SPARK Business Works

?? BIG NEWS!! ?? We are excited to announce that we have acquired Business Builders Marketing, a full-service digital marketing firm based in Bloomington, IL!? With this acquisition, SPARK is expanding our talented team and service offerings. We look forward to working together to ensure the continued success and growth of our clients! Full announcement details here: https://lnkd.in/gBJsfYeY

?? Django Girls Workshop is coming up on March 28th - 29th in Grand Rapids!! ?? This amazing, free workshop enables local women (18+) to learn programming and website development skills from mentors within our community! Applications to participate are open until March 15th! Get all the details below.? Please pass along!

Ever wonder who the smooth voice is behind some of SPARK's videos? It's probably our VP Jake Lonc (recording in a closet). ?? We love finding fun ways to showcase the many talents of SPARK Ignitors. Thanks Jake for always being game to lend your voice when we need it!

Does your website meet ADA requirements? If not...start here! ?? Here are 5 common standards to implement.?? PS - You can audit your website for FREE using the Accessibility Checker. It's a quick, easy way to check your current compliance status and start a conversation with your web developer. #ADA #WebAccessibility

????? Five-Star Friday! ????? SPARK worked with a local manufacturer in Michigan to build a real-time dashboard for use on their shop floor. See what impact it has had on their team: "Everything on the dashboard was put there because we went out on the shop floor and asked them what they wanted to see. Now, our workers no longer wait for someone to tell them what to do. The dashboard gives them the ability to be proactive and take initiative when planning production." If your manufacturing business needs help building custom software, reach out to the SPARK team to see how we can help! #manufacturing #dashboards #manufacturingtechnology #michiganmanufacturers

Does your company have a playbook? When done right, playbooks are a simple and effective tool to: 1?? Communicate your company's purpose, strategic initiatives, and processes 2?? Share information across different departments 3?? Promote transparency Creating playbooks is quickly becoming one of our favorite ways that SPARK helps our clients level up their operations. We're helping clients better communicate their: ? Company value propositions and goals ? Branding and mission statements ? Processes, procedures, and policies for each department ? New employee orientation and onboarding Want to learn more about how we put together killer playbooks? Reach out today!

Need a way to connect Procore and ComputerEase? Check out SPARK's PCE Sync Tool! ?? Our pre-built integration empowers GCs and Subs with accurate and real-time financial reporting of projects. With the PCE Sync Tool, you can sync: ? Budgets (Including Labor Hours) ? Direct Costs ? Contracts ? Change Orders (RFCs) ? Subcontractor Invoices ? Vendors Your whole team will love the Sync Tool. Here's why: ?? PMs get accurate data from Procore while out in the field. ?? Accounting team eliminates manual data entry between systems. Reach out to SPARK today to learn more! #construction #constructiontech #procore #computerease #systemintegration

HUGE congrats to the Votorantim Cimentos North America (VCNA) team for recently launching SIX new websites! ?? Working with the SPARK Marketing Services Team, VCNA was able to: ? Migrate multiple sites from a file server to a modern CMS ?Apply global styling to ensure design consistency across multiple brands ? Offer multi-language sites for their global customer base ? Launch six different branded sites Migrating and launching multiple sites at once is no small feat! Great job to the VCNA and the SPARK team working together to get this project across the finish line. VCNA is North America's leading provider of building materials and sustainable solutions. If you're in the market, check them out at vcna (dot) com! #websitelaunch #digitalmarketing #buildingmaterials

What's the best way to determine and manage the costs of building custom software like a mobile app or web application? At SPARK, we believe it's by taking a deep dive into the actual requirements of the proposed software (way before anything is coded or built). It's like building a home. You don't skip the architecture stage before starting construction. Instead, you create a blueprint that tells you how big the rooms should be, where they should go, and what materials. It's when you're creating that blueprint that you can have meaningful discussions around requirements and costs. And you can likely discover and avoid some issues you would have missed otherwise. That's why we start all our software projects with a "Strategy & Planning" phase. During this initial phase, your project stakeholders work with SPARK's Project Managers, UX/UI Designers, and Developers to map out what features you really need and the technology options available (based on your budget). Based on our experience, this initial phase has made all the difference in launching successful projects that result in ROI. Want to know more about the SPARK process? Reach out to us directly and ask!

How do you get the functionality of AI tools like ChatGPT without the cost of privacy? Get a breakdown from SPARK Sr. Developer Tyler Buell on how to build and use AI tools that are private, open source, and free (no more sending your data to OpenAI)! He shows how you can get up and running with these alternative tools and how to leverage them to become a more productive developer. Get the full step-by-step instructions below! ?