Brandography’s Self-Sustaining Websites Help Businesses Create and Manage Their Sites

It has been said that every person is your teacher. Brandography owner, Jason Dailey, believes this is true for every business as well.

“Each time you work with a business, you have a great opportunity to learn. The best scenario is when you’re able to learn what they do really well and allow it to positively influence your own business approach. But even when we’re exposed to negative business practices, we can use those experiences to improve our own methods of doing business,” commented Mr. Dailey.

After years of helping Minnesota businesses with Brandography’s web design and online marketing services, it became clear to Mr. Dailey that it was time to completely transform the process – making it positive, inexpensive and easy for every client to create a website – those with great technical savvy as well as those with absolutely none.

“Unfortunately, business owners are all too often ‘held hostage’ by their website developers,” says Mr. Dailey. “After spending a great deal of time and usually way too much money on their business website, individuals often find themselves at the mercy of their web developer. They’re not able to maintain their own site, they have to keep going back to their web developer for changes and corrections – continuing to spend even more money – and in the worse cases that I’ve seen, may not even end up owning their own website.”

Brandography has transformed this process by providing businesses with self-sustaining websites that can be easily maintained without technical expertise and do not require the ongoing services of a web developer.

These innovative, self-sustaining websites are built with marketing in mind – not just design. This means that even though Brandography’s website design is simple for businesses to manage, it also incorporates powerful optimization features to make it an effective marketing tool – attracting optimal website traffic and capturing value from every hit by extracting vital customer information – including email addresses. Additionally, Brandography websites are built using a mobile platform – an essential feature with the rapid expanse of mobile access.

Recently, Brandography launched ThemeSprout, a new website theme marketplace for the website do-it-yourselfers, where individuals can buy and sell website themes and plugins for CMS and e-commerce platforms such as WordPress. ThemeSprout provides businesses with website solutions while adhering to Brandography’s philosophy of keeping website management simple and approachable for every customer.

“Because we’ve had the privilege of helping so many business owners with their web marketing, our company has come to greatly value the entrepreneurial character of these individuals,” says Mr. Dailey. “By providing quality tools and services that allow businesses to retain control of their own websites, I believe we’re honoring that independent and entrepreneurial spirit.”

More information can be found at Brandography.com and at ThemeSprout.com or by contacting info@brandography.com or 612-460-0016. Visit Jason’s profile here: Minneapolis Website Developer.

This Weekly Digest for November 19, 2011 to November 26, 2011 was provided by TECHdotMN:

This Weekly Digest for November 12, 2011 to November 19, 2011 was provided by TECHdotMN:

Small businesses have taken a hit during the Great Recession, and many are still suffering.

As an answer to this problem, Allée, a consulting and design firm, will present its B4: Small Business Workshops series starting on Tuesday, August 9 at the Country Inn & Suites in Albertville.

The series includes four workshops in

1. business planning,
2. business marketing,
3. business development and
4. business environment.

According to Allée’s press release:

This new workshop series presents a tremendous opportunity for business leaders, owners and decision makers to take time and hone the skills they may not concentrate on every day due to the demands of daily business operations. The workshops are also designed for individuals who may be thinking of starting their own business.

It may not be in the hub of the metro, but the city of Albertville has well over 50 small businesses in town; some that have stuck it out during the Great Recession, some that have taken over where others have been left behind. Combine that with the amount of small business owners in neighboring towns like Rogers, Maple Grove, St. Michael and Monticello, and it’s a smorgasbord of positive economic potential.

“I’ve lived in Albertville for eight years and for the past five, have been a small business owner,” said Melissa Harrison, principal at Allée. “Unfortunately, I have seen a growing number of businesses come in to town only to be gone six months later. At Allée, we pride ourselves on being able to help others and to sustain small businesses. Someone who runs a pizza place or second-hand clothing store may not understand the importance of continuously updating a business plan let alone have time to keep up with the newest marketing trends. This is where we come in—offering skills and education to give small business owners an edge and a better handle on their own operations. To help them succeed and make a positive impact on the state’s economy and their own future.”

B4: Small Business Workshops Location

The first B4: Small Business Workshops series will be held at the Country Inn & Suites, 6554 Lamplight Drive, in Albertville, Minn. The series will move to other locations throughout the Twin Cities metro in 2012.

B4: Small Business Workshops Cost and Registration

Attendees can choose single workshop tickets ($79) or purchase the series for four workshops ($269). Registration is online at: http://b4planningworkshop.eventbrite.com/.

Workshop Speaker

Melissa Harrison, principal at Allée, will present the series. As a small business owner, Harrison knows first-hand the heartache and joy that comes with maintaining a business. Her candid presentations have been enjoyed by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, Greening Your Business Conference and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Melissa Harrison has a decade of experience working with businesses, nonprofits and entrepreneurs in the areas of strategic planning, marketing and communications. She has served on the Board of Directors for Minnesota Women in Marketing and Communications, is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators and has received multiple awards from the Association of Women in Communications, CASE and the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

About Allée

Allée is a strategic communications consulting and design firm located in Albertville, Minn. Allée works with small to mid-size businesses as well as nonprofit organizations to help craft messages, brand identities and marketing strategies. The firm’s focus is on brand strategy, design and project management. For more information, visit www.alleecreative.com.

