Volcone Web Solutions, LLC

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a web solutions company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC?

My company was just getting started, so I was looking for a partner who could help me get clients and manage projects to ensure client satisfaction.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The team helped me develop a WordPress website, with some Shopify integration involved as well. The built theme and plugin customizations and implemented SEO techniques. Volcone worked in PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. 

Currently, they provide ongoing maintenance services.

What is the team composition?

I’ve had multiple points of contact depending on where we are in the project. However, my main point person has been Nick (Owner). 

How did you come to work with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC?

A mutual friend knew and recommended Nick. We discussed several ideas and decided he could help us build out our team.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $40,000–$50,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2017, and the work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

One of the top metrics I use to determine success is communication. Volcone’s culture and spirit definitely values and exhibits that quality. I value that very much. 

How did Volcone Web Solutions, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

I appreciate Volcone for their commitment to over-communicating without hesitation or frustration. We use Teamwork, MS Teams, Skype, and email. They’re willing to use any channel that works for us.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their technical skills are top-notch. I’m often surprised by how quickly they get projects done. What seems to me to be a complex project that could take a long time to complete, Volcone always executes efficiently. Also, if they quote 20 hours, they’ll have it done in 20 hours — they never overshoot. They’re real experts.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their technical skills are strong, and they’re great at keeping the lines of communication open. If anything, they could benefit from improving their internal English training. In general, they know what they’re doing.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Maintain honesty and integrity throughout the project.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a freelance web development studio.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC?

I had an overload of work, so I reached out to them for development outsourcing.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

One time, they did a year’s worth of work on one of my personal projects, and they worked in JavaScript, PHP, SQL. They did the frontend-and backend work for that project.

I typically reach out to them. Then, they work on it and send me a final product. They’ve also worked in HTML5, .NET, and MySQL.

What is the team composition?

My main points of contact are Rahul (Project Manager), Nick (Senior Web Developer & Project Manager), and two other developers.

How did you come to work with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC?

I reached out to Nick on a freelance site when he was still a developer, and he completed a project for me. I thought they were so good that I decided to hire them directly.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $50,000 – $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in June 2013, and we still work together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

I’ve been a developer for 20 years, and they’re the best partner I’ve ever worked with. If I’ve got a project that’s come in really quickly, they literally get to work and are available immediately. They haven’t let me down once in seven years. They’re an absolutely incredible, lovely bunch of people.

How did Volcone Web Solutions, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

We use GoodDay and Teamwork for project management. It’s great because all I have to do is post a task with a deadline and assign it to someone on their team. It’s always on time and of great quality.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work really stands out. I’ve worked with several developers and businesses, but their reliability makes them different. If I’m ever in a panic and I have to deliver a project I’m struggling with, I can reach out to them and they’ll be on it. I cannot speak highly of them enough.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to work with them. You’re never going to find anyone as reliable and high quality as they are. Their work is just amazing.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of The Star Groomer. I develop young talent, preparing them for record labels with business marketing tools they’ll need to appear in social media in a marketable way.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC?

My website needed to be much more current and marketable so it appealed to the artists and a public that is interested in my experience.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They developed my new website from scratch. They’ve been very good in the year we worked together about taking care of things when I reached out to him. He input things on his own so I didn’t have to worry about them. He continued to update the website as I gave him a new project to input.

What is the team composition?

I worked with Nick (Business Owner) and Rahul (Project Manager).

How did you come to work with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC?

They were referred to me by someone I trusted. That person had used them and I loved their new website. Once I spoke to Nick, I felt very comfortable.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since June 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

In the past, I’ve had colleagues in my business say that my original website was antiquated, and since then I’ve had a lot of people contact me over social media tell me how great and informative the website it. They want to know who I used to build it. They’ve made a definite difference.

How did Volcone Web Sotluions, LLC perform from a project management standpoint?

It was excellent. Whenever I email Nick, he’s quick to respond.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I don’t have any technical knowledge, so his was very valuable. They’re definitely hands-on, which I like.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only issue I’m going to speak to Nick about — and it’s my own fault because he did want to educate me about how to log on myself — is that the site is a little slow. The WordPress site they use is not as quick as it could be. People using it on their iPhones are having issues, I believe.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Allow them to present their creative ideas and options.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there. 

