Next week MicrojobEngine will be turning 1. We know we’ve repeated it again and again, but this is such a significant milestone for a new young team. Over the past few weeks, we’ve introduced each member in MicrojobEngine team and this post is the last one in this series. As people usually say “last but not least”, in this special article, we will talk to the big brother of MjE team: Huy Tran (Shinya Tran as you know in MjE Community).
Meet other MjE members:
- Thien – MjE developer: Read the full story
- An – MjE designer: Read the full story
- Tuyen – MjE quality controller: Read the full story
- Hoai – MjE developer: Read the full story
I love pressure and turn it into motivation to give immediate response to customers
Hi, can you introduce a bit about yourself, and what you do at EngineThemes?
My full name is Tran Quoc Huy. This name is not easy to pronounce for many of you so I prefer using the name Shinya in conversation. This is a Japanese name, I choose this because I like Japanese working style.
I’ve been working at EngineThemes for almost 2 years, as a Product/Project manager for MicrojobEngine.
How do you introduce about MicrojobEngine in 3 sentences?
MicrojobEngine is a WordPress theme that helps you open your business in service/micro job area. Users joining your website will have all necessary facilities to communicate and work. You just need to focus on marketing and campaigns, we’ll take care of the rest.
Why “MicrojobEngine”? Why not other names?
Well, at first we intended to name it “ServiceEngine” as these types of works are more service oriented. But after some discussion, we decided to choose “Microjob”. This is quite interesting because at least it reflects teamwork. The name MicrojobEngine is the result of a team working together and listening to each other. It’s similar to the way we treat our customers. Also, it has something to do with the SEO 😀 It’s my job to try to balance many factors.
Who are MicrojobEngine target customers?
At the beginning, during 1.0.x versions, we wanted to reach to customers who want to earn more income besides their main job. I know there are many people having success when working as a freelancer and want to launch their own business. In the future, we aim to expand our target to customers who want to build their business more seriously. I mean they’ll need a detailed plan, have budget, and serious preparation.
Why customers choose MicrojobEngine, in your opinion?
There’s one thing I want to share: I once received a report which said the demand for micro job is almost zero. But I didn’t believe it. If that report was true, there would be no interview for today.
Turning back to the question, I think customers buy MjE because of 3 reasons: interface, built-in features, and the most important one – opportunity. We have a complete roadmap, and user community. The opportunity is the same for everyone. But the key thing we want to give our customers is the Adaptation. I mean customers can learn how we modify the existing product based on feedbacks and discussion so it is suitable for different customers. Another important thing is Quality. In some cases, you might need to make significant changes and we (the Product team) need to involve in a significant makeover.
I love pressure and turn it into motivation to give the immediate response to customers.
Based on which foundation are features in MicrojobEngine built?
Everything from A to Z. I do the research and try to talk to some targets in 3 – 5 months. I didn’t think it would last that long. There’re some website owners I researched about have prevented me from connecting with them and researching more information.
In fact, preparation is an important part of the game. Good preparation will increase the chance of success to 90%. This is also the philosophy of our team reflected in MicrojobEngine quality.
Which feature in MicrojobEngine is the most valuable? And which ones need further improvement?
Translation feature seems to be performing quite well as it benefits many of our customers who don’t use English for their sites. You might be wondering why not Post mJob, Post request, Custom order or any big features. The answer lies in the diversity and culture. Customers come to MicrojobEngine from different places in the world. They have their own culture so the first thing they want is their own language.
“Hello, my name is Shinya. Nǐ hǎo, wǒ de míngzì shì Shinya. Privet, menya zovut Shin’ya. Bonjour mon nom est Shinya. Hola mi nombre es shinya.“
Some points I’m still not satisfied are: we haven’t found the best solution to optimizing homepage interface, this concerns me a lot. Second, when saving orders into the database, there are some cases that the feature doesn’t work as expected. We try to find a proper solution to this. But as you may know, we need more feedbacks about this issue. When the sample is big enough, our R&D will be easier and more correct.
“Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say”
In MicrojobEngine team, people problem or technical problem that concerns you the most?
I have a comfortable headache: MicrojobEngine Team. They get along together just so well, all for customers. The way they react to MjE user community is really positive.
