February 2007

I spoke to a friend todday, Dave, about getting an employee in Bangkok.

It took a load off my mind - apparently many Thais have gone to English speaking schools and have perfect use of the language. You beauty! This is great news - Thai people that speak great English are the perfect set. They understand the language, culture and customs and can also be communicated with effectively.

Now the question is - how do I find someone who is reliable? Who knows. This will be a toughie.

http://www.sitepoint.com/contests/

Sitepoint is a great resource for those building websites. The best feature is their design contest system.

 Once you pay $US20, you can list your contest. You then list a prize, the specifics and then people submit designs. It’s a simply incredible system - the logo contests often get more than 40 entries - and you can ask for revisions.

I also had my site designed here. The prize minimum is quite low so I listed a prize that was good money just for a graphics design, doubling the prize if they would code it for me. My site design cost $US500 all up although I needed to know code as I have fiddled with it quite a bit, tweaking things for my needs. Friends, US500 is very cheap. When you see my website, it’s a fantastic design which has received universal positive feedback.

 Looking at it now, I’ve noticed that the quality of the designs has decreased a little since I did mine. There’s still some good quality entries, sure, but I was overloaded with so many good ones that it was impossible to choose. 

 The site is getting a good reputation which is pushing the prize moneys up as people compete for the best designers. My prize money was US110, but I think the minimum has been raised again to US150 in order to attract quality designers.

I’m currently waiting on all the people I have hired to get back to me with the work I have paid them to do.. then I will be able to launch Newton Clothiers very soon. Keep reading here to stay in touch!