It's been two weeks since we launched JoomConnect. We agreed internally to always blog about the good AND the bad. So...

I've been very pleased with the sales and responses we have gotten, even though our website launch sucked!  Getting to talk with so many partners and learning about their businesses has been amazing and overwhelming. Loving it!

Why did I say it sucked? Things we've learned:

#1. Don't rush it. - Websites

JoomConnect was ready, website wasn't. Due to another major project we had to do a quick launch. We had been up for 40 hrs straight before the launch. We really should of just delayed the launch a couple days. We didn't want to disappoint everyone and there we so many people that wanted to start getting information. Well let me tell you, tired people do not write good copy. Tired people do not test as well as they should. We spent some time working kinks out on the site over the last two weeks. So if you visited on the first day, come back and look again things should make more sense now.

P.S. On launch day we didn't even have time to implement JoomConnect for our own "Contact Us Form" so we used a standard form, there was an issue between our web server and Google apps in regards to email and who was the boss. If you requested some information in the first couple days after the launch you'll need to "Contact Us" again.

Now that we are back on MS Exchange, this is a great way for you to see how JoomConnect will capture your information and very quickly let you make a ticket for our sales team or sign up for our newsletter via the Marketing Group Manager. The emails you'll see from our own ConnectWise will feel very familiar to you. Go to JoomConnect.com and fill out the contact form if you have any questions or just want to take it for a spin.

#2. Don't rush it. - Patches and Updates

We are new to the Software Biz. I don't want to rush updates. I want them to work flawlessly (as possible). I have to stop feeling guilty if someone asks me when a feature is going to be available and I give them an approximate date and miss it. I now understand why software companies try really hard not to set expectations.

I went through this a lot during the beta and still haven't learned my lesson..

I have two choices here, be vague about dates when I think things will be done OR just decide to give my best guesstimates with disclaimers like "we're hoping to have this completed by". I hate letting people down and when I say something, like we expect to add this feature in 2-3 days and instead it takes 3-5, it just drives me nuts.  What would you prefer? A guess with the possibility (most likely) of it being wrong? Or just an email when it's done?

This reminds me of the a story one of my mentors (the old bull) has told me a million times.

The old bull and the young bull are at the top of a hill looking down at a bunch of cows, young bull says to the old bull "hey lets run down there and @#*! one of them cows."  The old bull says "No boy, lets walk down and @#*! them all."   
If I'd only listen :)