Entries Tagged as 'CeSI News'

A Holiday Note

Holiday Cornicopia

The holidays are a great time of year. It is a time devoted to friends and family, celebrated with feasts and gifts.

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded of the tradition to share what we are thankful for. At Cascade e-Commerce Solutions we are thankful for our clients. We are thankful to them, not just for sustaining our business, but for who they are and what they do.

In our industry we have an incredible opportunity to get insight into the worlds of small and medium size businesses. We watch as clients take an idea and transform it into a business and a living for themselves and others. We are so lucky to live in a time and place where an enterprising person can make their own living and leave their own footprint.

We are especially thankful for the chance to be a part of our clients’ businesses and their lives. It is a wonderful feeling to help contribute to a client’s success.

We hope you enjoy your holidays!

 

The CeSI Team

Introducing Kevin Cushing

Kevin Cushing joined Cascade e-Commerce Solutions in February.  As a recent graduate from the University of Colorado, he was eager to prove himself in the real world. With a passion for technology and a competitive drive; Search Engine Optimization and the battle for the highest page rank was a strong lure. Kevin Cushing

When he’s not working towards a successful internet presence for your business, you can find Kevin playing basketball, on the slopes, or playing games. Kevin brags, “I am many things, you can’t put me in a box. Sure I might be a nerd, but I am a jock too. How many people do you know that can beat you in Magic the Gathering and Basketball?”  Most of all Kevin loves spending time with friends. For him nothing beats spending time with a group of people all trying to make each other laugh.

Get Animated

Have you ever wondered what you would look like as a cartoon? Well now here’s your chance to become one and help out a great cause at the same time!  Cascade e-Commerce Solutions’ staff member, Amanda Dorough, will be leaving this July to participate in an 11 month service trip around the world with an organization called The World Race.  Her team will be serving the communities in several different capacities including construction, teaching English, manual labor, and orphan/prison ministry.   In addition, they will be giving up their American lives of comfort to carry all their belongings in a backpack, sleep in tents and shower in rivers.

Become a cartoonInstead of having participants take out loans, The World Race requires them to fundraise the money needed to cover their expenses for the year, from food, transport and lodging to task necessities such as crayons, gloves and paint.  The cost of the July Squads trip is $15,500, a price that is a deterrent for many but through the donations of others is entirely possible and has been made possible for nearly 500 young adults over the last 5 years.

The idea for this fundraiser  sprouted recently when Amanda was creating cartoon caricatures of the Cascade e-Commerce staff to be featured on our website,  and now you have a chance to “get animated” and help make a difference in the world while getting something cool and unique in return.  For a $20 donation Amanda will create a digital caricature of you (or your child, brother, niece, second uncle twice removed etc.) that you will be able to to use online or print off and frame as wall art. Each caricature after the first will cost $15.  Special orders can also be placed for a price that will be determined based on the difficulty of the request.

In order to make each caricature Amanda will need a head shot of good quality to get the facial features correct and make sure the cartoon actually looks like you. In addition you can choose what color/type of shirt you wear and to color of the background!  For any question or to make an order you can contact Amanda at amanda@4cesi.com.

If you would like to make a donation but would not like a caricature you can do so here.  All donations are tax deductible.

You can learn more about Amanda and follow her blog at amandadorough.theworldrace.org

Introducing Jordan Comar

Jordan ComarJordan graduated in June of 2010 from Washington State University, earning a degree in Business Administration with a focus on Management Operations and Human Resources. He joined the Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, Inc. (CeSI) team in December of 2010 and is already helping coordinate pay-per-click advertising strategies for several clients.

Jordan enjoys all manner of sports but especially enjoys playing golf, volleyball, soccer, table tennis, and badminton. His favorite hobby is archery. As a child he attended day camp in the summer and participated in a variety of different sports and activities, it was here that he was first introduced to archery. Unfortunately, Jordan grew too old for the day camp but was later reintroduced to his favorite hobby at Camp Killoqua where he was employed as a Camp Counselor for two years. To this day he still dreams of creating his own flaming arrow and lighting a bonfire with it. His one true passion is gaming – video games, card games, computer, handheld, and board games. He is most proficient in the art of Settlers of Catan by utilizing successful real-world business strategies in the pursuit to settle the island of Catan. Overall, Jordan is a fun loving guy who enjoys a good laugh or two (or three).

Please join us in welcoming Jordan to the team!

Introducing Amanda Dorough

Amanda DoroughAmanda Dorough joined the Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, Inc. (CeSI) team in September of this year.  A native Washingtonian, she received her bachelors degree in History from Liberty University in 2007.

