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jdtoney
Administrator
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Posted: Wednesday June 20th, 2007 03:40 pm |
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A few years ago, an agent based out of the DFW area wanted to start something to help encourage and recognize the real workers in the insurance industry. Not the agents, but their staff. So, he started working on his brainchild of UltimateStaff.net. Not wanting to give up control to investors, he has been paying for the development and upkeep of the site with his own funds.
I came onto the scene about a year and a half into the site's development. Originally I was hired on a contract basis to produce a direct mail piece (anyone remember 3-D glasses?!). Then I went part-time, then finally full-time to help with creating and maintaining the site.
We have had our ups and downs with programmers (that's putting it lightly!). Without going into great detail, so much effort and money, blood, sweat and tears has gone into this site and we still see so much more we could do with it.
The idea with the UltimateVendors was to not only feature some of the top businesses out there to help with your referrals, but to bring in some money through advertising to help pay for the site and for the auctions. We are rethinking our strategy right now with the vendors, since many of them aren't really committed to advertising and it has been a struggle to track referrals and get paid. We had a good thing going with Hertz for a while, but have seen that another car rental company may be better suited for a vendor.
It's been my vision that we take the site and give it back to you, our members, and have the site a true community with forums. We've had to cut back our staff greatly and I appreciate everyone's patience with me as I am now the only one working on the site and updates, etc. This is another reason why I think forums will be the site's saving grace and will lessen the load for me.
In the future, you may see some changes on the site, but we know we must change to keep up with the way things are going. The UltimateVendors program will be getting an overhaul and we are looking at ways to help with the monthly bills. One idea we had is to offer customized marketing materials for agencies to use with their current and prospective customers.
I just wanted to let everyone on these forums to know a little bit about the struggles we've had as a website and the future hope we hold for it. There's a lot of wonderful people in the industry, and it's almost like they are drawn to it because it's all about helping others and offering security. I have so much respect for all of you and appreciate your support of this site. Thanks for reading through this long post, too! 
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ybat2001
Member
| Joined: | Friday June 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Houston, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 10 |
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Posted: Friday June 22nd, 2007 04:07 pm |
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I really appericate the site and love all the hard work and effort you put into it.
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isabelurias
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday June 19th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 24 |
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Posted: Monday June 25th, 2007 04:26 pm |
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| I love the entire website. The newsletters are very informative.
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jdtoney
Administrator
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Posted: Monday June 25th, 2007 04:58 pm |
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Thanks, everyone, for your support and kind words.
I can see that these forums will be great and may help replace some of the slowpoke methods of getting stuff posted on the site. I want everyone to know that this is your forum and it's what you want it to be.
So keep posting and help those who are a little shy about posting warm up to the idea!!
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shonda
Member
| Joined: | Friday June 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Granbury, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 11 |
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Posted: Tuesday June 26th, 2007 05:03 pm |
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| My sister at a state farm office in waco introduced me this site and at first she had just joined because of one of her colleagues that told her she could win free stuff on it. So she told me and we signed up but now its much more, its our own little website that we can share pics , ideas, recipes, stories and ideas with other insurance professionals. I enjoy logging on every day and checking out whats new. Me and my sister do this daily and usually call each other and discuss things we see and read on here! Ya'll are doing awesome job, thank you and if we can help pls let us know!
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bfleniken
Member
| Joined: | Monday June 18th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
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Posted: Wednesday June 27th, 2007 05:54 pm |
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I have been on the site since the beginning and can say" it is a great site" Over time the updates have made the site better and better. The incite from other professional working in the industry has been a valuable tool. I enjoy working with the staff at ultimate staff and look forward to seeing what is next.....
beth fleniken
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pamelarou
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday June 19th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 17 |
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Posted: Wednesday June 27th, 2007 10:43 pm |
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| I love the web site, and thank you for the comment about the staff, so many people think it is all about the agent, ha ha ha ha . I love our agent ,but he would be lost without his staff, as would most agents. Its nice to read comments about others and their day to day woes and funnies about the insurance industry. I do believe we all have one thing in common, we care about people and want to help how ever we can. Thanks for all you do for the site, I really enjoy it. Pam
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Ang
Moderator
| Joined: | Tuesday June 19th, 2007 |
| Location: | Hewitt, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 127 |
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Posted: Tuesday July 3rd, 2007 05:38 pm |
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I think this is awsome place and was so shocked when Ultimate Staff popped up.
It's been fun!
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DebbieG
Member
| Joined: | Tuesday June 26th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 17 |
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Posted: Wednesday July 4th, 2007 03:02 am |
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| I love it! It's a great way to connect to other insurance staff from all over.
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gar
Member
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Posted: Wednesday July 18th, 2007 03:02 pm |
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I have had so much fun logging on to UltimateStaff. I am on at least everyday, it is what gets me through the day, sometimes taking a break and spending time on it maybe more then one time a day.
Thank you for the site, time and hard work so it can keep going.
Last edited on Wednesday July 18th, 2007 03:05 pm by gar
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