Okay, the jig is up, you got me, I’m not who I say I am. For the last 6 months I have taken orders, sent out post-sale surveys, and corresponded with customers under the name Joe Vaughn.

Why? Because I wanted Thumbtack Press to appear bigger than we are. I wanted to be that mega-corporation with executives that light their Havanas with Benjamins. I wanted folks to believe we had a customer service “wing”. And I can’t really explain why I wanted that, so I’m just going to stop doing it.

So if you are a customer that has dealt with Joe Vaughn ever, well, that would actually just be me, Tony, hi. In the words of Stuart Smalley, We have one employee here . . . and that’s . . . ok. The good news is that Joe Vaughn bent over backwards for his customers and would take great pains to ensure 100% satisfaction, even if that means the company eats some cost.

I run the website, recruit the artists, take and fulfill orders, inventory and order supplies, run to the UPS store and post office, and help customers by myself - and dammit I’m proud of that! I recently read 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed by Steve Pavlina, and stupid mistake number 4. is the reason I am coming clean. In fact, I liked the article so much I donated a fiver to Steve.