Use a Website Builder to Establish an Online Presence 0
Use a website builder to establish an online presence.
I know there have been many blogs and articles about the subject of establishing an online presence as a business owner. But I think the topic demands additional coverage here. Why? When I attend networking or other business events, I still get business cards with no websites and email addresses like xxyy@gmail.com or companyname@yahoo.com. In this day and age, that looks so unprofessional!
I remember when I engaged with my first interim CFO services client. He needed help developing an investor approach, then executing on that approach. I had only been operating full-time for a week (having just left my job) and didn’t yet have a company bank account, website, or email address. Fortunately for me, a business acquaintance referred him to me or else I may have lost the client. Why? What caused the prospective client to balk? I submitted a proposal with my personal contact information and personal checking account number! The client called the person who referred me (I sat on the Advisory Board for that person’s company) to get assurances that I was a legitimate business. The acquaintance called and told me the concerns. I had to show my information in the Wharton School of Business database. The client (prospective client at that time) had liked what I had to say but I didn’t pass muster when he did his due diligence. Why? When he saw the proposal with my personal information he went online to look for me. And he couldn’t find me!
I had to scramble to set everything up. In two days I opened a company bank account at a community bank (I’m still with them), bought a domain name and webhosting, and created an email address. Using a website builder program (I actually used Yahoo! Sitebuilder at that time), I used a template to put up 3 pages on my new website. I then utilized my new business email account to send a revised proposal with only business contact and checking information included. The good news is that client accepted the “revised” proposal and went on to provide me with great startup revenue so I was in the black the first month.
When my acquaintance referred me, he didn’t say “She’s new. Cut her some slack.” He said, “I highly recommend her. Her company can give you just what you are looking for.” So the client thought I had been in business for some time. And that worked in my favor. I almost blew it by not having the external presence which substantiated that.
It is sooo easy to set up your website using a website builder. You can always hire an IT firm or web developer later to build out a state of the art website with high transaction or other capabilities. The important thing is to get online now! Reserve a domain name, get a webhosting service, set up your email addresses. Then use a website builder or template to build your website. Do it now! It will only cost you ~ $5- $20 per month depending on the service. The low end is the equivalent of 2 Starbuck coffees.
In this day and age, many people vet companies using the Internet. If you don’t have an online presence, people – prospective clients – may question your legitimacy like mine did. Or if you have a physical location, you may miss out on all the referrals your website could provide. Please, please, please, get a business email address with your domain name, i.e., dave@abccompany.net. and use a website builder to establish a basic web presence. Note that some website builder templates have built-in functionality that grows with you so the template may serve your purpose for some time.