At version 1.0, we had some technical issues for MjE extensions. Until version 1.3 we have completed our research stage for these problems. As you can see, we need a process. And luckily, all are solved before version 2.0.
Next is User Level System. This is probably our toughest challenge.
About people aspect, we need a space with enough freedom for all team members to raise their opinions, still, we need to be conscious in order not to fall into small-talk trap when discussing features and user experience. To be honest, I feel some kind of pressure here 😀
How to effectively manage MicrojobEngine team?
We work based on commitment. I don’t impose any limit about thinking and technology on any member. I try to make my team know that I’m the first person to listen to their opinions. I mean I want my team to understand that we are creating a product for customers, and we need to treat each other like in our real life with customers.
Of course, there are times that I give some warnings and raise problems about working performance because I realize my team sometimes get tired due to new ideas, continuous requests, or even personal matters. You know, in a long journey, we need to stop for a while, have a cup of tea, watch the storm go by and reboost the energy.
The key effective thing here is: Respect. Maybe today I’m not satisfied with an individual in my team but tomorrow I can listen to his ideas positively. No personal matter here. My favorite quote is: Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say (Andy Stanley).
After one year since the first launch, MicrojobEngine has received many feedbacks from customers. Reading those feedbacks, do you think MicrojobEngine is going the right way?
There were several challenges (about design and code base) at first stage that might have caused MjE 1.0 to go the wrong way. I took it as an opportunity, however.
I changed the approach strategy, turned it into Roadmap and Community as you’re using. So at the moment, I can say that MicrojobEngine is going the right way and meets customer needs. I know there are some that are still unsatisfied with us. But this is life, we have to learn how to listen and improve ourselves and our product.
What is the formula for MicrojobEngine success?
Commitment + Attitude + Quality.
Recently, MicrojobEngine User Community is introduced to customers. When we already have customer service channel to support customers, is this community unnecessary?
If you’re worrying, then the answer is No. Each of us was born to be good at something. User Community plays a great role in connecting and inspiring customers. From this source of inspiration, I am able to realize Our Opportunity (for MjE team and for our customers).
And of course, support channel is still the main place for technical questions.
Number 1 is always better. I don’t like being the runner-up
What is your ambition for MicrojobEngine?
The number 1 micro job theme. I know there are a lot of things to do to achieve this goal. But apparently, number 1 is always better. I don’t like being the runner-up.
One year from now, where will MicrojobEngine be in service marketplace theme?
I’d like to keep it for myself as forecast is the job of business analysts. On technical aspect, however, I believe you always want to use a good product and would invest your time utilizing it to best benefit your business. Currently, there are quite many players in marketplace market like WooCommerce, Shopify, and other SaaS (software as a service), but these solutions just stop at the scope of a digital product. I want to add a new name to this land: MicrojobEngine.
You don’t necessarily have to use MicrojobEngine just for service marketplace. It can be event marketplace or something, it’s not the official way but imagination is your only limit.
What makes you feel optimistic about it?
It has scientific evidence. I mean I’m doing an art & science piece of work. We have research and discussion about technology. Moreover, we want anything that is natural more than restricting to current packages.
What concerns me right now is whether I should keep packages. If I keep them, how to transfer to User Level?
Next week will be MicrojobEngine birthday. You have something to send to MicrojobEngine customers, don’t you?
You need a plan. Everyone needs a plan. But you need more than that – a good preparation. They are budget, marketing plan, etc. The second is the ability to realize that plan.
And don’t forget to send us bugs 😀
Finally, I want to say thank you to all MicrojobEngine customers. We’ve learned so many things from you guys, I have to say we’re lucky to work with you. For those that are still wondering whether you should buy MicrojobEngine, buy it now 😀
Dear audience, this is the last story in our series “Meet our MicrojobEngine Guys”. Through short interviews with our staffs, we want nothing big but to give you a better understanding of the people behind the product you’re using. They all have their own characteristics, dreams, and ambitions. But the thing is they are working together as a team, trying to create the best solution for your business.
We can’t definitely go this far without great support from you – our beloved customers. And it’s sure we can’t reach this milestone without these people – a great team behind MjE. Thank you for making MicrojobEngine as it is now. Good things take time, so does MicrojobEngine!
Next Tuesday is MicrojobEngine Birthday. Stay tuned to receive great news from us!
