th, 2011
11:00 am-12:00 pm

Where: Online – Confirmed Attendees will receive login information for GoToMeeting 30 minutes before the class begins.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to explore, please email them to me before the class begins.

Happy Birthday America!  It’s a big one too as it’s been a glorious two hundred and thirty-five years since we stood up to the British Empire and demanded freedom.

What was once a tiny band of courageous patriots standing in defiance to a distant King, has risen to become a dominant world power to whom Kings and despots tremble.  So this weekend, as you watch the fireworks celebrations and enjoy barbecue’s and such, try to think back to 1776 and marvel at the courage and bravery displayed by the then British rebels and raise your glasses in salute.  May the next 235 years bring continued prosperity and peace to the great United States of America.

I-Tul wishes you all a safe and happy 4th of July!!

That’s right! We are packing up and moving on. Any of you who have visited our office in recent months knows its been bursting at the seams as of late, so we’ve decided to move onto bigger and better things.

We didn’t go far though! In fact, we moved across a sidewalk into the building next door. Our new office location is now:

3009 Douglas Boulevard, Suite 130
Roseville, CA  95661

FREE!!! For I-Tul clients only. Discover more about posts, pages, and content for your WordPress site.

We are pleased to invite you to a complimentary WordPress workshop where you can learn about post, pages, and media to fill your WordPress site with interesting content as often as you would like. Updates are at your fingertips.

Some of the topics we will cover during this session are…

• Creating, writing, editing, and saving post
• Pages vs. Posts. What is the difference?
• Adding, formatting, and labeling images for your posts and pages
• Uploading and organizing your images using the Gallery Manager

This session will be hosted online so you can see hands-on how to work with pages, posts, and images on your existing site.  Please  Email Us to Sign Up today!

When: June 23^rd, 2011
1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Where: Online – Confirmed Attendees will receive login information for GoToMeeting 30 minutes before the class begins.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to explore, please email them to me before the class begins.