During college she was able to study abroad with a program called Semester at Sea.  This ignited her love for both the world and travel, and since her time on Semester at Sea she has traveled to more than 21 countries on four continents.  Some of her adventures have included hiking the Everest Trail in Nepal, surfing in Bali, climbing the Great Wall of China, and exploring the Pyramids in Egypt.  Most recently Amanda spent two years teaching second grade at an English school just outside of  Bangkok, Thailand.  There she cultivated her love for Thai food and spent her free time exploring the country and volunteering.

Since moving back to America in April 2010 she has enjoyed being able to reconnect with family and friends, and also has taken up the roll of Junior High youth director at her church.

She has strong interests in writing, photography and graphic design, all of which she brings to her new position working with Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, Inc.

Please join us in welcoming Amanda to the team.

Google Places Introduces the QR Code

Google introduced Google Places to the world in April 2010. Formerly known as the Local Business Center, or Google Maps, this tool allows business owners to manage their business’ map listing in Google.  For the millions of businesses that have claimed their business listing in Google Places, there is now a downloadable, printable QR Code.

QR stands for ‘Quick Response’ and is simply a two-dimensional  unique bar code which can be scanned by  newer cell phones and used to quickly access the business’ Google Map page.

QR Code scanner applications can be downloaded to an Internet-enabled cell phone or hand held device and then used to access Google Maps pages from QR Code photos.

Savvy businesses print and post these codes on their vehicles, in their store windows,  in their lobbies and on their product labels to give customers and potential customers quick access to information  about the business including reviews and current coupons or special offers.

Local businesses that have already posted QR Codes in strategic locations have experienced  increases to their Google Maps page and website.

We’re A Favorite Place On Google!

Cascade e-Commerce Solutions is one of over 100,000 brick and mortar businesses nationwide to have been recognized as a favorite place on Google.   Stop by our office and you’ll see the Google Maps decal in our front window.  Scan the decal with a cell phone (requires a cell phone that can scan a QR code) and you can access our business’ information in Google Maps, read any reviews, write a review or star our business as one of your own favorites in Google.

According to the letter that accompanied the decal, Google’s criterion for choosing our business as one of its favorite places included:

  • the number of times Google users found our business listing between July 1 and September 30, 2009 (this number equates to a measurement of the popularity of the business’ Google Local Business Center Listing) and
  • the number of times people requested driving directions and other information about our business.

In the future, Google may decide to send out more decals periodically to businesses that meet its criteria.  No purchase is necessary to receive a decal and it’s completely free to sign up for Google’s Local Businesss Center.  You can find out more information online at Google’s Local Business Center or contact us with questions.

SeaTac Airport First in Country With New Bird Tracking System

Sea-Tac Airport takes the  Next Step in Avian Radar Development with Real-Time Bird Tracking System

In partnership with University of Illinois researchers and the Federal Aviation Administration, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is the first airport in the country to begin the use of a new advanced bird tracking system with real-time displays of bird activity on and around the airport. This enhanced technology will allow wildlife management staff to access live data as they patrol the airfield to minimize bird hazards.
 
Sea-Tac Airport has been the demonstration site for avian radar research since 2007. Three avian radars are currently installed at Sea-Tac, two on the top of the airport’s office building and one in the middle of the airfield between two runways.
 
“Sea-Tac is a leader in the evaluation of this technology,” said Dr. Edwin Herricks, the leader of the University of Illinois research program, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. “I don’t know where this program would be without the input and real-life evaluation efforts by the staff and support from the Port of Seattle.”
 
Through the FAA-designated Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois, the latest milestone in the research program builds on equipment from Accipiter Radar Inc. that provides geographic displays of bird activity on Google Earth ™ maps.
 
“This technology will give us situational awareness of the entire airfield day or night – it will be like wearing a huge pair of binoculars,” said Steve Osmek, Sea-Tac Airport’s wildlife biologist. “Rather than depending only on what we can see from our particular location, we’ll be able to know if there are bird issues anywhere around the airfield so we can respond quickly and appropriately.”
 
For more information on the CEAT research, go to the University of Illinois Avian Radar Assessment Program at http://ceatasmp.cee.illinois.edu/
 
For more information on Sea-Tac Airport’s wildlife management programs, go to http://www.portseattle.org/community/environment/wildlife.shtml

Introducing Wesley Redding

Wesley Redding

Wesley Redding joined Cascade e-Commerce Solutions Inc. (CeSI) as an intern on October 8, 2009. He is currently a freshman attending Highline Big Picture High School. Wesley and his family reside in Kent, Washington.

