website management Archives - Interfanatic Digital Marketing with Web Site Maintenance & Design

Wisdom: Career Change Guide, by Michael B. Schoettle – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

“Honesty is the 1st chapter in the book of wisdom.”
– Thomas Jefferson

We get the opportunity to work with some wise people! But Michael Schoettles don’t come along often.

Mike Schoettle is a gold-medal Olympic sailor, a Navy veteran, and a career executive recruiter. After such and illustrious career, he wanted to give. So he used all of his experience and four years to write the book, Career Change Guide. He champions a values-based approach that starts with you getting to know yourself, understanding that when you’re happy and fulfilled, the money will come.

So of course this quote from Jefferson fits. To create a successful life, you must employ a foundation of wisdom by first being honest with yourself. Schoettle was honest with himself, and look where it got him!

We recently discussed his journey. It’s not always easy to be honest with yourself. You have to peel back the layers of expectation and external influence to get at your core. But once you do, it will be much easier to find fulfillment and success. And, if you’re successful enough, you’ll be able to share your wisdom freely, as Schoettle did with his first book, Career Change Guide.

Wisdom: An Interfanatic Quality

Okay, okay, I’m not here telling you I’m wise. But, as always, these qualities are those we strive to embody. And of course, we do have an incredible amount of wisdom when it comes to digital marketing. You can’t be good at it for over 20 years and not glean at least some!

Wisdom drives which clients we wish to work with. It drives our decisions. Wisdom guides our processes. We use our experience to develop systems to simplify and expedite work. All of that comes from our decades of earned wisdom. Wisdom earned: sometimes the easy way, oftentimes not!

Career Change Guide: Author Michael Schoettle Sharing His Wisdom

Schoettle used Career Change Guide as an opportunity to help. He just wants to help young people find a great career. He wants to help people dissatisfied with their current job, and help them figure out taking the right path. Indeed, a theme behind his book is from the Frost poem, The Road Not Taken.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I– I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

Schoettle’s book cover states, “taking the right path could make all the difference.”

In Schoettle’s experience, it may not always be about the path less taken. For him, it’s about finding the right path for you. Oftentimes, the right path for you is a different path than that of others’ expectations of you. Or, finding exactly what makes you tick is slightly different than anybody else’s path.

It’s funny – finding the right path is a bit like tuning sales. Anybody with basic knowledge can get the boat moving in the right direction. But the last 5% of tuning the jib and main add the most to boat speed and separate those who get to the mark first.

“Taking the right path could make all the difference.”
Career Change Guide, by Mike Schoettle

You can use Schoettle’s wisdom to guide you to your right path. (Or left one, as the case may be.) We recently completed a new website for Schoettle’s book that allows you to preview the book before you buy it. The book is under $15 on Amazon in paperback or Kindle, so you could definitely just get it if career path is on your mind. But if you want to, check it out first. You can read the first chapter, see the table of contents, and preview his recommended actions. He really has made a great, simple, step-by-step guide for anybody considering career change.

I highly recommend it for everyone. If for no other reason than to read about successful people changing career paths successfully, or reading some wisdom from a highly accomplished and decorated man. Mike really is a good guy. To access this body of wisdom from him so easily is a blessing for us all.

Interfanatic Service Focus: Interfanatic Power Social Advertising

On top of a website, we’re helping Mike with a number of launch campaigns. We’re helping him to advertise his book and website on Linkedin, Google, and directly on Amazon.

And we can help you, too.

Linkedin is an oft untapped resource for B2B marketing. They have many great advertising options. They’re easy enough for most people to figure out, but sometimes it’s difficult and people feel in over their head. If that’s the case, contact us and we’ll get you squared away. Linkedin is an interesting and unique place for Social Media Marketing, and Social Ads there are effective when handled properly.

Advertising on Amazon is not for the faint of heart. It’s complicated and there are many pitfalls. But if you have a product or book you want to advertise on Amazon, again, we’re here to help.

And, of course, Google is the King of Ads in Digital Marketing, 2021. We run many Google Ads campaigns monthly for customers of all sizes, and have for over a decade.

The last prong of our marketing approach for Schoettle so far was to send an email to several hundred of Mike’s acquaintances. For this marketing email, we used MailChimp, but we’ve used many other services in the past. Many times people think it’s a good idea to just send from their personal email account, but this is a terrible idea. It’s much better to leave it to a professional email services so you don’t ruin your personal email address. Again, email marketing sends is something we done hundreds of times through the years, to hundreds of thousands of email recipients.

When you’re looking to get your name, service, or product out there, we’re here to help.

Interfanatic: Trying to Tap into Some Wisdom, Even a Little Drop Will Do

As is often the case, that’s a Paul Simon quote. But we do – we try to tap into wisdom from many sources: our clients, our friends, our family, and, of course, our experience. When you’ve been doing this as long as we have, you’re bound to get some! And we have many little drops to help you with after two decades. We’re here to share that wisdom with you.

