Walt F.J. Goodridge is....
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English
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© 2010 Walt F.J. Goodridge. All Rights Reserved, but feel free to share with anyone!
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We now resume our
regularly scheduled adventure, already in progress..........
Jamaican
in China!—Guess what I’VE been doing???
I
suppose you might be wondering what I’ve been doing, and why you haven’t heard
from me in a bit. Well, I HAVEN’T BEEN gallivanting on the Great Wall of China.
I HAVEN’T been loitering in Lintong, Xian, Shaanxi Province, home of the Terra Cotta
Warriors, NOR have I been encouraging shy girls to “Say Hello To Me!”
So, WHAT,
you ponder, have I been doing? Well, I’ve spent the last three days sequestered
in a 10 x 20 hotel room debugging a software program. That’s right! It’s as
exciting as it sounds! Haven’t left the room for three days, fasted for two of
them, all in an effort to get a software program working correctly.
Based on
recent feedback from customers and friends, I now realize that the order
process for my online products has way too many steps. Sign in, billing
address, shipping address, confirmation, shipping confirmation, credit card
information, and finally checkout. Wasn’t an issue before, but as people get more impatient, and as other online
vendors streamline their own order process, the bar is set higher for my own
sites.
One
customer, in particular, included the following comment when she placed her
order (teachable moment, here, so pay attention all you potential internet
entrepreneurs and future nomadpreneurs):
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"The
ordering process is too long…too many screen before the order is complete.
I really need this information so I was determined to complete this
order. Otherwise, I would have given up." |
A good
friend had said pretty much the same thing a few days earlier. So, not being one
to ignore messages from the universe, I set about finding a better shopping
cart and found one with a one-page/one step checkout process! Once implemented,
it would streamline the order process, encourage sales, and improve cash flow.
There was only one little challenge….it didn’t work!!!
Well,
actually, it DID work very well, except for one feature that didn’t seamlessly
mesh with my existing checkout system. So, I set about debugging the PHP
software to get it to work. My last three days in China have gone pretty much
like this:
you get
the idea…
At the
same time, I’m submitting requests to the tech support department of the
vendor, searching the online forum of current users of the software to discover
if others have experienced and solved similar issues, posting to the forums,
waiting for responses, implementing suggestions from experienced users….
As a
last resort, I purchased vendor support and got a “patch” to fix the bug.
However, the patch didn’t work. In frustration, I contacted the vendor,
cancelled my order and requested a refund, and went to bed (now day two of my
fast).
However,
I love a challenge! Never
let it be said that I was bested by a software program.
So, I
got up today (Friday, and went at it again.) It would be a few hours until the
vendor responded to my refund request, so I would attempt to get this thing to
work one more time.
Long
story short (guess it’s already too late for that), at about 12 noon today,
after practically rewriting the code of the errant file…..SUCCESS! Order
complete! Features performed seamlessly!
So, to
celebrate, I went out into a cool Autumn day and treated myself to some
fresh-squeezed carrot/apple juice, then some cucumber/celery juice, a little
outing on the subway, and then on to my favorite restaurant!
I’m
still not finished, though. I’m back in the hotel room, and now that I’ve got
the back end working (the important order-completion part), I still have to
input all the products from all my websites, configure a few more features,
customize the look of the cart and do some final tests. So, that should be
another day or two here in the hotel, but there’s a light at the end of the PHP
tunnel! See you on the other side, at which time, I’ll do my best to show you
some more interesting things than the inside of a hotel room!
end of this episode;
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Big T'ings a Gwan!
As we say in Jamaica, "Big tings a gwan!" Translation: Big Things are Going on!
1. JAMAICANS.COM
Jamaican in China is now featured on the Jamaicans.com website along with
reviews and much more!
2.CHINATRAVEL.NET
Check out Aimee Groom's interview for ChinaTravel.net*, the sister site to Ctrip.com
(the largest online travel service provider in China), and my story,
"A Jamaican in China and Nomadpreneur Lives His Dream!" which has been featured
in their China Blogger Profile.
[*ChinaTravel.net is a travel resource providing up-to-date, quality content and
information on destinations, attractions, news and events for people traveling in,
or planning to travel to China.]
3.FACEBOOK
Now you can keep in touch via facebook, and easily share Jamaican in China
with your friends. Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamaican-in-China/122083391185913
and "like me" to comment
Preview of Things to Come!
Episodes and ideas I'm working on, based on all your great conversations and feedback :
Jamaican Gold! (the Athletes' secret revealed)
Black Privilege in China
The Secret X-Rated Episode
Germ Theory and China (Yes, I said it!)
Dating the Waitress at Your Favorite Vegetarian Restaurant (and other bad decisions) from The Nomad's Relationship Guide
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY: PassionProfit.com "Everyone
has a passion. Every
passion has value. You
CAN make money doing what you love... and
live the life of your dreams!"
--Walt F.J. Goodridge
"The Passion Prophet"
tel: (646)
219-3565 fax:
(212) 658-9232 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SEE ALSO: Let
the adventure begin! The
first stop on the journey! A
nomadpreneur's Journal
Learn more about the author ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