States Wesley, “The reason that I am at CeSI is because I have always been interested in technology and I have wanted to learn more about how it works. There are some things that I have wanted to know more about. One is how video games are made. Another is how businesses do things like make websites and how they keep track of the work that has been done. Finally, I am here because I want to learn more about computers.”

Highline Big Picture High School is located in North SeaTac. Big Picture students attend school and study core subjects on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and then go to internships on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To obtain an internship, the student requests informational interviews with businesses in their areas of interest. Each interview lasts about 20-30 minutes. Then if the student likes a business or business person, the student requests a job shadow. Next if the student is still interested in that business, the student requests an internship set-up meeting with the student’s advisor (teacher) and the business. During that meeting the participants discuss whether the work at that business is relevant to the student’s interests and a good learning experience for the student.

Highline Big Picture students are not graded in a traditional way (i.e. A, A+, B, B- etc) instead, throughout the year, they present their work at 2-4 exhibitions. Each exhibition contains detailed documentation and proof of work performed, skills learned, and relationships developed.

If you are interested in learning more about Highline Big Picture High School, visit http://hsd401.org/ourschools/highschools/bigpicture/

Hope From History

There are definite advantages to having been a quiet child who preferred the company of senior adults to the company of peers. One of these advantages is having heard first hand the stories of my grandparents.

These stories help me remain hopeful in spite of the facts that:

  • In December 2008 the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced that the United States has been in recession since December 2007.
  • Many economists and financial advisors have stated that this recession could be the worst since the Great Depression (1929-1940).
  • Many are saying that we may well be heading for a new depression.

I personally can attest to how the economy is impacting my family, business and many personal friends. Some have lost as much as 60% of their investments and others have lost or are in process of losing their jobs and are struggling to find new work or moving to keep jobs that are relocating.

However, I remain hopeful mainly because of faith in God and also because I remember the stories of my grandparents.

During the Great Depression my mother’s father went door to door and sorted through trash bins for used tin cans to sell back so he could buy evaporated milk for his two infant daughters. At the same time his own Finnish mother crocheted and sewed brightly colored “piece work” (aprons, slips, table cloths and doilies) to make money to help keep the family going. Then later as the family grew to include two boys, all six went each summer to farms around Portland, Oregon. They picked hops, green beans and any other produce that was in season just to make enough money to keep food on the table. The girls would move the plump baby brother along the row as they picked making certain to always keep the happy sun-bonneted child within arms’ reach.

Model T FordAt the same time, my paternal grandparents drove cross country in a Model T Ford with three children from Ithaca, New York to the Oregon Coast where a job was waiting in a lumber camp that was owned by my Irish great-grandfather. (The lumber camp was in an area that just a few years later was consumed by the Tillamook Burn.) Some of the dirt roads on that cross country trip were nothing more than elongated mud pits and so Grandpa and Grandma took turns driving the car and laying out plywood planks in front of the tires to drive over. They would then run back behind the car to pick up the planks and move them again to the front of the car and keep driving in this manner until the muddy stretch was passed. Then when they hit dry road the planks were tied to the top of the vehicle until another muddy stretch required their use again. Once the family arrived at the camp the five of them lived in a cabin tent (like those still sold today at Rainier Tents). Decades later Grandma would still say she was so proud because she had the “best tent in camp”. Afterall, it was “the only cabin that had lineoleum flooring” and she kept it “absolutely spotless”.

I also remember hearing the stories from both families regarding friends they made during those difficult times and how faith, friendship, and family got them through episodes of not even knowing how the next meal would be supplied. Friends like a couple who came from the old country (Italy) and later settled in Yamhill County and remained family friends until they passed in their eighties and nineties.

While I know that the economy is in serious trouble, I take comfort in knowing that plucky Americans before me have weathered even more troubled times and that they later remembered those times fondly. I also am confident that if today we keep faithful and continue to support one another and our community, we can carry on and help make an environment where children feel safe and loved.

I sincerely believe that we can move from a position of believing we are entitled to more than we can afford to being thankful for how God, friends and family help us carry on even through what we feel may be the worst of times.

On a lighter note I hope you enjoy the stories of simple pleasures that follow; as pets, cheese and music are comforts even in the worst of times.

Seasons and Cycles

As a small business owner I am often asked what I think about the economy and whether our business is experiencing any negative consequences as a result of changes to the economy. I reply by saying, “I am very concerned about what is happening, especially because much of it is happening in Washington State and is and will impact people in my neighborhood especially those involved in banking, real estate and construction” and “No, our business is not experiencing negative consequences at this time – in fact, business has never been better.”

