I try to travel to entrepreneurial hotspots as often as I can to keep my motivation and skill set high. The run is usually between the east coast (usually nyc) and Silicon Valley. This year, as business tends to be slow in January anyway and I have no real interest in winter, I headed off to Mountain View, CA for several weeks to immerse myself in meetups and demos. I love places like Mountain View. Normally when you go to a bar and sit down on a stool, the lateral chatter you unintentionally field has to do with sports, alimony or the mundanities of whatever job the chatterer is tired of. When you sit down at a Mountain View bar, even a rowdy one like Molly McGees on Castro, all the conversations around you things like “…it sounds really interesting, but how is he going to monetize…” or “…they got seeded by YC and they’re working on closing their second round with Sequoia…”.
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At the 2009 Troy Chamber of Commerce Pep Rally, Denise Roberts and Diane Putvin from SalesPartnersTroy.com helped shed some light on a myriad of ways your business can benefit from active involvement in the Troy Chamber of Commerce, regardless of the current economic situation.

It was an eye-opening account of all the options available to Chamber members. If you’re in the Metro Detroit area and want to get involved in one of the most active and beneficial Chambers in the area, check out www.troychamber.com.

The Troy Chamber asked 248creative for some help with video work for the 09 Pep Rally, and we were more than happy to help.
248creative has been active in the Troy Chamber since 2008 and will continue to get more involved in the local community.

You don’t have to be nickel and dimed by your printer anymore! 248creative has streamlined our processes and we can now deliver 1000 high-quality FULL COLOR business cards to door for $50, all day long.

We’re not talking about bottom rung cards either. 248creative’s starting point is what the box stores and our competitors call premium! Our cards are 3.5″ x 2″ 14pt card stock with a quality aqueous satin coating.

Head over to our products page to check it out today!

Looking to get more exposure for your business online? Want to get your feet wet in the massively effective world of video-for-web? 248creative can help. Today’s internet is a vastly different beast from even a few years ago. Where static text driven content was once more than enough to satisfy visitors to your site, Youtube and its sister sites have definitely made such an idea trite.

Web surfers expect much more from websites now. The world of streaming video has taken hold and isn’t going anywhere. Much of the traffic that would have happily committed 15 minutes to reading through the pages of your company’s site would just as easily hit the back button now, in search of one of your competitors who has catered more thoroughly to them.

The surfers of today’s web are an expansion of the conventional television audience. They want your message fed to them, because your competitors are willing to do so. Delivering your message online as video content instantly increases the perceived value of your site, therefore increasing the value of your brand and the likelihood of a sale.

248creative has developed a process specifically catering to the online video needs of southeast Michigan. With 248creative’s Video For Web services, you can immediately start to add world class content to your web strategy without breaking your already stretched marketing dollar. When budgets are tight, its smart business to know where the biggest bang for the buck lives, and video content for the web definitely has a great ROI.

Check out http://www.248creative.com/video for more information on this powerful new web service from 248creative.

248creative, Troy’s premier design and printhouse, has partnered up with the Troy Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re really excited about getting involved with the Chamber and the community of Troy…” says 248creative CEO Thomas Desmond, “… I personally live in Troy, and now that we’ve headquartered our operations in Troy, there’s no better way to get involved that with the Chamber of Commerce.”

The partnership opens up opportunities for both parties leading into 2009.

For more information on the Troy Chamber of Commerce, check out http://www.troychamber.com

The new media landscape has become murky waters to a lot of today’s small businesses. There’s tremendous possibility on the web 2.0, but it’s also not the dot com bubble either. Today’s internet, while still young, is more mature, and defining your company’s web presence isn’t as simple as throwing up a design from FrontPage anymore.

Today’s web is dynamic, interactive and rich. Building this new generation of internet requires a diverse set of skills and a balanced development team that understands the fine line between business and art. 248creative isn’t a simple consultancy, it’s a network of experienced specialists.

With all the new technologies emerging everyday, 248creative leads the way in pragmatic solution development. We employ the latest open source technologies to power your projects while keep your overhead low.

Now surfers to your website EXPECT interaction. Simple brochures online are no longer enough to maximize your website’s return on investment. Developing fully interactive applications online is a daunting, time consuming and costly long-term venture. Thankfully, there are frameworks already matured and available that will solve many of the recurring requirements of modern websites. These frameworks are ever-evolving and robust, supported by worldwide networks of millions of users and developers. Their ubiquity guarantees that the software powering your website will never be abandoned.

Compared to the high cost and rigid, brittle base of developers who support proprietary, self-developed, non-public software, open source is the most stable and pragmatic solution to getting your website up and running without costing you serious dollars and a year of development.

248creative is NOT a set it and forget development house. We offer creative web services to select projects because its our passion, and not every web project is a match with 248creative’s results driven development model. We believe in websites that make money and provide a benefit to their surfers.

If you need help with your next creative project, enlist us.

Our services include:

• Web Design & Development (Blog, Myspace & E-commerce)
• Online Marketing Campaigns & SEO
• Digital Signage & Videography
• Graphic Design
• Printwork
• Custom Tshirt Printing

248creative is the fine line between business & art. In working design, there is one point, return on investment. Our clients rely on us to wade through the mine field of design and production for them. We understand that business communications exist to drive that business. If you materials aren’t generating buzz, you’re not getting any bang for your buck.

Businesses need bang to survive and thrive.

The 248creative motto inside our office is Perfection of Process, Product & Presentation. There is no detail we don’t obsess over, there is no deadline we don’t hit. The 248creative mission is to create an experience for our clients, not just a product. At the same time, we respect your time and understand you hire design firms so you don’t HAVE to spend manhours and attention on the development of your brand’s image.

This is the fine line between business and art, a line we understand and ride every day, and are excited for the opportunity to do just that. Whether it’s graphic design, print work, custom t-shirts, websites or video productions, we deliver pragmatic solutions that keep your bottom line in mind.

Contact Us to start your project today!