I’m the owner and chief technologist for S-FX.com Small Business Solutions LLC. We are a boutique technology consulting agency geared toward start-up businesses, small companies, and nonprofit organizations. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC? 

As an independent web developer, one of my challenges is what to do when I have more work than I can handle on my own. I needed to find an external web development agency to outsource some of my work.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Over a decade of working together, we've completed nearly 100 projects together. Volcone Web Solutions, LLC primarily deals with PHP development. I work a lot in WordPress, so they also create WordPress templates from PSD files. They've done some custom development and custom scripts. For large scale PHP projects, they build association management software from scratch that is implemented into WordPress. They customize existing solutions for human resources programs using open source resources. They also work with websites utilizing ASP.NET, Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce. We've even built a custom association management system for a client. 

I have a client that produces the folded paper instructions that comes attached to many bottles of prescription medicine. It looks tiny but opens up to a large sheet of paper. In order to do that folding, the company requires a large manufacturing facility and a number of machines. They wanted a way to improve that process. I brought in Volcone Web Solutions, LLC to help me create a custom script that manages their inventory of machines in order to increase efficiency. It lets them know what machines were used for a project so they can track how much each machine is making on a cost basis. It also analyzes the number of folds left on each project and determines when they can start a new project. 

What is the team composition? 

I primarily work with 4–5 developers on a regular basis. 

How did you come to work with Volcone Web Solutions, LLC? 

My relationship with them began around 10 years ago. I’d tried other web development firms with mixed results. I found them on oDesk, which is now UpWork. I was introduced to Nick (Business Owner and Manager, Volcone Web Solutions, LLC) and he understood my projects so I didn't have to dummy everything down to explain to him what I needed done. Volcone Web Solutions, LLC exceeded my expectations on the first few projects. They were the best for me, so at that point, I started using them for any overflow work.

How much have you invested with them? 

We spent about $40,000–$45,000 in 2018. The amount goes up a little bit each year, so we’ve probably spent close to $200,000 over the last 10 years. 

What is the status of this engagement? 

Our work began in 2009, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The quality of their work has been outstanding. When I first launched my business, I had a very strict setup. I designed all my sites in a specific way and I did my coding in a specific way. I asked Volcone Web Solutions, LLC if they could adapt my process into their work. They not only took right to it, but they also made recommendations on to improve my process. That makes it easier for me as we work on some of these projects collaboratively. 

Their coding is always well-written and clean. Their naming protocol for organizing content is done in a way that makes sense. It's very easy to read. I'm not scrounging around trying to find something if I ever have to jump into a project. My business has at least quadrupled from the time I first brought Volcone Web Solutions, LLC into my projects. They've given me the ability to scale up each year, increasing my workload by about 25%. Similarly, my clients see an average increase of 70–80% in engagement with their new websites. 

How did Volcone Web Solutions, LLC perform from a project management standpoint? 

Their availability is awesome. A full team is available during my work hours, and they have an overnight team as well. The main communication tool we use right now is Microsoft Teams. I assign tasks on there to their project leads, who then use Teamwork internally to assign the work to a developer. The entire process is clear concise, which I appreciate. Their communication is great. I get an update on what's going on every single day. If there's an issue, they let me know right away and don't wait until the end of the week.

What did you find most impressive about them? 

Volcone Web Solutions, LLC isn’t afraid to admit their weaknesses. Other freelancers will claim they can do everything, and then you find out later that’s not the case. I never have that issue with them. From the very beginning, they’re upfront with me if there’s something that they don’t know how to do. When I have a project that is out of their scope, Nick will work with me to see if he can bring in a third-party developer or possibly even a new hire. That's really helpful from a business standpoint. They make me look good to my clients by being so honest about what they can deliver. 

I am also fond of their willingness to improve their operations. Their developers are quite receptive of feedback and are mindful of all of our suggestions. They have continued to adapt and grow their skill set in the time we've worked together. 

Are there any areas they could improve? 

No, not really. If I ever have an issue or if something isn’t done correctly, they make the change quickly and with no attitude. They never fight me when I ask them to fix something.