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Sincerity: Rolling Hills Dental Group – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“By being natural and sincere, one often can create revolutions without having sought them.”
– Christian Dior

The revolutions Dior speaks of are obviously revolutions of fashion. But what we’re witnessing today is a deeper, social revolution.

Black Lives Matter is natural and sincere. However, it is a sought revolution.

Sincerity comes from the deepest place in our hearts. Its expression is the most genuine form of us. (After all, if it weren’t, it wouldn’t be sincere.)

That’s why it’s so important – it’s fundamental.

And we celebrate it because that’s how we handle our business. Our actions come from the deepest parts of us. We want to do things right.

Sincerity: An Interfanatic Quality

When things are going right, sincerity keeps them going right. When things are going wrong, sincerity helps understanding. A lot of life is in-between, and sincerity helps there, too.

Whenever you begin a new project, it needs to come from your heart. It needs to come from love, passion, and your keen mind. You have to be ready to work for it and put other things aside. A new project requires absolute sincerity.

Many new businesses begin with sincerity, and many fail despite sincerity. Sincerity alone is not enough. But without it, failure is your destiny. You must have a sincere desire to make it happen.

Which reminds me of Rolling Hills Dental Group, a cosmetic dentistry facility on the Palos Verdes peninsula.

When people look at you smile, you don’t want them to be distracted. By that bit of parsley or that snaggletooth or that uncomfortable gap. So, you go to Rolling Hills Dental Group so they can make your smile undistracting from your lovely face.

They make your smile gorgeous by taking you into their hearts and working from sincerity.

Rolling Hills Dental Group – Sincerity brought to Life

Rolling Hills Dental Group came to us some years ago with needs to update their site. That’s how many of our relationships begin – some simple updates to a website. And we love doing that. If that’s all that’s needed, that’s what we do. If more is needed, we can help our customers understand that cost / benefit and we do what makes sense.

But they came to us with a simple requirement: update the information on the website. And they came to us with sincerity – the same sincerity they give their patients.

“…they came to us with sincerity – the same sincerity they give their patients.”

The staff at Rolling Hills Dental Group takes their task seriously. Of course they have their fun and are enjoyable to be around. But because sincerity is at the core of their purpose, they get their jobs done.

So, we updated their website. And we gave back the sincerity they brought to us through our work.

Sincerely Attacking Business – Keep It Simple with Interfanatic The Works Year Round Monthly Maintenance

Have us update your site for you. Or, as websites now require regular maintenance to keep the hackers away, have us update your website at least once per month with our Management services.

Websites are like gardens. They flourish when you tend to them regularly. Come up with some new content or an edit monthly, and after some time you’ll grow organic traffic significantly.

Google doesn’t like static sites as much as it likes ones that are regularly updated.

So, we can update your site, make sure the software is current, and do whatever posting you need every month. It’s a win-win.

Interfanatic and a Sincere Drive

When you take your business and marketing sincerely, everything goes better. We bring our sincerity to your business so you can handle whatever else needs your attention.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Sincerity, an Interfanatic Quality. Interfanatic Digital Marketing founder Ryan Delane takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

At the end of the day, sincerity is what gives you the courage to handle the next.

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Goodness: Green Ink Marketing – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions.”
– Chanakya

Chanakya, an early Indian philosopher and statesman, knew good from bad. He saw both sides of humanity throughout his life. He celebrated the proliferation of goodness.

It’s a beautiful sentiment. But I think, if there’s no wind, the fragrance of the flower permeates its surroundings in all directions. When there is wind against a person, what becomes of their goodness? Does it go with the wind, or against it?

Regardless, we appreciate the goodness of people. And we celebrate it. We try to share our goodness, and let it permeate all the work we do.

Goodness: An Interfanatic Quality

We love working with good people. In fact, we won’t work with people we don’t consider to have good hearts. Life is too short, and we need to apply our talents in a way that will improve the world.

Everyone has bad moments. But if they’re good at their core, the law of averages will right the situation and bring things back to a positive balance.

This is when work is worth doing. It’s easier to work hard for good people.

Green Ink Marketing – The Good Idea of Good People

Many years ago, Green Ink Marketing came to us for website consultation. They had the idea to do printing on recycled paper, with eco-friendly and sustainable inks that also were brilliant and lasting. All decisions are based around using the least environmentally impactful method whenever possible. It was a good idea, and we’re pleased to have helped.

It’s wonderful to work with new, small businesses who feel they can make the world better – if just a tiny bit. It’s encouraging and inspiring.

That’s the kind of goodness we love to work with. When doing good permeates your every move, as it does for Green Ink Marketing, it ripples outward, attracting like-minded individuals and their businesses.

Green Ink Marketing: a small, local company, doing good for their community and the businesses that surround them. It was our pleasure to work with them, even if just for a little bit.

“When doing good permeates your every move, as it does for Green Ink Marketing, it ripples outward, attracting like-minded individuals and their businesses.”

We’re always looking to assist other businesses like Green Ink. If you have a good idea and you need help getting started, reach out to us. Let’s see what we can do together. We work with customers of all types and budget sizes.

