Critical Design

Hi there! I run a software design studio in Manchester, and that is what this blog is all about...

[clinchpad1]

The Cold Emails That Worked For Us

One of my key responsibilities is to expand the customer base of our product. Of course there are the usual avenues such as paid ad campaigns in Google, Linkedin, & Facebook, social media, publicity, PR, attending conferences and so on. However, one highly effective strategy that is immediately dismissed these days is sending out cold emails.

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[jasonratcliffe]

Interesting article about cold calling emails.

Trying to get a prospect to read an email is hard enough, but there are some useful pointers here.

[jasonratcliffe]

How WordPress Thrives with a 100% Remote Workforce

They don't treat all remote work the same.

Excellent article about remote teams at Wordpress.

[jasonratcliffe]

Personal Branding

I've written a blog post about personal branding, which has turned out to be the most popular item on my site! See what you think!

http://blog.firstaesthetics.com/2014/05/personal-branding/

[jasonratcliffe]

H4WW

Below is a blog post I wrote in 2012. I've decided to keep it as it reminds me what helped me get started running a part time business.

I really wanted to run the business as effectively as possible and started looking around for books that could help me develop it as a consultancy, but none really stood out when I downloaded the Kindle samples.

Whilst browsing my iPhone during Prince William and Kate’s wedding (come on, there were a lot of boring bits!), I came across an intriguing book titled ‘The 4 Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich” by Timothy Ferris. It sounded rather dodgy to say the least, but would be worth getting a Kindle sample. I ended up pressing the 1 Click Buy Button by mistake, and remember thinking to myself ‘bugger – better read it then’.  It turned out to be the best book I’ve ever bought and over the course of a year, totally turned my mindset upside down.

Tim described how and why he became an entrepreneur and how he was able to optimise his business to run with minimal intervention. He then goes into detail about how to do it through the following process:-

Definition: Setting targets – without these, why bother?

Elimination: Removing inefficient and time wasting processes in your life.

Automation: Delegating the remaining tasks where possible. Essentially, outsourcing, and these days you can outsource pretty much anything.

Liberation: Running what’s left from anywhere in the world and living your dreams!

He also spends a good deal of time discussing setting up online businesses. So many of the old barriers to getting a business going have been wiped out these days, and its very empowering to see this information laid out with examples. The book is highly disruptive if you’re an employee, paid to sit in an office from 9-5pm. It teaches you to maximise your productivity and at the very least get a remote working agreement.

Simply put, this book rewired my head and made me think about how I run things. I’ve since tried outsourcing development work which roughly doubled my productivity in a couple of weeks for my part time business. There are issues with outsourcing, but nothing is insurmountable and you do need to be open to learning new skills.

[jasonratcliffe]

We've put together a blog with a wealth of marketing tips and advice for nurses working in the aesthetics industry. Pop by and take a look!

[jasonratcliffe]

We've updated our home page to a responsive design. We used the excellent Webflow tool to build the page visually. Check it out!

[jasonratcliffe]

We've put up a Facebook page to share some of the features we're planning. Our app will revolutionise the workflow for aesthetic nurses everywhere!

[jasonratcliffe]

We've started something exciting!

We've started to turn our expertise into a product! Head on over to our launch page to learn more!

[insidehtml5]

[jasonratcliffe]

Web Designer gets the lowdown on the new open-source Javascript framework Meteor from founder Matt Debergalis. He reveals how the platform makes building web apps quicker and easier

Great article. The challenge I've found with Meteor is learning to deal with a reactive environment, where data may or may not be loaded and dealing with the situation accordingly. It cuts out so much messing though!

[gklst-blog]

This is a guest blog post for Geeklist by Charlie Key, CEO of Modulus

One of the major hiccups for most new projects is getting something out there. There is bootstrapping to configure, databases to start up, and various network concerns such as hosting. Not only that, but you...

[jasonratcliffe]

An excellent blog post about deploying production applications based on the Meteor framework at scale.

I've spent the past couple of months looking at Meteor and have been blown away by its functionality and ease of use.

[laralfield-deactivated20160827]

Since written text carries far less visual meaning and emotion than other forms of human communication, it’s absolutely essential that remote workers always remain outwardly positive, happy, helpful, and polite… even if it seems forced or excessive. This is why I use emoticons strategically even...

[jasonratcliffe]

Makes sense! :)

[jasonratcliffe]

Audiobook: Remote - Office Not Required (37 signals)

I've been listening the the above book this week. It describes how 37Signals has built a thriving business distributed throughout the world. The case for remote working arrangements is compelling - not only the ability to focus on work without distraction, and the opportunity to recruit the best talent in the world, not just in your locale. I'm lucky to get a remote day per week on my full time job, and this is pretty much always the most productive for creative work. I've also found that being physically at a location simply isn't required 90% of the time for my business. I've supported my workplace and clients in places as diverse as a woodland lodge in Cumbria or overlooking the Mediterranean in Spain, and if any thing, those focused bursts of work we're far more productive than being sat at a desk. The only issue I've found is ensuring what you're doing is being recognised, as most managers associate work with seeing your ass in the seat, rather than looking at what is actually delivered. In more traditional workplaces, having you available to deal with minutiae at the drop of a hat can appear to be more important than delivering substantive work. This is discussed in some depth in the book. The one thing I suggest for aspiring remote warriors is to invest in setting up a code repository and task tracker that's visible to your line manager or client. I use Assembla for my business and it works a treat. For those of us that can't always work at home, remember there's always the coffee shop or library. If you can limit your availability to your co-workers, and you've got a job that inspires you, your productivity will go through the roof! The only drawback I've found is the potential for overwork followed by burnout. It's essential to maintain a good work life balance and get some exercise. Read the book and give it a go - there's nothing to lose and everything to gain!

[jasonratcliffe]

Our new look website. I'm delighted to have the considerable talents of James Swinburne working with us as well. 

My skills are predominately around application architecture, whereas he has specialised in graphic design.

[ryanleecarson]

On June 20th 2013, we decided that our 4-day work week at Treehouse was’t insane enough so we went further: We removed all Managers.

It was a bold move and one that not everyone was convinced of. We proposed to change the way the company operated and give all employees 100% control of...

[jasonratcliffe]

Brilliant article. Valve also use this mindset, and it seems to make perfect sense if you're a knowledge worker. Love the bikes too!

[jasonratcliffe]

Hello world!

I thought I’d give this a go after seeing how Ryan Carson at Treehouse had used it so effectively. In addition to my business, I work in the NHS as a IT manager/developer for a large Intensive Care Unit.

On a personal level, I’m father of 3 lovely boys and take an active part in looking after them on a daily basis. I also take weekly karate(!) lessons to keep fit.