I can’t exactly remember when, but probably sometime in June I was roaming through the sites my feedreader picked up over at CSSmania and I came across this site called PodShop. It was a clean site with solid and playful icons. It was heavy on the mac feel which tickled some special places for me, and finally I got into the bits about the creation of this site and spotted a couple of things that drew my interest. The first was that PodShop’s blog was handled with Textpattern, and the second was that the owner of PodShop, Christopher Anderson was also the developer and designer, and he reads all the same stuff I do. “Alright”, I said, “This guy needs an interview”. And so, here it is…

Q. Chris, first lets talk about your site: Podshop.com is a strong example of a warm and friendly css site that defies the boxy look that CSS was once known for. The site uses a great deal of imagery, icons, and rounded corners that all make the site warm, friendly, and even playful. What moved you in this direction for an ipod product site over the minimal, white dominated sites that so often accompany 3rd party apple products?

A In early February, when I sat down to start the new PodShop site, I never would have imagined that I would get asked to talk more openly about the site’s design, and I am truly humbled. I guess what really moved me to go in this direction was the fact that I was ready to just start over. Completely. No more Dreamweaver, RapidWeaver, or templates. Not that there’s anything wrong with those programs, or going that route. I just didn’t want to do – what I refer to as -the standard cookie-cutter stuff anymore. I wanted to get what was in my head ultimately into a web browser, and rather than trying to make it fit into and around the aforementioned programs, I wanted to go a different route. Since PodShop is a one-man band, one of the different hats that I wear is the one of web designer. Ultimately, it was my limitations and lack of knowledge – and enthusiasm for – the “boxed software” that just made me take a step back. I decided to wash my hands of that and learn how to code. I wanted to start from the ground up where I could learn how to do the things that I saw on so many “cool” sites. So I bought books on web design, web usability, and CSS and (X)HTML. I even read a few of them twice, not just because they were totally foreign concepts to me, but because I was actually really interested in them. I found out that this type of stuff was really very cool. I made websites that were done with CSS and XHTML and were standards compliant a daily part of my new web education. I just soaked up all that I could to learn how the professionals do things.

Then came the hard part. OK, I know enough about how to start to code now, but what do I ultimately want the site to look like? Wow, that was tough. I had ideas, but it took me awhile to settle in on what you currently see at podshop.com. It started in Photoshop. Wood. White. Big, fat, “lickable” icons. Rounded corners. Those were the primary elements that I wanted. The tape and tracing/drafting paper idea came later. Once I had a general idea laid out in Photoshop, it was time to code. That should be pretty easy, right? Uh… no. In fact, one of the loneliest feelings I had during this whole process was firing up TextMate (the text-editing application I use) and seeing just a black screen. No lines of code. Just emptiness. OK… how do I get what I see in Photoshop into a web browser by using text (code)? That was a huge learning curve. Dreamweaver and RapidWeaver would have done that automatically for me, pretty much, but this was totally different. Different, but fun. And so worth it. It was total control. When things didn’t look right in the browser, I had a pretty good grasp as to why by digging through the XHTML and CSS code. It all made sense after a while, and once it did, there was just an overwhelming feeling of Hey, I can do this!

Q For a lot of web designers that embark on their own, there is always the question of who to bounce their design against? Some start with their family for a confidence booster (they’ll usually tell you its incredible). How did you get feedback about whether or not this design was going to appeal to folks? How did you know if it was usable?

A Wow, this is a good question, and you know, I don’t know that I have a very proper answer to this, but here goes… After I got the original look and feel of the site started, I threw it out on the podshop.com domain at /beta/. I really didn’t bounce the new site off of very many people. My wife and kids really liked it, of course (thanks guys!), but I didn’t really query a lot of people on it. I gave a few friends and customers the beta site links to gauge their response (which was positive – yeah!), but I never really had anything like a test group or focus group or anything like that. I guess that’s just the ignorance of a very small business shining through! I thought the design was unique, and I guess I just crossed my fingers (and still have them crossed) that people will find the site and that they will enjoy it. I want the site (among other things) to get a response similar to what I experienced when I uncovered all of the neat, beautiful designs when I started my learning process. I want the site to be an experience, not just some background or afterthought that houses a place to buy products online. I want people to explore the site. I even tried to make the standard site error pages fun. Every page should be an experience; eliciting a reaction and a response. Hopefully the site does that for people.

Q Your About page described the transition from computer engineer to small business owner. Can you flush that out for us a little more? What was the defining moment in all of that? Was there a point of no return?

A I guess that the transition was all about heart and soul. The computer engineering field was – and is – a pretty good place to be. Steady work and steady pay, for sure. To backup a bit… I didn’t own a computer until late in 1994. Gifted an old 8086 box with a green monochrome screen and DOS, I used it to type a few papers up on during college. I always had an interest in computers – ever since my first experience with an Apple ][ in grade school. Wow, Oregon Trail and Lemonade Stand, those were the days! Anyway, a year or so later, I decided that the old 8086 box wasn’t cutting the mustard, and after learning about the new computer technology of that time (Pentium chips and color monitors and the like), I went to the local library and checked out books on computer hardware. I modded that old box with newer, faster parts, including a 3.5” disk drive in place of the old 5.25.” Oh the technology! There was even some hacksawing involved with the case. Anyway, I guess I was just bit by the computer bug, and never looked back. The interest in computers led to joining a type of geek club at the college, and that eventually led to my first PC-related gig doing computer consulting work for an entrepreneur in town. We worked out of his house, until eventually it was time to move into a dedicated building. It was so incredible. Baptism by fire into a computer business and entrepreneurship all in one gig. Dan Shundoff of IntelliCom in Kearney, Nebraska, thank you.

