The Shoemaker's Children

But who is wurs shod, than the shoemakers wyfe, With shops full of newe shapen shoes all hir lyfe? — J. Heywood, Dialogue of Proverbs, 1546

​I've long heard the proverb about the Shoemaker's Children — it's a syndrome that has affected my own work. In modern English, "Who is worse shod than shoemaker’s wife?" (or the shoemaker's children) refers to the concept that the shoemaker puts the needs of his customers above those of his own family. In my case, it's been more that I've put the marketing needs of my clients above my own business's needs.

When you're a free-lancer, you've got to make hay while the sun shines (sorry to be mixing proverbs here). When I've got lots to do for my clients, the last thing I want to do is take time to work on marketing my business. But I would advise any client, whether a non-profit, an artist, a musician, an educational institution or a business, that it's vital to continuously market your services. ​

That's why I'm so pleased to have at last launched a re-vamped version of dakotastreetdesign.com. It's build on a sleek platform with all the latest bells & whistles, including responsive design. The template is intrinsically beautiful with very little modification on my part, allowing me to spend more time developing content (always the most challenging part of any project). ​

Now I'm happy to say my own site is up-to-date and I'm taking my own advice.


Sarah Miller Music

Sarah Miller is a composer of classical music based in Minneapolis, MN. We just launched her new website. It was a very smooth process as she provided all of the copy and uploaded much of the content herself. ​

Sarah's site is special because she is able to sell PDFs of her scores online. The ecommerce option automatically sends a link for downloading the PDF as soon as the site visitor has purchased the item.​

Another aspect of this site is that it features responsive design. It will re-scale itself depending on the site visitor's browser - automatically redesigning the site for optimal viewing and browsing on smart phones.​

View Site: sarahmillermusic.com

Sarah Miller Music Website