Adriana

My daughter wrote the following blog post as a creative writing assignment for school.  I enjoyed it so much, I had to post it!

“Once upon a time, there was a kingdom where revolutionary acts of products were not permitted and where men hunched over desks where they sat chained like rowers to a bench, working in silence that was broken only by pens scratching and fingers tapping.

This was a time when great men worked with the great time. Alas, not every soul is content with their brand of torture. These extraordinary personages hold within them a great task: to rebel and take part in Mutiny. They would throw off traditional thinking and form their own ideas. Their society contained men working in places they desired during the time they chose. The products of this era were indeed revolutionary and unique as they were bound not by traditional ties, but were free to roam the internet.

Two young pirates were looked upon as the leaders of such a society, and they were hailed as the greatest minds to prosper from this revolt. They were named Merlee and Chris and they were called upon to change the face of software forever. Accepting and embracing of this calling, they have succeeded in creating software that falls short not of already superior standards. They call themselves Mutineers, the creators of MutinyWare. “

Photograph of the cards

Well, we received our first set of business cards from the printer this week, and I cannot tell you how happy I am with them!

First, about the design….I love it….but then, I designed it   But in all seriousness, we wanted to have a business card that stood out from the crowd, one that had a little extra umph….it’s always good to get noticed!  After reading many blogs about business cards, and what ideas other people had, I came up with the thought of making one that looked like a playing card.  So, we have a business card that bears a resemblance to a playing card, but still carries on our theme.

Finding an online printer that would print in full color, and with rounded corners on the card was a bit more tricky.  There are quite a few that do it, but the cost was pretty high.  Finally, I came across Business Card Planet.  They offered the full color and the rounded corners, and their price was definitely acceptable.  We gave them a try, and boy am I glad we did!

When the cards arrived, I was so excited!  I opened the boxes and took out a card, and was immediately impressed.  The card has a hefty feel to it, and is full gloss on both sides.  I have to say, this is one of the nicest feeling cards I have yet to see.  Kudos to Business Card Planet!!

Below you can see the design.

Business Card Front

Business Card Back

If you build it, they will come. This is the extent of many peoples’ thought on developing a product such as web-based software.

And of course, initially, when a great product idea pops into our heads, that is what we tend to focus on as well….product development.

Then reality comes a knockin’ and as development is progressing and our Master Shipbuilder, Chris, is in programming hell, I, the designer…start realizing everything else that needs to be done prior to launch. Things such as:

• Product website
• Help documentation
• Forums
• Marketing
• Support
• Payments

Now, of course, if one already has other products on the market, some of this is already in place, such as Forums, Support and Payment systems. Others, need to be done each and every time. This is where a small level of panic starts to set in, and I join my partner in hell

All of this is par for the course however. The only truly scary part for me is the marketing. I am no sales person, and doing the whole social networking thing is difficult enough. I think, first order of business, is to find someone to take this on for us!