After meeting the woman that would become my wife, and moving closer to her domicile (what can I say, it was love at first sight), I began a new career at a rather large organization in Omaha, Nebraska. Geeking out even harder at this gig, and for more money, life was great. It was all Microsoft stuff, all the time, and I loved it. Until I found out about Apple’s offerings. The iPod and Mac proved to me that there was something better out there from a technology standpoint, and I just dove in headfirst into their gear. Totally cut the cord. I sold the PC I had to a guy I worked with, and it was just me and my iPod and the G4 iMac. Soon, the kids even had their own G3 iMac, and the PC they used to use moved to the basement never to be used again.

With all the Apple enthusiasm at home, work got more and more frustrating, though. I just really started to dread pushing out virus updates and Windows patches. That’s so pathetic to say, really. It was a great job and paid the bills, but I just wasn’t happy. It’s not like I was laying pipe or felling large trees or anything. The work was pretty easy and sweat-free. How could I be becoming so miserable? It all came down to what I felt in my heart. I was so passionate about Apple’s stuff. I knew when lunch breaks consisted of a notepad, pen, and scrawlings of business names, ideas, and plans, that it was all over. I would have to walk away from it all to venture out on my own. It just took me a few years to have the courage and the guts to do it.

Q Man, that’s really fun. Glad to know your raising your kids on this stuff, (talk about “brand evangelism”). From my own experience, I know work can easily take over life. How has your family responded to the new business venture? Is there any advice you’d offer to folks thinking they might take the same plunge?

A My family has been so supportive of my business. It all starts with my wife. She was the one that kept telling me that she believed in me, she knew I would be much happier in the long run. Shawna, thank you. You are my rock. I couldn’t do any of this without you. My kids really enjoy me being around the house all the time. Before I cut the cord on the “normal job” my daughter would tell me that I worked too much, as I would do the PodShop stuff after getting home from the day job. Both of my kids really think that what I do is pretty cool, although my son, who is five, wants me to play Nintendo with him all day, as it’s hard for him to understand that even though I am home, I am working. I know my daughter tells her friends at school all about my business, and the products, and brags me up pretty good. They’re amazing. I am a very lucky man to have such a supportive family.

As far as advice, the best things I can recommend are passion, courage, and determination. You have to love what you are doing, you have to have the guts to go for it, and you have to be willing to fight for it. Oh yeah, and once you are on your own, it’s not easy. Money doesn’t just start flowing in. I have friends who I believe think that my job is easy. I lay around in my pajamas all day, etc. No. This is the toughest job I’ve ever had. I work long hours. I work hard. I have to do things – actually learn things – that I would never had to have done in a “normal job” setting. I have a degree, a background, and passion for computers and technology, but that doesn’t automatically generate success – or sales. I learn new things every day. It is all very challenging, but even more so it is very rewarding. I am responsible for my own success or failure. There is nobody in my way to prevent these things. As an entrepreneur, you wake up each day with many feelings. Pride. Humility. Fear. Excitement. Happiness.

Q Do you foresee using Textpattern for more of your site in the future? What made you decide to use it for your blog?

A As the site continues to take on a life of its own, I may consider using Textpattern for more of the back end of things. It’s strange, but putting a blog on the site was a last minute decision. That’s not very Web 2.0 of me, but I’m still trying to catch up with Web 1.0! I enjoy writing, but don’t know much about blogging. I decided to look around at the CMS options just to see what was out there, and if it would be easy enough to implement, I would use it for the blog page. I’m not exactly sure how I stumbled upon Textpattern, but I am so glad that I did and decided to use it. Initially, Textpattern wasn’t one of those oh yeah, this is it! types of discoveries. I really didn’t – and still don’t – have an understanding of CMS, so I didn’t really grasp how great Textpattern was at first. Only after getting it installed did I discover what a great tool it is. I really love the ability to tweak it. The plugin environment was crucial. The initial learning curve was a challenge, but I fought my way through it, just as I did with CSS and XHTML. I still remember first installing Textpattern, and then hitting the blog page on the site. Of course, the page looked nothing like the rest of the site. I just about bailed on a blog all together, as I wasn’t sure how to make Textpattern’s pages look like what I had already implemented on the other pages of the site. After doing some digging in the Textpattern console, though, I quickly learned that I could mold the blog page/environment into whatever I wanted just by editing the default page code. Yes!

Q Any inside scoop for us on the next product to come out of podshop?

A Right now, there aren’t any new products in the PodShop pipeline. My head is still spinning a tad from the new website launch, but primarily, I am just really dedicated to getting the few products that I do have in front of the eyeballs of iPod owners. PodShop will never be the biggest iPod accessory company, and I don’t want it to be. I just want it to be the best at what it does and what it provides to its customers. The best products. The best service. The best experience. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to start reading those books on marketing, branding, and promotion.

Podshop specializes in idrops ™, which help clean up scratches and the like from your ipod and similar screens. Chris was kind enough to send me a bottle to try out and I can say that while I am still working on buffing out the caveman style gouges it definitely polished up the smaller scratches to where I no longer feel I need to carry my ipod in protective gear, I can now sport a naked ipod. Thanks Chris.