apollo5

Wow!!

Is there a list of outages on other 'major' services of this magnitude?

Not sure about a living, but I'm keen to hire a technical writer. aaron dot davis at exploration io

Perfect! Thank you very much!

We are based in California.

unfortunately, this is true as a vast majority of events offer no REAL value. It's simply a forum for folks to tell their story..not offer actionable advice.

I intent to host a different type of event - http://www.meetup.com/silicon, whereby attendees will learn real tactics on how to grow their business from folks that have done it.

@wotaen - Thanks for the nod! I appreciate it :)

Why do you state this?

From my view, sales is often a numbers game. In order to get x sales, y appointments must be set, z connections made. I am yet to find a good method for measuring this outside a CRM. Excel is good for about 50 contacts.. After that, it's a mess.

Such an incredible way to make a difference! Being a part of a hacker space in Los Angeles has changed the course of my life. This is good work!

@ryan - great tool suggestions!

This process has been on the forefront of my mind quite a bit lately, as I am growing my company, Canyon Oak Partners (SEO/PPC/Design/Dev) and a supporting SEO Audit software offering (its in private beta).

At this point, the most important facet I wish to grow is the sales team. My partners and I are discussing the need and pros/cons of getting an office, as we all work remote right now. We also gather at my home (I have a spare bedroom as my office and we set up around the rest of the place) a couple days a week.

Our thoughts lean toward the social energy an office brings, but I love not spending the money on an office.

Do you have any advice on managing a remote sales team?

I think building parks on top of parking lots would be a good idea - http://www.aaronloringdavis.com/2008/10/parking-garage-green...

These are really good..and thought provoking

A couple of mine are:

- Repurpose the top floors of parking garages to incorporate green space in urban centers

- Black Hole Taxi: Marketplace for on demand user video (eg - I pay you a fee to walk around the grand canyon)

- Open spaces that are free co-working CS learning centers for middle and high schoolers (I'm working on one in Los Angeles)

- Mixergy for the rest of business (eg. the BUSINESS of yoga, the BUSINESS of real estate brokerage, the BUSINESS of photography) not just how to do 5 new poses, hold a better open house, craft a better photo

I sat awkwardly around for a year and courted two technical co-founders..the first left to take his dream job with one of the valley hottest start ups. The other decided his own project took precedence, for good measure..its a good one.

But there I sat. Idea fleshed out..and I was ready ready to sell it.

I finally finally took option 2. I understand code and can manipulate wordpress enough to get by, but it certainly isn't my strength. I searched forums and reached out the top commenters and contributors of one in particular. Out of the 3 folks I connected with 1 was a fit. In four hours, he had the previously crafted code live on the net for us to refine.

I plan to be to market in a couple months and could not be happier. I enjoy paying my developer exactly what he wants and look forward to making him a partner sooner than later, if he wants.

The proof is in the pudding.

The best time is yesterday. The second best is today. The worst is tomorrow..

this is good information, however I was looking more for stories about how FB was a waste of money with regards to advertising..any ideas?

sweet! thanks :)

Yes. To have a great big banner across the front page of techcrunch would be cool, big out of the budget for the moment. Are you aware of a nice list of startup/tech sites..with marketing a new startup in mind?

Many thanks!