About Us
The Eclectic Tech - Criss Ittermann
Creative • Logical • Brainstormer
"She looks at the big picture first, then crafts the details into a focused message." — Bill (Skypoint on Fiverr)
Some people dive right in and just try to get the job done as quickly as possible, while Criss prefers to get the 10,000-foot view (or higher) before crafting someone's messages, building their marketing piece, or laying out a document. Pictures paint a thousand words, and language is so full of subtlety and connotation; every color, design & word is precious on the screen or in print. It has to be worth reading -- and it has to accurately convey the message.
Criss Ittermann is a revolutionary brainstormer and truly is "The Eclectic Tech"; in addition to an uncanny ability to come up with novel ideas, Criss has skills from through graphic design, desktop publishing, and writing through to computer repair and programming, holistic healing, American Sign Language, writing and sculpting, with a wide range of experience in the small business world.
Reserved, introspective and approachable, Criss is a fantastic drama-free listener with an uncanny ability to grasp another person's point of view and always withholding judgement. People gravitate to Criss with their problems.
With keen perception and thorough processing, Criss can quickly take in and evaluate disparate information and come to unconventional conclusions. Within this fast internal processing, myriad possibilities are being evaluated and considered before a few decent ideas emerge.
Whether she asks uncanny questions that provoke new ways of thinking, or she produces an unorthodox solution from her mental machinery, you can be certain that the ideas Criss produces will create subtle but important change.
When you want someone with an adventurous attitude to encourage you to solve your business problem puzzles, ground-breaking ideas to bring a big difference to make you stand out in a crowd, fresh solutions to age-old business headaches, or a patient and willing ear to let you unload, talk to Criss.
Mission
It is my mission to provide new business services with honesty and integrity, to always be up-front about my expectations to my clients, employees and contractors, and to provide information about what I do whenever possible because it is insufficient to merely teach people how to fish -- it's absolutely necessary to teach people how to teach people how to fish.
Helping people gets me out of bed every day -- it's what keeps me going. I'm going to make sure you can get out of your own way, that you do your business homework, help you be as productive and successful as possible in all areas of your life, such that you can find and help your clients. And when we are both successful, I lose you as a client and gain a terrific testimonial and you become a referral partner! A true Win-Win!
Criss' Story
I got laid off, and started my business on pocket lint & a dream...
Following a string of jobs that ended with me living in Upstate NY, the Eclectic Tech was on its own, having to hustle to make the bills. While I had worked for people who were experts in marketing -- prepress, and branding boutiques -- and learned big-business marketing, nothing prepared me to face the world of the home-based business hands-on solopreneur. I made a lot of mistakes out of the starting gate, and I made some right moves, too. I got lucky breaks and flaunted my unique ingenuity, I gobbled up books, took classes both with local small business owners like myself, and international bestselling authors of marketing and branding books.
When I hung my shingle as a web and graphic designer -- lots of logos, business cards, websites -- and I found myself giving more and more coaching to my customers to help them hone their marketing messages, create content for their website, develop new products or programs for their business, or invent innovative ways to bring a product or service to market. Then I started doing brainstorming sessions to help people come up with progressive and revolutionary ideas for their business. When it started taking up a significant portion of my time, I underwent training to become a professional coach.
Looking back on how I got here, it bothers me that someone else is going to make business-jeopardizing mistakes. Maybe they won't be as lucky as I was and stumble on a few key "right" things that will help them stay in business past the 5 year mark? Many people start a business and then they don't make it. 38% of new business owners fail because they don't know how to market or manage their business. More will fail because they didn't price their products or services right. So I want to help out. I don't want to just teach all the marketing, branding, and business management tricks I've learned; I want to help you apply the knowledge.
It wasn't knowing what to do that was the problem. I had heard from all the experts, and it was all great advice. It was application that stood in my way. "How do I take what you just said and make it work for me?" I wanted to do it right, thus do it myself, and do it differently to stand out from everyone else. And when you're the only person in your business, working on your business is something one must do carefully but regularly, otherwise you get mired in the doing and fall out of planning. It's great to have partners to remind you to get the planning done, and help make sure you're heading in the right direction. Coaching takes everything I've learned, and applies it to my clients.
Can you relate?
Whether we're similar, or completely different -- what have you read that touches you, or intrigues you?
