Blellow, What is Blellow?

There are many ways to give to family, friends and associates during the Holiday Season. We give one another gifts wrapped in brightlly colored papers with big bows. We bring bottles of bubbly and special dishes to a holiday gathering to share. We volunteer at our church, a homeless shelter or a food bank to give to others less fortunate. All of these things are good ways to give. However, sometimes there are gifts we can give that are a bit out of the box... this is one of those gifts and it's my gift to my goddaughter, Mandi.

Mandi is one of the most beautiful, creative and business savy young women I known. She has worked diligently developing her entrepreneurial skills and has created Mediarich, an interaction multimedia marketing enterprise, in San Antonio, Texas. While she continues to grow Mediarich she has created a new arm called "Blellow."

What is Blellow? First, the term originates from the hit TV show "Malcolm in the Middle." One of the character's in the show is Reese. In his own words, "I invented a new color... I mixed blue and yellow and got blellow!" Mandi was inspired by this new color—blellow and decided to add a bit more green into the mix. The result is that she has created "a collaborative workplace, an empowering community, and an affordable online talent resource that’s somehow more than just another freelance marketplace."

This is Mandi's solution to the “plumber problem.” "The plumber problem, for those who aren’t familiar with it, rears its ugly head when you attempt to, say, fix the kitchen sink yourself, without help and, usually, without the right tools. You go in with a smile on a Saturday morning, and you come out 10 hours later with a headache, bruised knuckles…and a busted sink. On Monday, you call a plumber, who repairs your sink in 15 minutes and for less than you spent on gasoline, pipe wrenches, and Band-Aids."

"For freelancers (or, Mediarich calls them, independent workers), the plumber problem works like this: You spend way too much time doing what you’re no good at. If you’re a writer, you get roped into design – mainly because you don’t know any good designers. And the design takes you twice as long as it should and looks half as good as it ought – mainly because your talent is putting little black squiggles on paper. Ditto if you’re a designer who’s asked to write a paragraph or two. Ditto, ditto if either of you get over your head with HTML, Flash, or JavaScript. And no matter what your genius is, you also get to be an accountant, a marketer, a project manager, a debt collector, and PR specialist. But wouldn’t it be great for you and your customers if you could just do what you do best?"

"For those seeking creative talent, your plumber problem is simply this: It’s such a hassle finding all the experts you need, coordinating all their efforts, and doing it all affordably that you throw up your hands and do it yourself. You go in with a smile on a Saturday morning…and, well, you know the rest."

"Blellow is like calling the plumber in the first place. Freelancers get a pool of vetted talent they can leverage, an IT department, ad agency, bookkeeping service, and more. And they get to spend time doing what they do well. Buyers get affordable, cream-of-the-crop freelancers, an easy way to sort through them, and a single point of contact, no matter how many pros are working on their projects behind the scenes. And they get to spend time doing what they do well."

So, "whether you’re a buyer or a freelancer, whether you’re a blue or a yellow, Blellow is a better way to get together and make some green.

Blellow is a Community for Creative Independent Workers
—Check out Blellow at: http://www.blellow.com
Mediarich is an interaction design firm which creates web sites, video and print materials
—Check out Mediarich at: http://www.mediarich.net

Contact Mandi at mandi@mediarich.net for your media needs and tell every creative media worker you know about the advantages of partnering with Blellow.

Mandi I hope Blellow grows beyond your wildest dreams!

Copyright by Linda Bourgault 2008. All Rights Reserved. Copyright by Mandi Lehman Harrell 2008 for Mediarich and Blellow. All Rights Reserved.