American History 1988
Chapter 71 - 66: The Business Card of the Future

Chapter 71: Chapter 66: The Business Card of the Future

"It’s a bit off, Dean, move it a little to the left."

"How about now?" Dean moved the billboard a bit more to the left.

Miranda, with her hands on her hips, took a few steps back. "It looks much better now."

"OK, let’s stick with that." Dean took the tape from Arlene and firmly attached the billboard to the wall at the position they had just found.

Arlene was a part-time student Dean had recruited from the sociology department, mainly responsible for some of the auxiliary work for Price’s List.

Temporary customer service, typing—those were the tasks. Today, with the new office opening, she had also been called by Dean to help.

With Arlene’s assistance, Dean replicated the process for the remaining billboards. Five minutes later, the brand new "Price List" blue logo was hanging on the empty wall space in the office.

"Aha, it looks a lot better now." Coming down from the ladder, Dean was very pleased with his handiwork.

The former empty classroom had completely transformed, with the junk and dust swept away. In their place were several brand-new desks, and the logo representing the company’s name.

"I heard you registered a company for Price’s List?" Miranda handed him a bottle of cola. There was a vending machine not far from the office.

"Yes, since Ohio doesn’t have a corporate tax, why not? And even if Price’s List isn’t profitable, I don’t have to shoulder any additional taxes." Because the cost of registering a company was low, and also because of the tax exemption, Dean had also registered a trademark for Price’s List.

Having tens of thousands of users and advertising business gradually getting on track, all these made the timing seem ripe for Price’s List to become a company, especially after Dean’s trip to Case.

"Good, I also think Price’s List is incredible; it deserves to be treated well." Miranda watched the website grow day by day with an increasing number of users. Sometimes she even fantasized that Price’s List would become a brand known by everyone in America!

"Of course," Dean responded confidently, "today is just the beginning; the future will set sail from here~!"

"Dean, hurry and help me. Damn it, why is it always me who gets stuck with moving stuff?" Just as Dean and Miranda were critiquing the office wall logo, Simon’s disgruntled voice came from outside.

"OK~ Simon, I don’t trust others with this job." Dean went outside, where Simon was moving a series of tightly packaged cardboard boxes from the car.

These were the computers Dean had ordered from an electronics retailer a few days ago, and they had finally arrived today.

Now that there was a dedicated office space, it became essential to add a few more computers for Price’s List. Not to mention, Arlene always needed handy devices for typing up documents.

Together, the two quickly assembled the computers and connected them to the network. Phone lines and broadband were things Dean, of course, had applied for in advance.

"Arlene, your job is to type these documents into the computer and save them well. Get familiar with their formats, and try writing some yourself later on.

Computers aren’t as hard as you think; you can master them in three days if you’re quick. Oh, and if I’m not around, you’ll need to keep an eye on the phone too."

"Sure, no problem." Arlene looked at the brand new computer, eager to give it a go, treating it as an internship before graduation.

Arlene had inquired and found that, for the same position at a trust institution, there was a difference in salary depending on computer skills. Sometimes, this gap could be as much as 20%.

So when she saw the campus poster recruiting copywriters and offering computer training, she didn’t hesitate to sign up.

She wanted to support herself with her own hands and then further her studies at a better school.

Seeing Arlene’s proactive attitude, Dean nodded in satisfaction, "Good, keep it up, and you’ll become the most computer-literate girl at Cleveland State University."

Ring-ring... Dean had barely finished speaking when the phone on the new desk started to ring.

Giving Arlene and Miranda a ’just a moment’ look, Dean picked up the phone, "Hello, this is Price’s List."

"I heard you provide advertising services on your website?"

"That’s right, ma’am, we have nearly forty thousand active users, with more than ten thousand daily views. It’s a very considerable market; plenty of people will see your ads. So, ma’am, tell me your company’s name, and we can even customize an advertisement for you!"

"The Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, we want to place an ad in the most prominent place on the website, right next to the homepage’s logo."

"Wait, the Federal Reserve Bank?" Dean looked at Miranda nearby, who, hearing the words, winked at him triumphantly. See, the effect of leveraging connections turned out surprisingly well.

