Back in February, Kendra Kinnison came to me with an idea, which became a shared vision of a company that offered a vast array of faith building, goal setting, technology, training and communication tools under one umbrella – Imagine More. We didn’t see anything that looked like what we wanted – so we built it, each bringing part of our own companies into the mix and blending them into what you see today. Kendra’s blog and library is now a shared resource, she crafted a fantastic “goal attaining” course called YouSchool and willed CareerSchool and Evernote Essentials into existence, bringing the wonderful Pat Bell and Jessica Pedraza on as instructors. I built the websites, managed the hardware and software and my technology training platform and curriculum (GeekSchool) was upgraded and enhanced. It was a great fit – Kendra’s drive, experience and education as both an MBA and CPA made her the obvious choice for CEO, and my technology and design experience and knowledge made me the Chief Technology Officer. As “parallel entrepreneurs” we both kept our original separate companies and projects. It made for one busy summer with over 10 projects and companies between us, not to mention husbands and kids!

When we started, we didn’t know what Imagine More Ventures would look like. It’s taken several twists and turns to get to where we are – a thriving University, a vast resource library, an active blog and a popular weekly newsletter, among other things, with more in the works. It’s been fantastic to see things take off, and a great learning experience for us both.

Since we kept our original companies, it’s also proved a little more challenging than a “normal” business. My company, Crossover Consulting, has focused on training and WordPress design for the travel industry since it’s founding in 1999. The economic challenges of the retail travel industry were widespread and business slowed, and so diversifying outside of travel seemed like a great “next step.” However, since March I’ve been tapped to speak at several trade shows, been approached by consortia, partnered with vendors and generally seen a lot of new life in our industry, leading to some rapid expansion of Crossover Consulting. In all honesty, it was unexpected – but the travel industry is alive, well, and booming! In response, I’ve hired Cecil Johnson as the Director of Sales, added two programmers and I’m searching for two more designers as well.

Two weeks ago, I was asked to be a special consultant to The Travel Institute, an honor I value very much. I’ve been a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) since 1992 and a supporter of their mission and vision since my start in the travel industry back in 1987, when it was known as ICTA. I simply couldn’t say no to being a part of such an exciting project. We’ve got some amazing ideas, like next-generation training materials, an enhanced website presence and social media campaigns – all designed to reach travel professionals wanting to take their careers to the next level.

With that, it’s become clear that I can’t do justice to both the day to day needs of Imagine More as the Chief Technology Officer, and continue to devote time to my own company. Sadly, Kendra and I are parting as business partners, but I sincerely know that I’ve built a firm technology platform that will allow Imagine More to thrive under Kendra’s brilliant brainpower and I look forward to seeing what she dreams up next.

Since GeekSchool was first born as a Crossover Consulting project, it will move back to it’s old home, TravelWebTraining.com with no change in the way I teach it or interruption in any lessons currently underway. I’ll be emailing some new information individually to each student over the weekend with the new links – which will only affect older lessons that you want to review. It’s proven to be such a success, in fact, 3 new modules will be released next week and open for enrollment:

Module 4 – SEO & Paid Advertising Options
Facebook Advertising
Google AdWords
Advanced Mailchimp
WordTracker Keyword

Module 5 – Security, Privacy and Backups
Offsite Backup Solutions
Website Backup Solutions
Privacy Settings for common applications
Browser Settings, Cookies and Tweaks

Module 6 – Customer Relationship Management
Choosing your CRM – & Initial Setup
Managing Add-On, forms, widgets & integration
Importing, Exporting & Synchronization
Strategies for day-to-day use & Reporting

I’m excited about these changes, despite leaving a company I care deeply about. If you have any questions, please contact me personally, and please take a look at the other courses at Imagine More University. They’re genuinely life changing.

I hope to see you around the GeekSchool campus.

Warmly,
Chelle

Chelle Honiker-Yarbrough, CTC (chelle@crossoverconsulting.com)
CXO & Founder, Crossover Consulting, Inc.
Toll-Free: 877-442-1975
Web: crossoverconsulting.com

Schedule an Appointment with me: http://tungle.me/chelleyarbrough
Facebook: http://facebook.com/travelwebmarketing

Learn technology and social media skills – Register for GeekSchool – Classes start every Monday

VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog for Small Business: GoDaddy is Charging for Spam Complaints – Ouch!
GoDaddy is Charging for Spam Complaints – Ouch!

Seems like the folks over at GoDaddy are charging their email marketing customers if they get spam complaints. Deliverability.com broke the news when they got an email with this information sent to them from a GoDaddy customer. GoDaddy will now charge customers $200 to “manage” their complaints. Even worse is that if the customer wants to then leave them and transfer their domains to another registrar they can’t do it until they pay GoDaddy $75!

To cover all of their bases, it appears that if one of their customers uses an Email Service Provider outside of GoDaddy to advertise their GoDaddy-hosted site and they get complaints from one of their customer’s recipients, they could be hit with a fine or other action.

Wow. Serious Email Service Providers (ESPs) like VerticalResponse usually do this as a service to customers and won’t allow spammers to use their services. But let’s face it, everyone gets a complaint now and then, even customers with best intentions. The difference is that serious ESPs want to help their customers learn best practices about email marketing and not turn complaints into a new revenue stream.

If you use GoDaddy to host your website be careful. And any time you’re looking for a serious ESP, make sure you ask if they have a deliverability and abuse department – most serious ESPs do, looks like GoDaddy might not.

IMO, GoDaddy should stick to what they’re good at, being a registrar. Leave the email marketing heavy-lifting to those who “want” to do it and help businesses grow.