Starting up my first online business

Famous Australian LSO got a logo similar to mine!

2006-08-24T20:01:00.000+10:00

Sorry I havent posted in a while, school has been hectic and i've been kept busy with sporting commitments.

Anise has brought something interesting to my attention, Medibank private and fitness2live have made a joint venture and they have a logo very similar to mine!

I'm not sure what to make of this, but I think its something interesting thats been brought to my attention

Studying Dreamweaver MX bible

2006-07-09T19:44:00.000+10:00

I've got a DW e-book and i'm going to learn it back to front.
Hopefully i'll be able to create the website I want successfully when I finish reading it!

I'm going to be busy learning web design for a few weeks but dont worry, I'll be back posting updates like crazy when I'm finished!

Learning web development

2006-07-05T16:00:00.000+10:00

Its final, me and the web developer are through! Good thing I didnt pay him up front.
Unfortunately, i'm down ~$135US total for the logo.

I guess this is a sign for me to learn web development and build this website myself! This will definately delay PTsearch opening up for business, but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Final email to my idiot web developer

2006-07-02T19:47:00.000+10:00

Tonight was my web developers final straw, I couldnt contact him all week through phone or email and I just had to put my foot down. I set the final deadline for 9pm Wednesday.
Here's the email I just sent.

Ho Ward, this is Alex.

I've had enough of your horrible service, this is your last chance to finish PTsearch.
I am giving you until Wednesday night to finish it with everything i've asked you and what we agreed on. I am not giving any more extensions, you have used up all your chances.

If the site isnt 100% finished by Wednesday night 9PM AEST I will start my project again with a new web designer.

DEADLINE to 100% finish PTsearch:
- 9PM Wednesday 5th July 2006.

-Alex.

My angry email to web developer

2006-07-01T12:44:00.000+10:00

I've had enough of my web developers bullshit today, I really had to put my foot down for once.
Here's the email I sent him this morning.

**********

-------, I've been calling you a lot and I cannot reach you at all.
When I finally did, you were driving and said you'd call me back, but once again you didnt.

You said it would be finished in 3-5 days 1 week ago, so far you havnt done anything which I know of!

When you first quoted me in JANUARY 06, you said it would take 12-22 days. I can understand this can still be flexible, but 6 months? This is really unprofessional. Even $1300 is not worth it, for 6 months and still going! Are you tring to set a new record or something?

If this is the way you are going to be, this deal wont work out well for me or you.
I DO want this to work out well for me and you, but without your cooperation it wont.
You've almost finished this, JUST GET IT DONE ALREADY.

If you dont do something about this situation now, I'll have to start this from the beginning with somebody else.

It would be in your best interest to get back to me very soon.

Regards, Alex Gilberg.

Web designer STILL out of reach

2006-06-30T16:17:00.000+10:00

This is unbelievable. I actually reached his mobile phone yesterday, but he was driving and said he'd call me back. He has pulled this crap on me at least 5 times now, saying he'll call back within 1 hour and never contacting me back.

I've been calling him at all different times today and am yet to reach him, my email from yesterday also seems to be ignored.

I've learned an expensive and very time wasting lesson with him;
CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE!

Business card FINAL DESIGN

2006-06-29T15:04:00.000+10:00

Julius sent me the new design overnight, he is really fantastic and easy to deal with!
www.juliusdesigns.com

Here is the final design i'll use for the business card, I really love it!

Free business card design!

2006-06-29T00:13:00.000+10:00

I was browsing the YE forums and somebody was offering free design services. I jumped at the offer seeing as I needed a business card.

After telling the designer my requirements, he very happily made me a brilliant business card!
I was really impressed, especially since he even did it for free!

I really like the design, but i'm not sure about the model. She looks nice and all, but this may make my biz look less professional so i'm asking him to remove the pic of her, even though it looks good.

Check out his website at: juliusdesigns.com

Web design price lowered

2006-06-26T19:34:00.000+10:00

I sent my web designer an email the other day. I know I shouldnt try and come off as angry or annoyed in an email, but I couldnt help it. He has been making the site for over 4 months and communication with him has been really difficult. Other web developers could have made a site in 2-3 weeks.

In his email reply he lowered the price to $1300 down from $1500 which relieved some stress.
He said the site should be finished within 3-5 days.
Although, he has announced dates like this many times, so I wont hold my breath.

I'm trying to motivate him to get this done already!

I'm on 2 week holidays!

2006-06-19T16:13:00.000+10:00

I've got to make the most of this free time, but the website is in the web designer's hands and I cant control that. I'm trying to motivate him to finish the site within the next few days.

Although I can make a very basic site, i'm making it one of my goals to be able to build a professional website, not an ameteur one.

First unexpected cost

2006-06-19T16:06:00.000+10:00

I didnt think i'd run into this, but I have.

When I sent my web designer the logo files, he said they arnt the right size.
So I had to get in contact with my logo designer who charged me an additional $15US to resize them. He was having problems with his email during the week so it was hard to communicate quickly.

The end result was one week wasted on re-sizing a logo and down $15US!

Here's the logo that caused all the comotion:

OFFICIAL LOGO of PTsearch

2006-06-10T17:44:00.000+10:00

Here's the OFFICIAL logo of PTsearch! I love the look and believe it portrays PTsearch perfectly.

The website is looking to be completed by Friday 16th June.
Right in time for my 2 week holidays.
Although, with all the delays that have happened so far with the web design, its hard to be 100% sure.

Bought the logo today

2006-06-07T22:52:00.000+10:00

After much deliberation about the colour schemes, I finally bought the logo.
I paid 50% for it now and i'll pay the other 50% when the logo arrives.

Lets hope it'll arrive in my email box by tomorrow morning :)

Choosing a logo colour scheme

2006-06-05T16:16:00.000+10:00

I've chosen the right logo design, now its time for the colour scheme.
I'm leaning towards entry 9 (blue/black). I also like entry 6 (blue/red) though. This is tough!

I'll have to consult with some friends and see what they think of the colour schemes; more opinions can only be better.

If you want to be involved in helping me make PTsearch, feel free by commenting on your favourite colour scheme, I look forward to your replies!

Logo

2006-06-02T20:40:00.000+10:00

Choosing a logo is a fun but difficult decision.

I chose to get my logo done from Sitepoint.com, they charge $20US to make a contest thread, you then start a contest with prize money (at least $100US) and all these talented designers will create a logo for you to pick from.

Here is my logo making thread; http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384824

I finally chose the winner tonight and once I get in contact with them, i'll be able to post a picture of the logo. If you want to see the logo now, go to my Sitepoint thread and look at the entries from the winner, 'lucy mango'.

About this blog

2006-06-01T22:41:00.000+10:00

PTsearch is an Australian personal trainer directory. Its my first business and I will be going through every step I take, every challenge I overcome and every customer I sign up!
This should give a good view on how it is to open up an online business.

I've been planning to open up PTsearch since August 05.
In Feburary 06 I finally found a web designer prepared to take on the challenge of creating PTsearch. There have been many delays and challenges, but we have worked through them and we're setting a deadline for the website to be ready by the 16th of June, thats just over 2 weeks now.

Stay tuned for the next post, the exclusive logo will be unvieled!