OnePager, a Startup Making Websites Easy for Small Business

OnePager offers small businesses with clean, simple website formats that present relevant content to users. Their sites, in my opinion are a great choice if you simply need an “online business card.”

OnePager, a Startup Making Websites Easy for Small Business – http://pulse.me/s/4yIzd

Have you used OnePager? Thoughts?

What Job Seekers Need to Know in Today’s Digital Market

Did you know your online social media profiles are just as important as your resume? Claim your online real estate and focus on your professional image in your job search.

What Job Seekers Need to Know in Today’s Digital Market – http://pulse.me/s/4z1kg

How Staffing Agencies Can Create a Business Listing in Google Places in 9 Steps

After six months without work in 2005, I resorted to the big yellow book. I literally found a YellowPages by Yellowbook, turned to the staffing agency section, started at the letter A and called each listing, asked for their website and an email address where I could send my resume. It wasn’t until I reached the F’s before I landed my first temporary assignment as a new resident in the Triangle with Five Star Staffing.

I remember printing instructions which was made for an added expense, having to make sure to keep a supply of printer ink and paper.

Google makes products available at no cost to businesses owners. These products, such as Google Places business listings are especially helpful to cost-saving small businesses.

Staffing agencies can provide job seekers with more information as they turn to Google to find jobs. Staffing agencies’ Google Places page should contain their web address, hours of operation, driving directions and any other helpful information you think job seekers should know about your company.

A Google Places listing can also list client reviews and pictures of the office building so that it is recognizable upon arrival. This information is made available on smartphone devices using the browser app, Google Maps app and Places app.

Staffing agencies, do job seekers a favor and create a business listing on Google Places – especially if you are recruiting Internet savvy, social media users.

Follow these 9 steps to create a Google Places page for job seekers today.

I fulfill speaking engagements and coach communication/marketing teams and small businesses owners how to use social media in a time efficient matter while providing customer service and positively impacting your bottom line. Contact me for details. I would be glad to have a conversation.

Your trade secrets? I don’t think so.

This post serves to present a case for buying locally and offers a buy beware:

I just had a tail-spin conversation with a company by the name of Egumbull. I am representing Mr. Collins, a 18-year small business owner of an auto shop in Durham, North Carolina. He is located on one of the most heaviest traffic intersections in they city. After  explaining to Mr. Collins that I show small businesses how to improve their SEO using Google products that are free to them and how to make their branding more consistent, he asked me to Google the phrase “auto repair.” He did  not show up.

Mr. Collins, a well read, slow spoken man from Orange County, North Carolina describes himself as a “country boy.” Tonight he told me, “I know I’m country, they just don’t know that.” As Mr. Collins said “they” he pointed to the phone’s receiver.

Mr. Collins owns Collins Exxon, is a busy mechanic, 48, and trying to understand social media.

After slowing down, and listening to Mr. Collins, I was able to understand that Mr. Collins paid for a service to boost his SEO and needed his contract to know why his business name wasn’t showing up in Google. He had agreed to pay $155.00 for 12-months and needed some answers. Mr. Collins also needed way to see monthly progress.

In exchange for changing the air-filters on my car, I agreed to sit in on a call with Mr. Collins, representing him as his communications person, with the Californian company he is paying to improve his SEO. The work he performed, at what I was quoted equates to my regular small business rate. Not a bad barter.

The California “dudes,” not understanding his slow, country-boy, southern accent, rushed Mr. Collins as he tried to explain himself. I patiently waited while Mr. Collins explained his problem in every detail to the impatient customer service reps. After they bounced him around, I offered to handle the call. I explained to the reps Mr. Collins did not have a copy of his contract and would like to understand what he is paying for.

After the reps picked up on my online communication and social media savvy, they grew suspicious. I simply went through the routine of asking questions. Questions facilitate conversation.

Egumbull, already accused of scamming businesses according to Ripoff Report, accused me of wanting their trade secrets. I don’t think so. I know I have a model that works. I am very confident in it.

After what I went through tonight, Egumbull, you helped confirm my model works. You didn’t take time to listen, nor to communicate. Furthermore, I witnessed you treat Mr. Collins, your customer, very poorly. You hung up on him multiple times, bounced him around and made snide remarks. The “customer service” was simply deplorable.

To SEO companies: work with small businesses in regions where you understand the language and vernacular of the people. You aren’t helping small businesses succeed by not understanding their communication needs, you’re hurting them — in the pocket.

To small businesses: do not hire “SEO consultants” who are not from your region, nor take the time to listen to your true business needs. Make sure the company you choose will communicate in your language in real time. If you communicate best with a consultant at a coffee shop, in your hair shop, or in your auto repair shop, hire them. Hire a consultant that will listen to what you want to accomplish with your business.