"Yes, we just need the best advertising spot!" the person on the other end of the phone emphasized once again.

Dean pursed his lips and tentatively suggested another option. "Miss, we highly value our partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank. However, constrained by our website management strategy, we do not offer advertising services on our homepage.

Of course, besides the homepage, we also have subdivisions like a financial section. Whether it’s for recruitment or sponsorship, I guarantee they will appear in the most conspicuous places."

"Our advertising budget is ten thousand US dollars, but it’s only available for the specific place we just mentioned." The Federal Reserve Bank didn’t want to negotiate with Dean, and the other party didn’t have the patience for it.

Mother F*cker! These big companies are all so tough; Dean couldn’t hear any possibility of compromise in their tone.

"I’m sorry, miss, we’d love to work with you, but it doesn’t align with the ethos of Price’s List. To provide the best user experience, we do not accept any advertisements on our homepage." Ten thousand dollars was a lot, nearly two-thirds of Dean’s net worth.

But Dean had set rules a long time ago; Price’s List might accept advertising partnerships, but the homepage was an exception.

He knew exactly what kind of website service the users needed, and once the homepage was littered with various random ads, the user experience would plummet.

Dean hoped the ad-free model of the homepage would become the showcase feature of Price’s List in the future. So, as tempting as the Federal Reserve Bank’s offer was, he still declined it.

"Dean?" Miranda, who had overheard bits and pieces, approached with concern etched on her face.

Dean shrugged. "It’s nothing, just a little disagreement. Miranda, thank you for everything you’ve done for Price’s List."

Although the deal wasn’t made, Dean was still very grateful for Miranda’s help. It took exceptional connections to get the Federal Reserve Bank to make that phone call.

"Dean, do you want me to go back and talk to my father again?" Miranda felt she hadn’t been much help, so she wanted to try and persuade her dad once more.

"No," Dean shook his head, "that’s enough. Thanks to your efforts, the school approved my request, and now Price’s List can operate on the NSF network legitimately, even attracting visits from students outside Ohio. Honestly, this is beyond my expectation, Miranda, and it’s all because of you."

Dean liked freebies but knew where to draw the line. Perhaps if Miranda went to plead with her father one more time, the Federal Reserve Bank might accept Dean’s suggestion.

But that wouldn’t be worth it, as it might leave a bad impression of Price’s List with both Miranda’s father and the Federal Reserve Bank.

To lose the potential support of a giant for ten thousand dollars would definitely be a bad business deal.

"Miranda, please convey my gratitude to your father, Mr. Mather. Tell him a guy named Price is immensely thankful for his help.

Because of the Federal Reserve Bank’s phone call, he realized that his website wasn’t worthless after all, at least it has been recognized by a well-known corporation.

And because of it, this Price guy has reignited his confidence for the future. If one day Price’s List can succeed, it would surely be inseparable from Mr. Mather’s initial encouragement."

"Dean, that’s exaggerated," Miranda couldn’t help but laugh at Dean’s flamboyant act.

Her father, Mather, was a smart man too; Dean didn’t need to explain so much.

Miranda, just help me relay the message. Mr. Mather will understand," insisted Dean, knowing that a smart person would get his stance.

"Alright, if you insist," Miranda said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders. "By the way, Dean, are you free tomorrow night?

I’ve found some students from the Business School and the Humanities College, and they’re quite interested in writing for Price’s List. I think if we all sit down and talk, it might lead to a pleasant collaboration?"

"Tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

Faced with Miranda’s expectant gaze, Dean apologetically spread his hands, "I can’t tomorrow night, I have something very important. But I’m free the day after, I’ll have the whole day to discuss the future of Price’s List with them, I promise!"

"Okay, Dean, let’s make it the day after then," Miranda had already thought about what stockings to wear for tomorrow, but now she decided she’d switch to jeans for the day after.

However, Dean truly had something very important tomorrow night because tomorrow was Ophelia’s birthday.

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PS: Getting ready to launch, just bear with me.

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