Notes from Chris

Episode 1263

Ian McIver is more comfortable wearing sandals than dress shoes. It should come as no surprise then, that he refuses to work a typical office job. Instead, Ian goes with the flow and has built a career for himself as a river guide in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

He’s somewhat of an anomaly in this regard. You see, like many resort towns, the population in Jackson Hole is incredibly transient. Most people come in for a season, work for a while, then return home to start a ‘real career.’ But Ian paddled in his own canoe. He spent the better part of twenty years in the town and became an accomplished guide.

In fact, he became so involved with the company he worked for that he became responsible for hiring those transient workers... and it was a big hassle. Finding, screening, and interviewing candidates was like swimming upstream. Every season he had to repeat the process over again. Over his twenty year career, Ian hired over two thousand people—an average of one hundred per year!

He knew there had to be a way to make the hiring process easier, and in 2016 he came up with an idea of a software platform to simplify everything. It could be used by small businesses to fill out job profiles and publish them on a webpage. Applicants could then apply through the site, the business could vet them, and follow up with the ones they wanted.

At first, Ian hoped to attract an investor. But he soon realized that this goal was a lot like trying to catch water in a net—and he decided that the traditional startup route wasn’t a good fit.

Fortunately, there was another way. River guiding attracts an eclectic bunch of people, including some with a lot of different skills. Ian remembered a guide he used to work with named Daniel Frehner. After his time as a guide, Daniel had gone on to learn programming.

Ian contacted Daniel, explained his idea and offered a partnership. They’d each have a share of the new business. Daniel would build the software, while Ian would be responsible for the marketing side of things. They spent the next couple of years creating a beta version. They called it JobApplix, short for Job Application, a name as streamlined as the product aimed to be.

In the first few months, over seven hundred people applied for a job through their software. That brought them to March 2020, when a waterfall by the name of COVID-19 was fast approaching.

So far, they’ve managed to safely navigate those treacherous waters. None of their customers have canceled and, in fact, Ian sees this as a huge opportunity. When things begin opening up and the economy comes roaring back, businesses will need to streamline their hiring process even more in order to get things moving again quickly.

That’s why he’s decided to offer the software for free for sixty days to any businesses signing up before September 2020. It should take all the risk out of trying it out, while at the same time help them realize the benefits while their business is getting back on its feet.

Remember: if you keep paddling against the current, you’ll eventually hit calm waters.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Job Applix at their website, JobApplix.

SEE ALSO:

• Workforce Expert Creates Empowerment Consultancy: After feeling mistreated at work, this workforce development expert regroups and plans her escape.
• These Resume Templates Make $462/month in Passive Income: A student creates a visual resume service to make extra cash, then transitions that service to work smarter, not harder. It now brings in $462 in month in completely passive income.
• Job Recruiter Helps LinkedIn Connections with Resumes: With a full-time job and a family of four to support, this job recruiter applies the skills he uses every day to earn additional money on the side.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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