Choose a consultant that will help you realize your dreams. Hire consultants that will educate you in social media, teach you how to use it, how their children use it, how their customers use it and then, how networking helps bring people into your store. Do not trust consultants that will just say “they’ll increase your SEO and get you topped ranked in Google, here’s a pen, sign this contract.” Lastly, choose consultants with a positive reputation and track record. All my business is based on referrals.

I believe in small business, and I believe in free Google products for small businesses. I believe in communication and I believe in the beauty of words.

I don’t need your trade secrets.

I grew up on the West Coast (from Portland, Oregon) and spent many summers in Orange County, California.

After spending six years in North Carolina, I am continuously learning how to COMMUNICATE with people in the southeast. This is a must for me because I am choosing to grow my business here. To add, I made a choice to Marry Durham.

I am very invested in the local economy — I am choosing to grow a consultancy that helps elevate small businesses by telling their stories and their rich histories in the best electronic communication format that will reach the customers they serve.

Today, I sat in Mr. Collins shop to get an understanding of his client base. I watched a video he took and uploaded to YouTube of people playing the blues and making fun of Elvis in his auto shop. What other auto shop have you been to where you can sit and listen to blues live?

Your can see videos of Mr. Collins’ church services and a basketball team he coaches. This is a small business owner and a community member that can benefit most from a someone who truly understands the community and small business owners’ needs.

Mother of Three Graduates Cum Laude at Age 56

I am proud to announce, my Mother, Claudia Wyatt, 56, graduated cum laude from Jefferson State Community College on December 16 with a double major in medical support and medical office assisting.  She also received the graduation with distinction institutional honor.

A screen-grab of a .docx my Mom emailed me with a table pasted from her online transcript.

In 2008, Mom decided to re-enter the job market after raising my two siblings and me part-time, providing award-winning customer service for a regional power company part-time and supporting my late Father’s financial advising business over-time.

Mom’s choice to go back to school was strategic. She choose a course study that would blend her exceptional knowledge of customer  service with her affinity for information to position her for the growing healthcare industry upon graduation.

By using the Internet and engaging in conversation on campus, she learned about the Workforce Investment Act, we dubbed the “Obama money” that helps pay tuition, books and other school-related fees for non-traditional students.

Thanks to the Workforce Investment Act and the talented instructors at Jefferson State Community College, my Mom brushed up her skills in desktop publishing, database management, business communication and project leadership ready to fill a medical support specialist and/or medical office assistant position in the healthcare industry.

I see this program as not only a benefit to those sharpening their skills to become workforce-ready, but it is also an excellent resource for staffing agencies and human resource recruiters to build relationships with community colleges and gain quick access to a pool of talented individuals that have received occupational training to meet the demands of today’s fast growing industries.

To obtain a copy of my mother’s resume or the link to her LinkedIn profile, and to protect her privacy as she becomes more familiar with social media, send an mention to me @simpleelovlee or an email to leah [dot] d [dot] gordon [at] gmail [dot] com.

How to Expedite Your Job Search Process in 6 Steps

Follow these 6 steps to help you expedite the job search process by allowing staff recruiters and HR managers instant access to your work history and job recommendations.

1. Bookmark a Google search for the city you would like to work in and the phrase “staffing agencies.” Google will provide a listing of staffing agencies, their address and phone number. For example:  “austin, tx staffing agencies”.
2. Check out each website and decide whether you want to add your resume to the database. If the staffing agency does not support clients looking for workers with your skill set, proceed to step 6.
3. Create an account with the staffing agency site, if necessary.
4. Upload your resume and fill out all necessary information for the staff agencies’ database. Staffing agencies provide hiring managers with information on a pool of qualified individuals that have been interviewed and vetted. This information is provided to hiring managers through a database, some form of electronic communication (such as email) or through conversation.
5. Note that you applied for the staffing agency in a spreadsheet of the agencies and companies created in Google Docs (so that you can access this information from any computer, say at a library computer). Note the name of the company, the website and the date your added your information to their database. How to create a spreadsheet in Google Docs 
6. Move to the next agency listed in your Google search.

Bonus:

If you haven’t done so already, update your LinkedIn profile. Staffing agencies and HR managers use Linkedin to recruit staff.

Note: This post is a result of an email I sent to Mother, who I am so proud to say graduated from college at age 56! In 2008, she decided to re-enter into the job market after raising my two other siblings and me part-time, providing award-winning customer service for a regional power company part-time and supporting my Father’s financial advising business over-time. By using the Internet and engaging in conversation, she learned about the Workforce Investment Act, we dubbed the “Obama money” that helps pay tuition, books and other school-related fees for non-traditional students. 

