Like a virgin

How a costume company got on-line in just two days

by Karen Linden

Summary

• 2 a.m. Sunday - something must be done!
• 5 a.m. Sunday - we gotta have a site.
• 8 a.m. Monday - we got the software.
• Taking the tutorial
  "building a site in 10 minutes."
• 1 p.m. Monday - building the site.
• Scanning.
• Publishing .

2 a.m. Sunday

I woke up in a cold sweat. I knew we were in trouble. Something had to be done and fast . . . but what? I didn't know what to do or where to turn.

5 a.m. Sunday

Still couldn't sleep. As I stared out the window, the sun started to come up. I thought I heard the paper slap the front door. Desperation filled my thoughts—it was now or never. I closed my eyes and let go a deep sigh; I knew what we had to do. There was no other choice.

Later that morning over a cup of hot java, I laid out the plan to my business partner, Sue. "Look, if we want our costume design business to grow, we need to get the word out. Let people know we're here and what we have to offer. We need to be on the Web." There, I had said it—we need to be on the Web . . . but how? Just how were a couple of needle threadin' dames like us gonna be able to pull this off?

I made the only call I could. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I rung up the Godfather of Web sites and asked for a meeting. We went back a long way, the Godfather and me. Back to the old neighborhood when we were both hoofin' for a living. Our tunes may have played out differently, but I knew I could trust him to give it to me straight.

"I got two words for you," the Godfather whispered, "NetObjects Fusion.''

The look on my face gave me away. "Don't worry, Doll, it won't hurt a bit, and it'll give you what you need."

That afternoon as I left the store clutching my copy of NetObjects Fusion, my head ached at the thought of building my own Web site.

I told Sue about my meeting with the Godfather, and she reeled in disbelief at the thought of doing this ourselves. I said, "If the Godfather said we can, then we gotta try." He'd never steered me wrong when it came to technology.

8 a.m. Monday

I had made up my mind to do it. No one knew our company, our services, our inventory, and our goals like me. It was the logical choice for me to bite the bullet and give it a try.

I gingerly removed the CD from its case like it was a hot tamale ready to explode and slipped it into the drive. I closed my eyes for an instant and held my breath. I started the installation and stood back. No problem. It went slick as ice. I reached for the Getting Started Booklet, but my palms were sweating and it crashed to the floor. Pull yourself together, I thought, "I can do this. I have to do this." I opened the mini-manual and dove in.

Tutorial

"Building a Site in 10 Minutes," the page challenged me. Who were they kiddin'? "How was that possible?" I mouthed in disbelief. But I could hear in my head the Godfather's words telling me to go on . . .

I tenaciously followed the first lesson, cautiously moving forward, not sure if I dared to go on. But with each new step I became more confident. The instructions were so clear, laid out so perfectly. Just made for someone new to this game like me.

Before I knew it, I had reached Lesson 2. As I toured the program, I began to feel more comfortable. No longer a stranger to the Web or Web site building. By the time I got to Lesson 3, Designing the Home Page, I felt as if I was home. Encouraged by my success, I moved onto the next lesson and then the next. Before I knew it, I was on Lesson 6.

1 p.m. Monday

The phone rang, jolting me back to reality. It was Sue. "How's it going?" she asked. Her voice betrayed her fear. "The Godfather was right. This program is the answer to our Web site building predicament . . . and it doesn't hurt a bit."

I put the phone down and looked around. Everything was still the same, the sun was shining, the birds were singing; my dog Ricky was sleeping at my feet, but somehow I was different. I knew everything was going to be OK.

That next few hours were a blur of MasterBorders, property palettes, and layout properties as I made my way through the rest of the NetObjects Fusion tutorial and User Guide. I couldn't get enough. I was in the eye of the Web creation maelstrom and loving every minute of it. When I was finally finished, I knew I was ready to start building our Web site and our future as a company for the new millennium.

Scanning

We had been in business since 1980, so we had plenty of raw material for use in building our Web site. We wanted pictures and graphics as well as precise and interesting text. We wanted the Web site to be inviting and friendly, yet informative, while at the same time presenting a look that said "Us." Would NetObjects Fusion rise to the occasion and give us all we desired? I knew the answer to that question; I had been to the motherboard and had seen the connection. I gathered our material together and moved forward with great anticipation.

