Not only am I now working with a friend (Benjamin Nelson), and with two great partners (David and Don), I have also met a lot of wonderful new people: Jason Z., Justin, Chuck, Aaron and Tracy, Tom, Jason P, Jackie, Ben and many more. It’s been a pleasure to go to the office and work around these new friends on a daily basis.

I have also been blessed by the many friends who have emailed, telephoned and stopped by to see me. Patrick Flanagan, Mark Goeke, Kyle Williams, Steve Tanner, Ken Wolgemuth, Noel Birkey, Chuck Thomas, Derek Taylor and Chris Arndt to name a few. Others have called or emailed to give support and well wishes: Barry, Lou, Cindy, Tim, Corey, Krystian and so many more. Thank you so much for your encouragement.

As with any new business, the customers are very important. I am excited to have met Joel, Lauren, Vincent, and others at Sunshine Gospel Ministries. I look forward to working with Brandon on all the DKG web projects. Thanks to Chuck, Steve, Kyle, Mark and Trax for the new referrals and opportunities! Dwight, the creative work is awesome. I’m going to owe you big time!

One thing is for sure. I can’t do this alone! It takes teamwork, friendships, communication and relationship building to make it work. It’s really all about people… not jobs and tasks, projects or the bottom line. Understanding that it’s all a gift from God is key. I don’t control this new thing. It really isn’t mine anyway. I’m just a steward of what I’ve been given. The question is, what am I going to do with it? How will I make it grow and multiply? Will I be found faithful, having invested wisely and accomplished much?

I aim to give it all I’ve got. We’ll see what happens.

I remembered to bring in my tools today, so we can take down a workstation wall that will allow Benjamin and me to see each other from our desks. We are wanting to open things up more in our work area for easier communication and collaboration.

AFTERNOON
We had a good lunch break with Derek Taylor today. He came on over to the Headstand Media office and shared some good Maggiano’s Italian food! This reminded me that I did some illustrations for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises some years ago for Maggiano’s. I’ve included a few of those sketches here.

One of the things we discussed over lunch was how to manage and keep really good web developers. Derek had some experience at one of his former jobs of losing key people because as the marketplace changed, and management didn’t really keep up with those changes. They would give key people minimal raises, then those people would find much better jobs elsewhere. Management would also go through phases of staffing up, and would pay new people more than the people who had been there and earned their stripes. This would tick off the people who had ben there and sacrificed already, and they would quit and move on. All of this kind of change is a huge disruption to a company, the momentum and the team building that you need to maintain in order to grow. I had some of my own experiences along these lines to share as well. It was good to know that we are not alone and that many companies are facing similar challenges in today’s changing marketplace.

EVENING
This evening is the Breakthrough Urban Ministries annual fund-raising benefit dinner, with guest speaker Tony Evans. I will be leaving the office early to get there on time, since Deb and I are table hosts. I am looking forward to having Michele Dillon join us, the Guyer’s, Miller’s (great news you guys!), Jeb, Kathryn and Noel, as well as seeing Arloa, Von & Vilma, Brenda, Keith, Donny and Mary, and many other friends who will be there.

Thanks to: Ken W., Chris A., Kyle W., and Derek T. – for visiting us this week!. To Taylor B, Noel B, Marshall B, Nicole H, Patrick F, Karen N, Laura and Debbie B for feedback on logo designs! To Russell K: thanks for calling me at my new office number!

It turned out that Chris was offered a job working for Moody Bible Institute not too long after BIRKEY.COM had been one of the finalists in responding to an RFP from Moody, to help them redesign and redevelop their websites. Chris took the job at Moody and became their Department Manager: Web Communications. He is actually now working with the companies that won that project: Change Design, and The C2 Group out of Grandville, MI.

It was good to reconnect with Chris, hear about the process of how his job came about, and to understand that all these things have worked out for the best.

Chris is an avid photographer as well. You can view his work online at iStockphoto.

Thanks Chris!

Another step was completed in the New Identity process. We narrowed down the direction of our potential new logo design, and sent HBN Design our feedback and request for development of round 2. Thanks to all of you who gave us your feedback on the preliminary concepts we showed you. It has all been very helpful.

I remember Kyle as a very enthusiastic young guy about all of this cutting edge search engine technology. Back in the day it was Google, Yahoo, MSN, PageRank, backward links, sandboxing, domains, etc. He branched out on his own in 2003, managing Survive Outdoors for his father, as well as a number of his own website ventures. Even though Kyle has grown and matured as a person in the remaining years (including marriage!), the “Internet” passion hasn’t changed. Everyone needs to be passionate about something positive… and this is definitely Kyle’s “thing.” It was good to see it still alive and well!

We had lunch at Giordano’s, ate good pizza, reconnected, and told Benjamin stories about the “golden years” with Corey, Daniel, Nicko, and the rest of the team at BIRKEY.COM. It was also fun to dream about the future together, not as “boss – employee” – but more as friends and peers. I prefer it that way.

Thanks for the visit Kyle! I look forward to working with you more again!

Looking back over the first two weeks I’d have to say things are going very well. In that time I:
• Moved into a new office space
• Set up network access and Internet connections
• Learned the basics of managing a web server
• Got a new VOIP telephone
• Decided on a company name
• Hired HBN Design to design our company logo and identity
• Put up a temporary webpage at HeadstandMedia.com
• Met with a new customer to get an exciting new web project rolling… Sunshine Gospel Ministries
• Completed an SEO research study for my friend Chuck Thomas at CTCreative
• Hired the first Headstand team member other than myself – Benjamin Nelson
• Purchased new computer hardware and software, and got it all installed and configured
• Read a book on the EL: “Death by Meeting, by Patrick Lencioni”
• Found a stapler to use
• Rode my motorcycle to work at least 4 times
• Got my Chicago Card for easier and quicker CTA navigation
• Got my security pass for the building I’m in
• Took care of a myriad of other office related details

I also I’ve had many great visits from friends and colleagues: Mark Goeke, Steve Tanner, Benjamin Nelson, Chuck Thomas, Steve Wilson, Kyle Williams, as well as my son Noel.

