Celynoir Design

You know what bugs me? I’ll tell you what bugs me! It bugs me to find a cool, promising new restaurant in Wilmington, but not be able to find out any information about them, because they don’t have a web site. It also bugs me to hear about a promising new business…my favorites are gift shops…and not be able to find out where they are! Or what they have to sell! Because they don’t have a web site!

I know that due to printing schedules, new businesses may not be able to get a yellow pages listing right away, but you can certainly get a web site right away! In fact, that should be one of the first things you do when starting up! You get a business license, some business cards, and also a web page. It does not have to be a multi-page, complex extravaganza with flashing lights, bells and whistles. You can (and probably should) keep it simple at first. Even a one-page web site can showcase your business to potential customers. And it would give you something to market in your local community. I like this one: dulcimer.codylindley.com

And this one: Keegan Jones

So, no matter what you’re selling, the first thing you should do is get your web site out there in front of your potential customers so they can find you! I will help you. Contact me, tell me what you have in mind, and we will get you started!

Even though I had a sneaking suspicion that lots of small businesses, particularly localized businesses have no web presences of any kind, this article confirms what I had thought. Most small businesses do not have a web site!

This is remarkable, in that any business needs to market itself. Word of mouth is all well and good, if you can get it. However, most of us use word of mouth to complain about a business rather than praise it. When we are looking for services or products, most of us (baby boomer generation and younger) go first to the internet to research it. Your business needs to be there for us to find. This is one of the most effective means of marketing your business there is, and one of the most cost-effective. Whatever you’re selling, you need to market on the internet. I’ll help you. Just contact me to set up an appointment to talk. You simply can’t afford to be in business without a web site!

I admit it. I hate paying retail for anything. I am always looking for the deal. However, when it comes to getting the right tools to do your work, and getting the right tools to promote your business, sometimes you have to pay for it.

Just the other day, I offered to redesign a young woman’s web site. She is a new business owner here in Wilmington. Evidently she does good work, and her beauty salon is very lovely. She wants to give a luxurious, elegant experience to her customers.

However, her web site does not reflect that desire. It is a free site created with the DIY site maker they offer. The problem is, it looks as if it were put together by someone with no aesthetic sense whatsoever, and obviously no idea about accessibility. It is, in fact a detriment to her business. But she declined my offer because, I feel, she did not want to pay the money.

Going the free route, trying to do something yourself that you are not capable of doing, end the long run is going to affect her bottom line. Her web presence is going to be a detriment rather than a boon to her marketing effort. She would actually do better to not have a web site at all.

I was willing to barter the work…a haircut for a redesign, perhaps. But all she saw was the dollar signs. Don’t make that mistake with your business. Go ahead and spend the money to promote and grow your business. These are probably the most effective dollars you will ever spend.

Pay for stuff!