Tag Archives: Business

Loving my new job.

8 May

Sometimes, things work out really well.

I’ve just been hired by one of my favorite software services.  Ace of Sales is a CRM and email newsletter service that simplifies self-marketing.


I am the new Marketing Ace for Ace of Sales. This position involves some of the activities I enjoy the most: creating valuable content (ebooks, how-to videos, and ezines) and tracking the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

For the next few months, I will be working a heavy part-time load for Ace of Sales, but I will still have the bandwidth to work with a few clients as a Digital Producer for Pura Vida MultiMedia.

If this works out well, I will transition over to Ace of Sales full time.

You’ve been given notice!

If you wanted to hire me someday, sooner is better than later.

And if you want to check out Ace of Sales, click here for a 30-day free trial.

Looking for a Job.

18 Apr

While I love running my web design business, in difficult economies, there are cycles of feast and famine.

If the ups and downs were my burden alone to bear, I would cheerfully spend the occasional month eating toast and build my business over the long haul.

Being the primary breadwinner for a large family means those ups and downs affect those that I love, those who depend on me.

To provide more stability for my family, I am making the shift from managing multiple projects with multiple clients, to providing outstanding digital production services for one client, full-time.

I’m actively on the hunt, so if you know anyone who is looking for a dynamite digital marketer, please forward my information to them.

I’ve got a Video Resume Cover Letter here:

http://caelanhuntress.puravidamultimedia.com

I’m looking for an ongoing relationship with a company that needs continual content generation, across multiple digital platforms. My production capabilities are listed in detail on my resume, accessible through the link above.

I’m really excited for what’s coming next. Now that I’ve honed my skills as a digital craftsman, I’ve got a well-stocked toolbox that I can use to promote a message and engage with an audience in lots of fun ways.

The clients I have now will still get excellent work on their current projects as I complete them, and depending on the job that I acquire, I may be able to keep some of my favorite clients on the side.

The prospect of regular, reliable income fills me with a satisfaction that will surely carry over into an amazing level of dedication to my new employer.

Whomever they may be….

New Resume

12 Jul

As I’m sure you know, the economy stinks.

Looking for a job in Portland (a digitally-savvy city) for a job in digital media (where there are lots of unemployed digital media enthusiasts) is like walking into a refugee camp and asking for a Denver omelette with a side of bacon.

Other people are eating, sure, but they don’t exactly have enough to share.

Go forage on your own, kid.

I’ve tried, with varying degrees of success, to find my own bread. It’s tough, and when you have a family to support, it takes a lot of your mental energy to try finding clients that will pay money, when they are struggling, too.

I’ve gotten some incredible experience through doing trades with friends, but now I’m ready to support my family. A jobby-job is (sometimes) the best way to do that.

So I am throwing my hat out there for my ideal job: a telecommuting gig, where I can work from my laptop in Web Design, Digital Marketing, and Social Media.

I had my resume redone by the amazing JobJenny (Jenny Foss of JobJenny.com) and the results are pretty frickin amazing, if you ask me.

(If you were looking for a killer resume? And you did ask me? I’d tell you to go to her.)

I’m always interested in feedback, so please, check out my new resume and tell me what ya think.

Editing Across Mediums

29 Apr

Scalpel by aesop

Today, I had the good fortune of working on two separate editing projects

  • Writing -Editing: a nonfiction book proposal
  • Video – Editing: a 30 minute multicamera interview

and I learned a valuable insight.

Editing is the process of removing the fluff that helps us tell our stories.

This fluff, consisting of ums, false starts, poor phrasing, and repetition, ramps us up to say what we really mean. We have to try expressing an idea a few times until it comes out powerfully enough to be artistic. Editing is the art of removing all that is not art.

It takes some time to get going when you are having a conversation, and someone asks you a question that merits the eloquent expression of an idea. Eloquence is rarely achieved the first attempt, though. It can take you a few tries to nail what you really mean. Likewise, with the written word, you need to spend some time arranging your concepts around one another in order to deliver your complicated masterstroke.

Juxtaposing these two editing mediums against one another today, I noticed that each of them involved looking actively for excessive preparations, and eliminating them, so that the final delivery could shine.

I treasured those good turns of phrase, the really great camera shots, the beautiful framing of an idea. I constructed everything else around them, as those false starts helped the authors of the work to culminate in their highest expression. But the fluff, while necessary, hinders the audience from engaging with the central core concept, which they do best by hearing only the best and strongest expressions of the idea.

I once told a member of an old writing group, “Cut first 4 paragraphs from your story. It starts when she grabs her keys and walks out the door.”

She had spent a full page justifying what her story was about, and who was in it, and how they felt, before the story even started. But those four paragraphs were essential for the writer to feel around the new creation she was exploring. As creators, it is necessary for us to create chaff, within which we can find nuggets of brilliance.

If you can present the audience with only the best nuggets, then the editing has been successful.

2000 business cards. Phew.

25 Jan

I went through my old stash of business cards tonight, and it was very illuminative.

While no announcement has been made yet, I’m preparing to launch a new marketing company (web design, content, and video).  I went through all of my old business cards and culled out all the ones who would not take my call at a moments notice with a ‘Hey, what have YOU been up to?’ on the other end.

This left approximately 1 out of 10 contacts that I felt certain enough in calling over the next month to have a hearty reception.  While some of them overlap with my LinkedIn contacts, I don’t always have phone numbers for all of them accessible (although thats never more than a few clicks away for anyone with half-assed Google skills).   Due to the size of the network I developed while working in insurance, I decided to start with my best business cards as my contacts for February.

I’ve got a stack of 200.

The huge pile of the other 1800 is sitting in my recycling bin.  I’ve got their email addresses, and they would probably recognize an email from me (for now), but they aren’t necessarily personal relationships that I can count on, that I can trust.

I have 200 people in a stack on my desk that would be happy to hear from me, and have a decent shot of knowing someone who could use my services.  These 200 people will form the core of my new database.

If you’re reading this, chances are pretty good that you’re on the shortlist, and we’ll be talking soon.  Do me a favor, and save me the trouble.  Give me a ring, wouldya?

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