A screen-grab of a .docx my Mom sent me with a table pasted from her online transcript.

Thanks to the Workforce Investment Act and the talented instructors at Jefferson State Community College, my Mom is skilled in computer technology, savvy in business communication, a professional data manager, event planner, project leader and ready to fill a customer service/data management role in the healthcare industry.

I see this program as not only a benefit to those sharpening their skills and become workforce-ready, but it is also an excellent resource for staffing agencies and human resource recruiters to build relationships with community colleges and gain quick access to a pool of talented individuals that have received occupational training to meet the demands of today’s fast growing industries. 

To obtain a copy of my mother’s resume or the link to her LinkedIn profile, and to protect her privacy as she becomes more familiar with social media, send an mention to me @simpleelovlee or an email to leah [dot] d [dot] gordon [at] gmail [dot] com. 

All Women’s Social Media Summit to Air on Saturday, Nov. 12

Here is a taste of the rich dialogue had at the All Women’s Social Media Summit on October 22. This video clip is made even sweeter with a sampling of the social media expertise I contributed to the panel! That’s right, watch me in this clip!

The All Women’s Social Media Summit will air on Saturday, November 12 in Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, channels 18 in Durham, 8 in Chapel Hill and 4 in Carrboro. This is a must-see for small businesses expanding their communication efforts online.

The All Women’s Social Media Summit is the ONLY summit of in the nation to feature an all women’s panel of social media experts!

Facebook accused of violating US wiretap law

Interesting read from http://www.theregister.co.uk/

A Mississippi woman has accused Facebook of violating federal wiretap statutes by tracking her internet browsing history even when she wasn’t logged onto the social networking site.

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in the northern district of Mississippi, Brooke Rutledge of Lafayette County, Mississippi, also asserted claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, trespassing, and invasion of privacy.

The complaint, which seeks class-action status so other users can join, comes three weeks after Australian blogger Nik Cubrilovic published evidence that Facebook “Like” buttons scattered across the web allowed Facebook to track users’ browsing habits even when they were signed out of their accounts.

Four Easy Ways to Improve Your Search Results

If you are an advisor or public speaker of any kind, your business service and reputation may be closely associated with your name. If you’re like me, all of my new business comes from referrals, and in many cases, my name has been Googled prior to my first conversation with clients.

If your name is Googled, does the website you use for your business appear at the top of search results? If not, follow these 3 steps to quickly improve your Google search results.

Before you begin, you will need to create a Google account to access the free products available for small business.

1. Submit your website to Google.

Add your URL to Google so that it finds and indexes your site. Think of a series of keywords that describe your business services to use when submitting your URL. Use words people will most likely use in Google to find your business. You can also add your name here also.

For example, if you are a financial advisor in Atlanta, Georgia, use searchable terms such as: “wealth management” “Atlanta” “Georgia” “personal finances” “financial expert” “financial advisor”

2. Create a free business listing in Google Maps.

Go to Google Places to create a business listing in Google Maps. Users will be able to go to your place page to find your location, directions to your business, hours of operation and reviews. Keep in mind, many users have Google Maps on their smartphone device. In many cases, Google Maps has a navigation feature that uses GPS to provide users with turn-by-turn driving, walking, and transit directions.

3. Promote your website everywhere.

What good is a website that no one knows about? Creating a site that no one knows about is a common communication pitfall business owners make. Your URL should appear in the signature of your email, on your business card, in your Twitter bio, on your LinkedIn profile… everywhere!

The more people visit your site, the higher it will be placed in Google search engine results.

4. Don’t forget the other search engines.

You can submit your URL to Bing and Yahoo in just a few clicks. As in #1 of this post, you will need to identify keywords that describe your business and will be used in the search engine by users.

Leah D. Gordon to Appear as Guest Presenter at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s SE Region Innovation Exchange

Leah D. Gordon has been invited to share her knowledge of how small businesses are using social media at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Southeast Region Innovation Exchange on Thursday, October 6.

The innovation exchange brings together the region’s top 50 producers for two days at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to share their skills in financial advising.

“A discussion on social media and small business is appropriate for a meeting focused on innovation,” says Gordon “I applaud Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s desire to learn about how their clients are promoting themselves in a tough economy.”

Studies show that 70% percent of small businesses promote themselves on Facebook.

Gordon advises clients on how to use social media to increase their web presence and build customer relationships.

You can follow Leah D. Gordon on Twitter (@simpleelovlee) or visit www.LeahDGordon.com for social media and small business news.