Social Media Channels

• Website: www.alleecreative.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/alleecreative
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/alleecreative
• Blog: www.alleecreative.com/blog
• Event registration: http://b4planningworkshop.eventbrite.com/

B4: Small Business Workshops Schedule

All workshops start at 7:30 a.m. (check-in at 7 a.m.), include breakfast and a workbook, and are held at the Country Inn & Suites in Albertville. Specific topics to be covered in the first series of workshops include:

1. August 9| Business Planning: Key elements of business planning, documentation and execution.
2. September 13 | Business Marketing: Social media and new media trends for business.
3. October 11 | Business Development: Lead generation and new business development ideas.
4. November 15 | Business Environment: Retain employees; create meaningful, fun work environments.

I just completed researching a new credit card processing system and I am excited about starting to use Square.

Square is like a Paypal account that you can send money to by swiping a credit card on a little device that connects to your iPhone or Android phone.

We just analyzed our merchant account’s credit card processing fees compared to Square’s fees. In summary, Square was the same rate or better than the merchant account that integrates with QuickBooks: Innovative Merchant Solutions. Square has no monthly fee, no minimum fee, and no fee for the swiping device that connects to your smart phone.

Best of all, Square is very easy to use for small business owners like photographers, attorneys, handymen, etc.

At our law firm in Minneapolis, we are switching to Square so we can charge credit cards directly from an iPhone or Andriod phone. I highly recommend it as the easiest and probably cheapest way for small business owners to accept credit card payments.

Signup takes 30 seconds: Get Square.

Mark LeBlanc, author of Growing Your Business!, is speaking at a free event, open to the public, on Wednesday night, May 18 at the Mermaid. Meet other small business owners, and enjoy free appetizers, a cash bar, and door prizes. The event is hosted and sponsored by the Main Street Chamber.

Details and registration are at http://msctc.eventbrite.com.

Learn more about Mark and watch a video of him at Main Street Chamber.

Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership live simulcast is returning to Minnesota on Friday, April 1, 2011. Based on attendee feedback from the last event, he has modified the event by adding two new sessions on

1. Delegation
2. Communication & Personality Styles

Here are the details:

• Time: 8:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Friday, April 1, 2011
• Location: Ridgewood Church, Minnetonka
• Cost: $39.00. Lunch will be included in this price for those who register by March 18th (late registrants will need to purchase lunch separately)
• Registration: The process is simple. Give Dave Jacobson a call at 763-443-4348 or email Dave@FinancialFit.net with the number of tickets you want. He will send you the information on where to forward your payment.

Feedback from the November 2010 EntreLeadership Session:

• “Unbelievable!”
• “Best ever one-day conference I attended.”
• “Great job! Good facility. We’ll be using the info for our business. Thanks to Dave being the one that got through our heads – we’re almost to Baby Step 3!”
• “After attending this, I will not quit!”
• “My husband and I have been on very different pages in regards to his business. Thanks for giving us hope that we may begin to come together.”
• “I am leaving feeling inspired to run my business, coach & teach other leaders and execute my role as a leader in my family and my community.”
• “Amazing, simply amazing! Glad I was called to be here today.”
• “This event set a new course for our family business. It is a turning point and will give us new hope and set up endless possibilities! I am so glad we got to go as a family!”
• “I learned an incredible amount of valuable information. I have lots to change, but luckily I’m still in the beginning stages (of my business). I haven’t had all the opportunities to make these crazy mistakes!”
• “The magic of Dave is his spirit and his willingness to share and to make dumb behavior hard and smart behavior obvious.”
• “I was left in tears! Encouraged to hang in there- get up and kill something and drag it home to the cave! This class was full of invaluable information for anyone thinking about starting a business to any established business looking to stay successful.”

Because you care about the development of other leaders in your business, bring them with you to this event. You can visit Dave Jacobson’s website for more information and to watch a brief video that Dave Ramsey created to provide an overview of what attendees can expect from attending EntreLeadership.

Once you have decided that your business idea is viable, you’ll need to figure out how you’re going to pay for this great idea of yours.

If you’re planning to start a business or expand an existing business, you might need financing help. SBA participates in a number of low-interest loan programs designed for business owners who may have trouble qualifying for a traditional bank loan.

To start the process, you should visit a local bank or lending institution that participates in SBA programs. SBA loan applications are structured to meet SBA requirements, so that the loan is eligible for an SBA guarantee. This guarantee represents the portion of the loan that SBA will repay to the lender if you default on your loan payments.

The SBA Loan Application Checklist provides a listing of forms and documents you and your lender will need to create a loan package to submit to SBA.

Learn more about SBA Loans.

The Minnesota government and federal government do not provide grants for starting and expanding a business.

While there are government grants for specific purposes, these grants are funded by your tax dollars and therefore require very stringent compliance and reporting measures to ensure the money is well spent. As you can imagine, government grants are not given away indiscriminately.

Grants from the federal government are only available to non-commercial organizations, such as non-profits and educational institutions in areas such as, medicine, education, scientific research and technology development. The federal government also provides grants to state and local governments to assist them with economic development.

Some business grants are available through state and local programs, non-profit organizations and other groups. For example, some states provide grants for expanding child care centers; creating energy efficient technology; and developing marketing campaigns for tourism. These grants are not necessarily free money, and usually require the recipient to match funds or combine the grant with other forms of financing such as a loan. The amount of the grant money available varies with each business and each grantor.

If you are not one of these specialized businesses, both federal and state government agencies provide financial assistance programs that helps small business owners obtain low-interest loans and venture capital financing from commercial lenders.