Long Testimonial re: Small Business Tracker Deluxe

Here is an email conversation with a new customer:

I just purchased Small Business Tracker (SBT) and wanted to tell you what a great program it is. I had written a program for myself in a database manager some years ago when I was freelancing and had not used it in a while. Recently, I got a freelance gig and found that my database had somehow gotten corrupted beyond repair.

Now I was faced with having to build a new one from scratch, which would be kind of fun except that now I work full-time and have projects on the side, so I don't have the time I once did to make an elaborate system such as this. Nonetheless, that's what I was starting to do until my sweet and resourceful girlfriend got on the Web and found SBT.

It looked good, but my fear was that it would be buggy or clunky, as software from one-man shops and humungous corporations often is. I downloaded the demo and started using it. Much to my surprise, it is fast, stable, and more comprehensive than I'd hoped. For instance, my project is a sound design project, so Version Tracker is perfect for tracking revisions I do in response to client feedback, and the Task Tracker is great for recording that client feedback.

Further, there were some features that clearly reflected first-hand knowledge of how freelancers work, like the timer system in the Activity Tracker.

Sure, SBT doesn't have the gorgeous graphic and structural polish of a company with a team of people working on the product, but I sure wouldn't call it crude or rough-edged.

Having worked with the demo for four or five days, I was entirely satisfied that it was worth the $149 investment, as well as worth taking a moment to thank you for a fine product.

Anyway, enough blather. Thanks for SBT. I will probably be mailing you suggestions and, if I find bugs, bug reports as time goes on. I hope you will them useful; I assure you they will be offered in a spirit of positive constructivism.

Cheers,

Larry the O
Toys In the Attic

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Hello Larry,

Thank you very much for your kind words and feedback. I occasionally get a thank you note, but yours is probably the best I have ever received. Would it be OK with you to use all or part of it as a testimonial? Do you have a website or business that you would like me to mention?

I'm glad to hear you appreciate version tracker. It is one component that is rarely used by most people, but can be very important to many freelancers.

The software is pretty stable, but as with any database, corruption can occur, so make sure you create backup files regularly.

Let me know if you have any other questions or comments about the software.

Regards,

Garth Catterall
SpiritWorks Software Development

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Hi Garth,

You are more than welcome to use any of my comments in your materials. Just so you know a bit more about what I do:

I have been a professional in the areas of audio and music for over 25 years. In that time, I have earned a living doing a combination of performing music, recording engineering, producing, live sound engineering, sound design for tv, films, video games and industrial applications, and writing. In fact, I don't think I'm being too egotistical to say that I am one of the better know writers in the area of audio, having been a Contributing Editor for seven years to Mix magazine, the world's leading trade magazine for that sector, and a Contributing Editor for at least that long (and currently) to Electronic Musician, Mix's sister magazine and the leading magazine for electronic music and home recording. I have a monthly column on the last page of that magazine called "Final Mix."

I am currently using SBT for an industrial sound design project creating sounds and synthesized voice files for a Silicon Valley startup that is building a new GPS-based in-car navigation system.

However, all of this is basically on the side; my "day gig" is as a Senior Marketing Writer for a high-end live sound loudspeaker manufacturer called Meyer Sound.

Anyway, as someone who has built my own system, I am, indeed impressed and look forward to using SBT and building a relationship with you.

Cheers,

Larry the O
Toys In the Attic