This morning, I had a great email exchange with a former employee named Josh Frank, who worked for me at BIRKEY.COM. He took a job at Michigan State University as a Project Manager in the Health Information Technology department. He loves the new job and is doing well! He’s trying to sell his home in Oak Park, buy a home in Lansing and get his family moved as well! Best wishes to you Josh!
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AFTERNOON

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

The first employee of Headstand Media (beside me of course) is (drum roll)… Benjamin D. Nelson! I have known Benjamin a number of years, and he was most recently employed at ShopLocal.com as a User Interface Designer, and Client Services Director. Before that he had worked at Sonlife Ministries, Click Commerce, Scholle Corporation as well as through his own freelance design firm, Someday Soon Design.

Some of you know that Benjamin is a very creative and funny guy, and does improv comedy and music direction at Second City as well. While at ShopLocal, Benjamin and boss Patrick Flanagan produced a wild vlog called Digital Punch TV. My favorite is Episode 5.

I am very happy to have Benjamin on board!

So, now that the news is out… I’m sure this announcement will be on every wire service and news program by the end of the day!

Now I’ve got get him a computer, software, a coffee mug, scissors, post-it notes…
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Also very exciting at the end of today was to have my friend Steve Wilson in the office for a visit. Thanks for coming down today Steve, and for the great discussion!
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EVENING

At home I tried the VPN connection that Justin helped me troubleshoot… and it worked! I guess having the right IP address is really important! I’ll have to remember that!

Thanks Chuck for all that you shared with us today, and for your good questions and insights. I learned a lot of new things just hearing you go over your career history and the development of CTCreative and VALCORT, and all the good things that have happened over the years. I look forward to partnering with you as the future unfolds.

MORE GOOD NEWS!
I am also pleased to announce that a personal friend who I had made a job offer to, said “Yes!” today. I’ll be announcing who that new Headstand team member is to the world very soon!

So, Fox, CNN, ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS and all you other news outlets… be watching here and don’t miss the Big Announcement!

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testimony [ˈtestəˌmōnē]–> noun ( pl. -nies)
a formal written or spoken statement, esp. one given in a court of law.
• evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something : his blackened finger was testimony to the fact that he had played in pain.
• a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.
• archaic a solemn protest or declaration.
ORIGIN Middle English : from Latin testimonium, from testis ‘a witness.’

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We were using this word in the highlighted meaning above, not in the legal courtroom sense.

What happened last night was in fact exactly a “testimony” as we shared how God had worked in each of our lives to bring us to a realization of our own desperate need of him, and how we turned from going our own way, to going his way… and what that decision had done for each of us. This activity is exactly what postmoderns desire and call “relevance.” This is the practical down to earth everyday stuff that either makes God real and present in daily experience, or it doesn’t… relevant or irrelevant.

I was struck by the personal choices made in each case and by the overwhelming fact of God’s response of grace, as defined in meaning #2 below.
——————

grace [grās]
noun
1 simple elegance or refinement of movement : she moved through the water with effortless grace.
• courteous goodwill : at least he has the grace to admit his debt to her.
• (graces) an attractively polite manner of behaving : she has all the social graces.
2 (in Christian belief) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.
• a divinely given talent or blessing : the graces of the Holy Spirit.
• the condition or fact of being favored by someone : he fell from grace because of drug use at the Olympics.
3 (also grace period) a period officially allowed for payment of a sum due or for compliance with a law or condition, esp. an extended period granted as a special favor : another three days’ grace.
4 a short prayer of thanks said before or after a meal : before dinner the Reverend Newman said grace.
5 ( His, Her, or Your Grace) used as forms of description or address for a duke, duchess, or archbishop : His Grace, the Duke of Atholl.

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I am forced to conclude that God is real and relevant in the lives of many people. All one has to do is ask around. Sooner or later you will find someone willing to share their “testimony” as we experienced last night.

His web design career took him to Morningstar, freelancing and work at a few other places, and eventually he landed at CARS.COM and became a Senior Designer there. More recently, he left CARS to branch out on his own. You can view his current portfolio of work and get more biographical info at the Taylor Design Studios website.

Derek has come up with a great website idea that he has been developing on his own. You can visit the fruits of his labors at OakParkDining.com. This site is full of great information on the restaurants and dining options in and around Oak Park, Illinois. If you live around Oak Park, you should bookmark this site and refer to it often!

Since I also have a new email for my business, I’ve decided to log the first 10 senders to my address at: randal@headstandmedia.com:
1 – Cindy Hernandez: October 4, 2007
2 – Steve Tanner: October 4, 2007 (you can tell who is watching my blog!)
3 – Noel Birkey: Jean Stoffer Design: October 5, 2007
4 – Amber Cox: October 5, 2007
5 – Benjamin Nelson: Somedaysoon Design: October 5, 2007
6 – Deb Knoner: October 7, 2007
7 – Mark Goeke: Encyclopedia Britannica
8 – Dwight Nelson: HBN Design
9 – Derek Taylor: Taylor Design Studios
10 – Nicko Sahlas: Cheftalk.com

Get yourself named on Randy’s List for free!