Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Lippeatt.
Joe, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After working at a couple of different firms over the span of about 15 years, I noticed that a lot of small and medium-sized businesses lack access to marketing-related IT services. It’s fairly easy to find an IT company to help install computers, software and handle security. But marketing services weren’t usually included in those packages, and a company’s marketing team was left searching the internet for reliable, credible IT support. So in 2009, I started 24Moves.com, a company that provides marketing-focused IT services. At first, it was part-time and then went full-time about 6 years ago.
My other venture is HoustonPhotowalks.com, a photography club I started in 2009. We find interesting and unusual places to visit and photograph about once or twice a month, including a meal meetup so people can get to know each other. We now have 4,500 members on our subscription list, and have done things like spend the night on the Battleship Texas, visited a haunted/abandoned hospital overnight, and at least one big trip per year like a cruise or a road trip.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For 24Moves, it’s been up and down. Among our clients, we serviced a large number of multi-family complexes throughout the country, but that business has gotten smaller as apartment complexes are being bought up by large corporations and no longer rely on outsourced IT staff. So we pivot to other sectors, such as NGOs, medical offices, etc.
HoustonPhotowalks has been going strong right up to August 2020 when we had to shut everything down for COVID. We transitioned to having monthly online meetings/classes and zoom movie nights, where we watched photography-centric videos on youtube and had discussions about the content. We’ve been back up and running for several months, and slowly encouraging people to start meeting face to face again. On our Christmas Morning photowalk, we had a group of 25 people show up. It’s normally double that on Christmas, but we were happy to see those who were able to make it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about 24Moves.com and HoustonPhotowalks.com?
24Moves: 24Moves provides on-demand IT, Design Services, and Marketing support.
In-house IT teams are busy with security and maintenance, and may not have marketing experience. So when it comes to Marketing-related IT needs, it can feel like your projects are the lowest priority.
24Moves will help you sell your products, build your brand, and expand your client list. We have competitive hourly rates so you don’t have to hire more staff.
HoustonPhotowalks: At least once a month at HoustonPhotowalks.com, we drum up some crazy idea for a place to photograph and practice our photo techniques. We’re a fun bunch, no pressure, no stress. Come ready to learn and share what you know among other photographers. This group is perfect for new camera owners, novice hobby photographers, and old dogs that have been shooting photos for a long time.
Our group has 3 main principles that guide our way:
• Fun and Safe (we want you to have a great time, and not die).
• Honor the amateur photography clubs that came before us. Their enthusiastic interest in photography paved the way for the technological evolution that allows us to capture light today.
• Education, of ourselves, each other and the community. We learn our best techniques from each other, and we teach the community that photographers aren’t jerks, criminals or terrorists.
Any big plans?
24Moves: Looking forward to all new forms of social engagement and positive interaction with our client’s customers/visitors. We now provide video production for website/Youtube/Facebook advertising, something that many small companies feel is out of their reach.
HoustonPhotowalks: We are looking forward to traveling again soon. We’ve floated some ideas about travel and looking forward to when everyone feels comfortable outside of the covid issues that may be holding some folks back. For now, we allow people to participate in the way that makes them feel most comfortable.
Contact Info:
- Email: joe@24moves.com
- Website: 24Moves.com | HoustonPhotowalks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houstonphotowalks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/24Moves/
Image Credits
Joe Lippeatt