I remind people that our business has had several wonderful mentors (including Highline Small Business Development Center staff) who have encouraged us through other significant events like 9/11 and the resulting loss of travel related income to our airport-based city  as well as  national scandals in which politicians and corporations have failed to act with integrity. Our mentors have repeatedly advised us that when a downturn occurs, that is the time to upgrade equipment, send staff to courses that will advance their skills, hire more staff, get better organized and increase marketing and networking efforts.

In return we have passed this message on to our clients. And, happily, several of those client businesses that have run with this advice (including some of those who were the ones to give us the advice in the first place) are also experiencing their best year ever.

This month marks the 10th year of operation for our business, Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, Inc. And, given that I was once an elementary school teacher, I liken this phase of our development to an eager 5th grader. Like a 5th grader we:

  1. have learned many basics,
  2. are committed to continuing to learn and
  3. are quite optimistic about our ability to help improve circumstances for our clients, staff and vendors.

Our business is experiencing a very positive season. We are very thankful to have found a monthly rhythm that works well for us. We are crazy busy the first week of the month reporting results to clients and performing monthly bookkeeping duties. Then in the next few weeks we are able to build out new websites and complete new projects that are in the works. Then in the last week of the month we are able to be creative and test new strategies.

Through the course of the year several clients were reporting that they were decreasing their print marketing budgets because yellow page books, newspaper, and snail mailings were not producing the new clients and sales that they once produced. These clients reported that most of their growth was a direct result of the Internet marketing we were coordinating. And these clients asked, “Can’t you do more for us if we transfer the savings from print marketing to you for more Internet marketing?”

At first I said, “No”, because I lacked the vision to see just how we could do that. And then one of our clients was so bold as to say, “You don’t want my money?” This prompted me to remember more of what our mentors have said over the years. “Let clients identify their needs and then grow to meet those needs.”

So, we sent staff to Highline Community College Federal Way Campus to improve web coding skills (XHTML, CSS and Dreamweaver classes) and to Google and other pay per click seminars to become more proficient at coordinating pay per click campaigns.

Staff returned pumped and ready to do more. We hired two more part-time staff and increased one part-time to full time and encouraged all staff to do more.

And the result? Clients are reporting even more increases in new business and are bumping up their online marketing through us even more.

It is wonderful to work in a field that is so measurable. We have the data to see the seasons and cycles that we and our clients are experiencing. We can see when an up tick is a typical seasonal up tick or when it is actually an improvement over prior years. We also can see when a downturn has started and so can jump in quickly to make modifications to turn things back around.

This harvest season, we are very thankful to God and to the mentors he has sent our way. We are also very thankful to our wonderful clients for encouraging us to do more. And we pray that God will continue to richly bless our mentors, clients and community even in the midst of a troubled economy.

Introducing Michelle Leonard

Michelle LeonardMichelle Leonard joined Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, Inc. (CeSI) as an Account Assistant in  September this year.    Michelle is  a native Western Washingtonian who loves to write and learn new things.    She resides with her husband, Todd, and two children  in Seattle, Washington.  

Michelle  has worked in  childcare, clerical  and retail positions in South King County.   She has also had the opportunity to experience living in other areas of the United States, such as Los Angeles, New York, and North and South Dakota.   Through out all her travels, she has found that the Northwest is where she feels she and her family belong, and will continue to live and make their home.  

Michelle’s passion is communicating effectively through electronic means.

Please join us in welcoming  Michelle to our team!

Introducing Oksu Ellis

Oksu EllisOksu Ellis joined Cascade e-Commerce Solutions, Inc. (CeSI) as an Account Assistant in January this year.   Oksu has a degree in Product Design from Cheoan National Technical Junior College, Cheoan, Korea.   Oksu’s husband, Tom is Chaplain at Federal Detention Center – SeaTac and together they have three daughters and reside in Federal Way, Washington.  

Oksu has worked in electronics and education-related firms and has experience in office administration, accounting and retail.

Oksu’s passion is adding value to every project she undertakes.   Whether she is building a list of phrases to test for a kayak tour company or identifying websites to request incoming links for a multi-location orthodontic practice, Oksu is on the lookout for ways to promote the products and services of CeSI clients.

One of Oksu’s first projects was to introduce CeSI’s staff to authentic Korean cuisine.   We hope you enjoy the article on Kokiri Restaurant.

Please join us in welcoming Oksu to our team!

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