What’s Good: Interfanatic The Works HackSecure Dedicated Business Hosting with SSL

For serious business websites, we have our The Works series of products. A great example of a business that could use our The Works HackSecure Dedicated Business Hosting is a high-traffic eCommerce site. It’s got all the bells and whistles you need to run a safe, secure website that’s not limited by resource.

All of our management and hosting plans come with use-it-or-lose-it labor included to keep things running even when problems arise. Because, let’s be honest, no matter what you do, stuff happens. The labor is designed to ensure the websites run safely, and to take care of any little changes you have for your site. If you have more changes or labor required (including The Works Advanced or Rush labor), you have to pay for it, but at least you start every month with some in the bank.

We keep the lights on for ya, so you can go about your business.

Interfanatic and Goodness

Chanakya is one of history’s interesting characters. He put himself in positions that gave him a fascinating collective experience to draw on. And his observations, I find, are often keen. (Of course, they should be taken in context.)

But this one – about the flowers and the goodness of people… It’s universal. Our goal, every day we go to work, is to spread a little goodness and hope a little comes back. The endeavor is to spread goodness whether the wind is with us, or against us.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Goodness, an Interfanatic Quality. Interfanatic Digital Marketing founder Ryan Delane takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Ah, a lovely and intricate succulent. The water’s surface tension interacts with the cuticle in repulsion, giving the water a gem-like, glassy quality. Sometimes it’s the little things, you know? Succulents are beautiful in California, a way to see greenery in a State plagued by drought. And, in line with the green theme of this week’s customer spotlight. And, our The Works hosting is like a succulent, in that it rarely runs dry on resources and it’s spiny to keep the baddies out.

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Family: Cook’s Doors & Windows – Interfanatic Customer Spotlight

Customer Spotlight, Partners

“Everyone needs a house to live in, but a supportive family is what builds a home.”
– Anthony Liccione

According to the descendants of George & Charles Merriam and Noah Webster, a quality is an inherent feature. By that definition, the inherent feature we celebrate this week at Interfanatic is that of family. As such, family is definitely an inherent feature of this collective business, with our associates and clientele.

Family is a bond. Family is a way of doing things.

“Okay, sure,” you say. But a lot of companies blather on about how they treat their customers “like family.”

But do a lot of companies, before they begin work in earnest, spend two hours, or twelve hours, getting to know their customers?

Interfanatic does.

Family: An Interfanatic Quality

Whether our customer is a $100/mo customer or a $150,000 project customer, we spend tremendous getting to know them. Understanding their business. Understanding what they love about it, and how we can best help them accomplish their long-term and short-term goals.

And yes, we spend at least two hours, but sometimes as long as twelve or more hours getting to know our customers, their tastes, and their business.

And that’s a turn off for some people. They see us as problem solvers. We’re here to quickly and efficiently solve their problems.

But we feel that without knowing our clients properly, we can’t make the best decisions for their long-term interest. We’re in this for decades-long relationships, not a week-long or a month-long one. We take your business and our part in it very seriously.

Which may be why we have customer relationships that span a decade or two. They’re our favorite customers because they give us the privilege to make them that way.

Cook’s Doors & Windows: A Business Built on Family

We really enjoyed our time working with Cook’s Doors and Windows, in Lawndale, CA on Hawthorne Boulevard.

Cook Lumber started out as a family business in 1923. It evolved when sons Bob and Jim Cook took their portion of the business and turned into one that sold doors and windows to Southern California.

“We’re in this for decades-long relationships… [w]e take your business and our part in it very seriously.”
– Interfanatic Digital Marketing with Web Site Maintenance & Design

We got to work with Jim and Bob Cook over ten years ago. And though we’ve parted ways, the website we built for them worked well for their business until just this month.

We’re grateful for the opportunity and to play a part in this company’s storied history.

Interfanatic Web Site Management: We’re the Long-term, Trustworthy Resource

For businesses that recognize that their website and digital marketing are integral to their operations, we are the excellent resource. So many companies that do what we do last a few months, or a year, and disappear into the ether.

I can’t tell you how many times a business owner will come to us and say, “I can’t get a hold of our web guy anymore, he just won’t answer the phone”, or, “well, our web girl got a job with a big company and doesn’t have time for us anymore.”

Our business was designed around providing excellent service over the long-term. We keep our people around as long as we can. And our customers don’t have to deal with a revolving door – they deal with one person – for a very, very long time.

Our website management services have always been value-packed. But the truth is, to people who have been through the rigamaroles we’re talking about here, us just being around consistently and doing our job IS our greatest value proposition.

Interfanatic & Family

And all of that is to say that, yes, indeed: we treat our customers like family. Because they are.

This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.

Ha! I took this one years ago. We were out for a sail on a friend’s boat when we stumbled upon this clan orh-ing it up in Redondo Beach’s King Harbor. It reminds my of my own father, who does an excellent vocal impression and would fit right in on this buoy if he so chose.

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