» small businesses websites

5 Quick Tips for Starting a Business

dawggeek — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:17:38 +0000

5 basic tips to head you in the right direction when thinking of a small business start up.

http://www.finditlocal411.com/blog/neighborhood-businesses/5-tips-to-help-start-a-small-business/

Mundane Service Businesses & Technology

dawggeek — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:27:46 +0000

Many people running mundane service businesses like maid service, lawn care, dry cleaning, window washer, etc think they don’t need to be high tech because their business is so simple. While you may not need much technology to do the actual service for customers you do need technology to stay in touch with current clients and to find new ones. Technology can also help you track your finances, scheduling, marketing dollars, etc. Don’t get left behind by letting your competition get ahead of you by out teching you.

Construction Business Slow in Georgia

dawggeek — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:35:51 +0000

Big news. Construction is down. People I know in Georgia in particular are not seeing much incline on residential work. Although remodeling is doing better for a few companies. If you are a construction worker or own a small construction business, I encourage you to use your contacts to find work. Go over your lists of people you have worked for over the years and give them a call or send them a letter letting them know you are still alive and in the construction business.

Use Facebook, craigslist, youtube, message boards to connect to others who may need your services. If you are not sure how to do this just google “how to get more business through social networks online”. Or email me your questions. If your work is slow then you have the time to do this. Good luck

Online Ads for Georgia Businesses

dawggeek — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:59:01 +0000

If you are advertising online you need to push the envelope a bit. We internet folks are good at tuning out ads. Our vision naturally focuses on website content and not on ads. It is natural for us at this point. So make sure your ad has some pop. A cool picture, a snappy headline, anything outside the box will help. Don’t be mundane.

The ad below is an example even though it is offline.

Let Your Business Die Alongside Yellowpages

dawggeek — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:41:37 +0000

Title is a bit harsh I know but the point is the yellow pages are dying. They are still effective for a certain age group but not for too much longer. Be sure you don’t rely on a failing business model to get your advertising message out there. The yellow pages book that is thrown on your driveway is the exact same thing as spam that gets in your email box. It is unsolicited advertising period.

If their business is failing how can they continue to help yours? Better seek new options immediately. Contact me if I can help you with an online presence.

Websites for Little Businesses

dawggeek — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:56:05 +0000

I noticed a McDonalds billboard today that was missing something. Their website address. If this was any other company I would be wondering why they left off their website from the sign. But McDonalds is different. They are so well know they don’t have to list their site. You and I are not McDonalds. We have small businesses. We need to promote our company websites on everything we advertise on, no exception.

Maysville Georgia Businesses

dawggeek — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:17:20 +0000

Just to shine some light on some businesses in my little town. I will list some info for some different small businesses from time to time.

One unique business here in Maysville is a custom truck shop called “Renegade Off Road” . They do spray on bed-liners as well spray on protection for other surfaces. They have custom golf carts for sale if you need one of those.

Small Business Ad Options Online

dawggeek — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:29:05 +0000

It must be mind numbing for small business people trying to figure out how to advertise online with all the options out there nowadays. Google adwords, facebook ads, fan pages, twitter, even local newspapers using pay per click / impression ads. Without going into great detail in this post I’ll post my general philosophy for a small business online strategy. I am talking about businesses with 1-10 employees not 100 people operations.

To get noticed online you have to put your name out there. First have a website for people to go to so they can find out what they need to know about you. To get people over to your site you need to combine online ads & offline ads. People still use paper newspapers & phone books for now, so use ads there until paper is no longer relevant enough to do so. That time is coming. Paper news & paper yellow pages will die it is just a matter of time. That is not a wish of mine it is just a fact.

Online you can use a combination of ads and free promotions. Create a Facebook fan page for your business. Invite your friends to join. Post relevant or just entertaining items on your fanpage. That keeps your business at the top of the minds of your Facebook “friends”. The more friends you have the more your promotions get seen. The more friends your friends have the more chances to connect to even more people. Don’t put up blatant ads everyday to annoy people on Facebook. Your friends will not tolerate it. But be helpful or entertaining and you have met your goal. Look at all the games like Farmville that Facebookers play. You can take that approach. For example just post a joke of the day and people will appreciate it. You don’t have to be boring to connect to potential customers.

Online ads like adwords or Facebook ads cost you money but they can be controlled and monitored. If the ad is not getting clicked on then just stop the ad. If you pay per click and there are not many clicks well you are not paying much for a badly placed ad. So improve the ad so it does get clicks. We all will pay for ads that work. With offline ads you can’t tell how many website hits you are getting from the ad. Online ads are much easier to look at and understand what needs to be changed and what is working already.

Ok I did go into more detail than I planned:) . The main point is to get your website up and create ads or free promotions to get website traffic. Keep offline ads going for now that lead to your website also. Any size business can do this affordably Many small business owners just get frustrated because it is hard to understand all the options online.

If you need help just contact me or do your research online.

Starting A Side Business?

dawggeek — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:22:20 +0000

If you are starting a side business or a business that evolved from a hobby check out the article above. It will help you hit the ground running. Some very good tips are there in a pretty short read.

Small Business Podcasts SBA.gov

dawggeek — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:39:58 +0000

Some free resources available for download. Could help your small business here in North Georgia . Podcast (internet audio download) HERE