Take 5 with me – West Georgia Living feature

Was honored to be profiled in the “Take 5” spotlight in West Georgia Living’s May/June issue. Take 5’s current focus is on entrepreneurial women in its tri-county coverage area.

Love to shop local? Time to put up or shut up.

How big of a “Shop Local” proponent are you? Got a sticker on your car? Great. Reposted a “Shop Local” meme to Facebook? Swell. But how many reviews have you written for your favorite local businesses? Time to put up or shut up.

If you run out of actually good blogging ideas

If you read much of anything about business websites you’ll learn that blogging helps reach more of the people that care about what you’re saying. But when you haven’t done it for a long time, or at all, it seems hard to get started. Maybe you actually don’t mind writing. But what to write? With … Read more

Inexperience is no excuse for being a jerk

Some of the people who are interested enough to visit your website and read your blog will also care about what you’re selling, some of the time. Yep – even if a reader is compelled to visit your website and read your post, he might not be interested in what else you offer. Don’t worry … Read more

How to find a good web designer for your small business website

How to find a good web designer or developer for your small business site

In April of 2014, Forbes.com contributor Mark Cenicola published an article entitled Nine Questions You Should Absolutely Ask Your Future Web Developer. The article has some great advice aimed at helping busy small business owners make more informed decisions when it comes to getting help with their websites. It’s unlikely you’ll find a good web designer … Read more

A small leak will sink a great ship.

A small leak

How much does an average customer bring to your business over the course of a year? What about a good customer? You know – the ones for whom your products or services make the most difference, and they know it? Now think about how long your relationship with that customer is likely to last, and the amount of … Read more

Business failure, “obvious” assumptions & armchair quarterbacking

A while back I wrote this: Assuming you’ve got something people want, you deliver it with a smile, you’re priced to give customers a fair deal while making a fair profit, and your location is sufficiently convenient and comfortable, and you have a decent website, the most important thing you can do to grow and thrive … Read more

Local therapeutic massage website designs

I thought it would be interesting to do a side-by-side visual comparison of the designs of competing websites. This one is comprised of sites that come up in Google searches for keywords found organically on the Douglasville Therapeutic Massage website. Douglasville Therapeutic Massage is a client of the simpler web. Click on an image to … Read more

Awesome Turnout for Station Loft Works Ribbon Cutting

There was a whole lotta buzz about Station Loft Works at this morning’s Douglasville B2B meeting. When I arrived at the ribbon cutting just before lunch, the place was hopping. Can you tell I am super happy/thankful/excited that owners Gwen Vega and Barry Oliver have graced downtown D’ville with this wonderful co-working space? I’m publishing this … Read more

Atlanta's ReInspiration Store

5 selfish reasons to shop local

There are so many reasons to love the Internet. We never have to wonder long about anything – we just Google it. It helps us communicate more effectively with family, friends, colleagues and customers. We can learn a lot, often for free, without setting foot inside a classroom. And when it’s time to shop, we … Read more

How do you compete with “WII-FM”?

Over at Small Biz Survival, author Glenn Muske offers solid advice for aspiring small business owners – and, really, any of us already running a small business: A good idea that offers benefits to the customer, coupled with a solid marketing plan and great customer service, can turn into a winning business idea. This is … Read more