Two Years Ago Today, A Website Was Born

Today is our two year anniversary! We are offering a buy-one-get-one-free offer for a one year upgrade (through Monday night) to JibberJobber – click here for more info!

I’ll never forget it… anticipation had been building and everything was coming together.

That night, May 15, 2006, I closed shop and drove 20 minutes away with my five year old son for a “fathers & sons” campout. I was anxious because sometime while I was gone, JibberJobber would go live. I remember calling my wife about every half-hour asking “Is it live yet? Is it live yet?”

I doubt I slept well that night.

The next day we left early, instead of playing all the games. I rushed home to see the site… what would become my new career. My eight year old daughter surprised me with a birthday cake for JibberJobber… this was definitely a family affair!

I sent e-mails to friends and family and we had our first few hundred signups. I’m not sure if any of the first signups are still using JibberJobber, but it was cool that we had people signup :p (If I ever do this again I doubt I’ll announce it to friends and family asking them to signup!)

Let me share some of the “wins” that we have had in the last 730 days of JibberJobber:

• we were introduced to the recruiting blog space by CM Russell, author of Secrets of the Job Hunt, when he did a five-question interview asking what the heck JibberJobber was
• we announced our military special which led to a podcast interview with Peter Clayton
• from that podcast interview we established a relationship with various groups, including Spherion’s outplacement division (which has since been acquired), and then a relationship with the largest technology association in the world, IEEE
• I started blogging, almost daily (except weekends and holidays), which for more than a year was the most important thing I did for marketing, for the brand, and for my networking
• the blog led to a mention in the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal (they moved their link, so I can’t link to it :()
• I joined three career associations attending their annual conferences and participating where I could on their eLists and in other ways
• because of my blog, and relationships I created, I was invited to speak at the largest career coach conference last April (I think I was the first speaker who wasn’t a career expert)
• I increased my blog networking strategy and came across some amazing people, some of my very close friends
• I signed a contract and eventually, finally wrote the book on LinkedIn: I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???
• I subsequently got interviews with all kinds of places that I had been trying to get ink in, including the NYT, Newsday, Wired magazine, CIO, etc.
• I ended up in PRINT, a full page, in US News & World Report
• I started speaking, and getting paid to speak, which has evolved my company and offering
• during all this time, my development team has faithfully plugged away, polishing and enhancing JibberJobber
• our rate of subscribers has continually increased each month, each year, as has the conversion rate (those who upgrade)
• we finally released JibberJobberUSA.com, which formalized the offer we created almost two years ago
• I started other blogs, including one for the LinkedIn book, the Facebook book, JibberJobberUSA, and one where I rant about personal issues
• … what am I missing? There are some pending partnerships in progress, but I can’t announce them yet.

So let me give some thanks, where thanks are due:

First, to my wife. If I can’t think of any other critical success factor in a business like mine, for a married guy, than the support of the spouse. Even though we both grew up with government-employed parents, she has a grand capacity for this crazy entrepreneurial venture. If anything could have shut down JibberJobber, it would have been her – but she has a vision of how JibberJobber helps people when they most need it, and is fully supportive of these last 2 years. Thank you!

Next, to my kids. My children have been very supportive as well. Their excitement when I share “wins” with them, when I come home from work, when I come home from a trip… it’s contagious and helpful. I especially appreciate hearing them include JibberJobber in the evening or meal prayers… it’s on their mind and they are my greatest champions.

Next, to my extended family. From investing in JibberJobber to passing business cards around to acting as sneezers and champions and tippers, I’ve felt immense support from you and I’m deeply greatful.

Next, to my very competent team. We feel extremely blessed to have our dev and QA professionals behind us… these are the people who make us look good! I’d like to talk more about them but I don’t want anyone to steal them away :p

Next, to my career partners. I am honored to have partnered with some of the biggest names in the career coaching and resume writing industry. It’s humbling, in fact, when I think about who has partnered with JibberJobber, and their continual support, encouragement, and advice.

Next, to all of my cheerleaders and champions. Whether they are users or not, there are plenty of people throughout the country who recommend and talk about JibberJobber. How cool is it that I’m not in this alone, and having people who help spread the word!

Finally, to all of the people who have taken a few minute to signup, and start using JibberJobber. I hope that this is something that has proven useful to you. I have a virtual group of users in my mind who have sent me feedback, ideas, suggestions, requests, and even bug notices… YOU have helped mold JibberJobber, and I thank you!

Okay, has it all been roses? Nope, absolutely not. Check out this e-mail that I just got:

“I want to unsubscribe to this damn thing…”

For the record, only once in two years have I heard JibberJobber called “this damn thing.” 🙂

But there are far more fun/exciting times than down moments. The future is bright – here’s to Year 3!