It became immediately clear that we needed a scanner. We were total rubes to the scanning game and I looked again to the Godfather for advice. "Don't worry, toots, if you can scan it, NetObjects Fusion can handle it." We were relieved.

Sue and I began sorting through years of publicity material, trying to narrow our selection to a reasonable assortment. But it is no easy task narrowing 15 years of your life's blood to just a few snapshots. Maybe it was the blind enthusiasm of the moment or the courage I had gained from the tutorial, but we ended up with 200 images and 20 pages of publicity text.

Sue cried out, "Are we insane? How can we do this our first time?"

I learned from eFuse.com that I needed to scan pictures in JPG format. I learned how to make the files small and efficient yet still good-looking. (You can learn this to by clicking here.)

"We have NetObjects Fusion on our side," I replied. Sue stared at me in disbelief, but she didn't know what I knew. She hadn't cut her teeth on the NetObjects Fusion tutorial. She didn't know what this program was capable of and, dare I say, how easy it was.

I jumped in with scanner ablaze. Picture after picture was scanned in, graphics were created, the text was edited and then re-edited. Finally we were ready to put it all together. Being new to the Web site creation biz, Sue and I had mapped out our plan the old-fashioned way—on paper. We had even done a mini-mockup of the site. But then the creation process took on a life of its own. I began in Site mode, creating five levels of pages. My heart was pounding as new page upon new page filled the screen. Next, using the RTF feature in MS Word and Windows Explorer, I watched as the words poured onto the pages I had created.

Next, I began adding pictures, lovingly placing each one in its appropriate frame. By now I had become drunk with excitement as I began creating link after link, hotspot upon hotspot. The MasterBorders were next, the very backbone of the site. Each one built upon the next gave my site a look and unity that said "Us." I broke only to Preview the Site, making sure I was still on the right track. NetObjects Fusion made it all so easy. I was giddy with the smell of victory.

I heard the clock chime in the next room—6 a.m. I had worked through the night—caught up in the ecstasy of my Web site, I had lost track of all time. As I splashed cold water on my face, I smiled. The Godfather had been right all along. NetObjects Fusion was the answer to all of our Web site worries and what an answer it was!

Publishing

But there was still one last demon to face—Publishing! This was virgin territory and I was scared. We had obtained an ISP, and it had provided me with a lot of mumbo jumbo to use when sending our Web site up to its server. It was very early in the morning and no one was around to help if I should falter. The Godfather was unreachable . . . I was on my own.

I told myself, "You've come this far, you can make it through the last round." I followed the instructions, input the ISP's mumbo jumbo, and clicked on Publish. Almost magically NetObjects Fusion took command. I watched in awe as my site began its final journey to its ISP home. I was more nervous than a 16-year-old girl on her first date. I couldn't sit still. I paced the room yet kept returning to my computer to see if all was well -- 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 45 minutes. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. When would it end? Then those words I had been longing to see for so long appeared on screen… "Transfer Complete."

To see the site for yourself, click here.

For just a moment I stood there, numb with relief. It was done. A tear of joy slowly found its way down my cheek. I could feel the Godfather smiling over my shoulder. Oh, I knew there would be more updates, changes, revisions, but I had made it through my first time,and as they say, you always remember your first time.

About the author

Karen Linden is the co-founder of Steppin' Out Musical Productions and Costumes for Caterers, a Hollywood-based entertainment company.

Together with her business partner, Sue, their company, Steppin' Out, has been providing entertainment and costumes for special events since 1980.

They have furnished services for all of the major movie and television studios and many national corporations. Their costumes have appeared at many movie premieres including Men in Black, Spice Girls, Braveheart, Batman, and Rugrats.

They have also provided costumes for the private parties of Barbra Streisand, Tom Cruise, Penny Marshall and Mel Gibson.  Steppin' Out is thrilled to be on the Internet at last and invite you to visit their web site.

Karen resides in Beverly Hills and besides using Fusion for fun she loves to dance, watch TV, and rescue dogs (she currently has seven at home).