Aviation of Business

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Dec 18

I am entering Thor Schrock’s Secret Classroom Blog Contest.

I’ve been reading Thor’s blog (www.thorschrock.com) for awhile now, and he’s got some really great content! I highly recommend subcribing to RSS feed (I did!). If you are looking for an RSS aggregator, I suggest NewsGator (www.newsgator.com) - it’s got an online version which is very easy to use and update.

In addition to the obvious monetary value of the potential prize, I’m also entering the contest because the Secret Classroom information sounds like it has some real substance to it, unlike many other offers out there on the web these days. Some of the infomation that is available on the Secret Classroom DVD set includes:

One of the benefts of having this information on DVD is that you can rewind and watch portions over (instead of missing the information like you might in a live seminar), as well as being able to see it happen (instead of having to interpret what it should look like, like in a book or e-book). Additionally, you get a workbook to make the learning stick even better!

Sounds like being back in school - taking notes, doing assignments in a workbook - but I’d rather have the information and take notes and work at something to get what I want.

What’s the alternative?

Doing the same thing every day - and getting the same thing I already have. And that may not be bad, but I have goals and dreams… and the day-to-day won’t allow me to reach them.

So here’s to learning and doing and building something new!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Aug 15

I want to thank anyone who helped Third Floor Cards for their commitment in voting in LifeBlue’s “Get a new Design” contest! If you were following the action, you’ll know that after a short stint in third place, Third Floor Cards ended up finishing a strong fourth! While that means that Third Floor Cards did not win the contest, LifeBlue offered a “second-chance” drawing for anyone who posted a review of the LifeBlue website on their blog and sent them an e-mail telling them so.

You can find my review of LifeBlue’s site at the following URL:
http://www.aviationofbusiness.com/AoBBlog/lifeblue-web-design/2007/08/06/

And the result was:
Third Floor Cards was selected at random in the second chance drawing! Also, check out the rest of the contestants on LifeBlue’s Wall of Shame…

So even though we didn’t “win” the contest, Third Floor Cards will still receive a redesigned website! We couldn’t have done it without all of your help in the voting portion… and all of your good thoughts and hopes for Third Floor Cards! So, again, thanks so much for your help.

Come soon to see the redesigned website at http://www.thirdfloorcards.com - I don’t know how long of a process it is to do a professional redesign of a website, but you’ll know when it’s done… it won’t suck anymore!

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Aug 6

As I mentioned in a previous post: Re-designing a never-quite-finished-in-the-first-place design, I entered one of my sites (Third Floor Cards) in a contest to win a free site re-design. Lordy, does that site ever need it. We rose through the ranks pretty well, enjoyed a short stint in third place, and then were knocked back down to fourth, where we’ve been sitting for a couple of weeks now.

With a little boost, I think Third Floor Cards can still make it to third before the end of the competition, but second and first are out of the question for our little site.

That being said, Life Blue has offered a second chance to the less fortunate websites out there - like TFC. The remainder of this post is a critique of LifeBlue’s website, which will garner me an entry into their second-chance drawing. Watch for the “web design” link -> that little beauty buys me five entries into the drawing! Talk about a neat marketing trick to improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Life Blue’s website, in my opinion, is quite well-made. It’s intriguing to the eye, as the top banner changes into a new design focus each time you click a link, but the site’s “motto” - Is your life Blue? - stays front and center throughout. Additionally, there is always a form on the right side of the screen - “above the fold” - allowing you give the web design company your contact information so they can contact you for a custom quote.

I found the site easy to navigate and interesting to read. The writing is concise and has some humour, the text is easy on the eyes (as is the rest of the site), and there are a plethora of links to get you pretty much anywhere you are interested in going on the site without much fuss. The only confusing bit to me was on their Portfolio page, where the links in the left column were there to limit your search of their portfolio examples to their design focuses of creative design, application development, search engine marketing, content management systems, and e-commerce. Since the rest of the left-column links on every other page were so similar, I was confused when I clicked a link and it just reloaded the portfolio page. Perhaps a better explanation of what clicking the links on this page does would help… it took me several clicks to realize what it was doing.

Overall, though, I think it is a very well-designed site, and whether I win in the second-chance drawing or not, I may be contacting Life Blue for my web design needs in the future.

I did two “web design” links! Think that’ll get me another five entries in the drawing? naaah.

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Jul 12

A long headline for a short request:

One of the online businesses that Jill and I have never yet been able to get off the ground (because of our lack of time/funds and my lack of knowledge) has entered a contest for a free website redesign.

Please click the link below to vote for Third Floor Cards (www.thirdfloorcards.com) as the worst designed website in the contest… the winning site gets a free re-design. If 3rdFC wins the contest, it’ll be a redesign for a site that never quite got designed completely in the first place.

If you comment that you voted (and leave your e-mail) - and 3rdFC wins the contest (please vote every day) - 3rdFC will send you a coupon to buy a card for $1.00 (including shipping - THAT’S 80%+ off!) from the newly designed site!

Web Designers

Fair Winds,
Andrew

posted by Andrew Hartley - Business Consultant & Entrepreneur on Apr 1

Aviation is one of my passions.

Another is the environment.

An odd combination?  I don’t think so.

Most people look at aviation as a polluting, wasteful industry.  And, looking at aviation operations as they have been for 100 years and are currently, they are probably right.  However, I think that aviation as an idea is about the most environmentally-friendly thing there is… to fly, an airplane and pilot must adhere to the laws of Mother Nature.  She alone decides whether an airplane will fly.  Any one who attempts to defy nature in an airplane and do something that goes against the physical laws of nature will learn the hard way who is in charge.  I also believe that aviation can and should be a far less polluting industry than it is.  I believe that aviation can be successfully environmentally-conscious.  I challenge everyone in the industry to pay more attention and get more creative in reducing aviation’s impact on the Earth.

In that vein - I ran across a contest this week in USA Weekend in my Sunday paper.  The Smithsonian National Zoo is having a contest - asking kids to suggest creative ways to “Stomp out carbon.”  Click here to go to the press release on the zoo’s website.

By the way: Earth Day is every April 22nd. Celebrate Earth Day this year by leaving a comment telling us what you do to reduce your ecological “footprint!”

Fair Winds,
Andrew