You may have heard the news – and it’s not particularly new news – that AppThemes added a new member to the team. Well I’m that new member and I would like to formally introduce myself.
I’m a graphic designer by trade but with a strong business sense due to the freelance work I’ve done over the years (a lot of years). My clients have ranged from tech start-ups to local realtors.
The knowledge and experience I’ve obtained from working with such a wide range of people has proved to be a huge asset which attributes to why David asked me to join AppThemes.
So what impact am I going to have at AppThemes and how is it going to affect you? At the top of my list are the following items:
Sticking to Delivery Dates with Better Project Management
David has put me in charge of managing, scheduling, and delivering all new products and updates on time. If we promise a delivery date for a product, I’m going to make sure we do it on time. Each project will be properly planned out in order to forecast a realistic delivery date. I will follow up with developers and get weekly updates. If I see that we are falling behind, I’ll make sure we commit more resources to that project. It is not OK change our deadlines and I’ll make sure that we don’t.
Be More Responsive
Our customers should be our number one resource. We work with our products everyday, but you are the ones that really put our products to the test. Since launching our Ideas Exchange late last year, your feedback has helped shape each new product release. We are appreciative of your input and pay attention to your suggestions.
Better Communication
I’ve been meeting with Yumiko (our lead community moderator) two to three times a week to better understand how she interacts with our community. She works closest with our customer-base and has the best gauge of what the most pressing issues currently are.
In the coming weeks, we will be working out better ways to respond to the community quicker and more effectively and finding new ways to incorporate community concerns into our products. When we succeed at doing this, you’ll likely see your ideas implemented into our products faster and better than ever before.
Make Our Products Even Better
For me, a big reason for joining AppThemes was the fact that the themes we make are so cool. Most WordPress themes just “move around the furniture”. Some themes add functionality but not a lot.
AppThemes is different – we create easy-to-use applications. I think that’s awesome. It enables people to do so much more than they would be able to with a standard “premium” theme.
As great as our themes are, I still think we can do better. There aren’t a lot of companies creating application themes but I want to make sure that AppThemes continues to lead the way. I want our themes to always be the best application themes available.
To do that, we need to continue to scale out and build our team. We already have some very talented developers on staff, but we need to hire more. David and I plan on attending several upcoming WordCamps and other local events looking for elite developers to join AppThemes.
We are also connecting with local universities and colleges to find new, up-and-coming talent. With a team of all-star WordPress developers on staff, we should be able to make sure no one makes better, more robust and feature-packed application themes.
So There You Have It
That’s what I’m here to do – plan, organize, communicate and improve. It might take some time to get things in great shape but I already have a good start. AppThemes is a very good company with talented developers and a great customer-base.
I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before things are in fantastic shape. I promise that I’ll be working my tail off until we get there. I’m excited to be a part of this team and believe that you will be excited about the results!