Why am I Doing This?
Why am I doing this?
Because of all the things I love in this life, helping others succeed is what I love the most.
Today I thought I’d post a short entry on why I started this blog.
How I got here.
If you’ve read my “about” page, you know I spent 20 years coaching and mentoring mortgage loan officers. What most people don’t know is Mortgage Loan Officers are essentially self employed sub-contractors. Yes, technically they are employees of the company they work for. Yet, they are almost always compensated by commissions on the loans they originate. Their business comes from Realtors, home builders, and personal referrals from satisfied clients. In reality they are running a small business within a business. It was my job to help them succeed. I became passionate about it.
When I became a Commercial Realtor, once again I specialized in small businesses. For most small businesses, location has a great deal to do with their success. I had to learn about the industry my clients were in, who their clients were, what types of space fit their business model. Then I was tasked with finding just the right space for them to lease or buy.
All during this time, I was writing as a hobby. I wrote short stories, a magazine article, even a full length novel. The novel was never published, and didn’t deserve to be. I also wrote training programs, business plans, white papers, and case studies.
When I retired for the second time, I decided to take courses in copywriting. I figured using my talents writing for businesses was something I was used to doing, and I could get paid for it.
The “Aha” Moment
When I started to set up my own website, it hit me!
I built two websites with “Popular Domain Name Seller”. You know who they are. They’re the ones who say. “Buy a domain name from us for just $9.95 and we’ll give you a free website.” Both of my previous ones were duds. Why? Sure, you get a free website, but no one tells you how to promote it.
This time I found a domain seller and host that provided a ton of training on the proper way to build and promote a website. Now I had good tools and some guidance on how to use them.
While I was building my new website I made some startling discoveries. Here they are:
- People have changed the way they buy. According to a Google survey from 2012, 97% of consumers search online for products and services.
- Approximately 87% of the U.S. Population is on the internet.
- There are roughly 28 million small businesses in the United States. These comprise 60% of all businesses.
- 52% of small businesses don’t even have a website.
This last one just blew my mind. People start their search on the internet. That’s where the potential customers are. Why wouldn’t a small business owner want to be there?
The answer? I think they do. But, there are two major obstacles.
- Hiring someone to do it for you can be expensive.
- When you try to do it yourself, you run into this wall of techno-babble that is almost impossible to understand.
That’s when I decided to devote my efforts to explaining in plain English how small business owners could use the internet to be successful.
So…That’s It!
I want this website to be a source of ideas, techniques, and methods small business owners can use.
I know first hand running a small business can be both a difficult and joyous experience at the same time. I hope to present a wide range of topics you can use to be more successful.
If there are topics you would like to see discussed, please let me know by emailing me in the comments section.
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I am looking forward to hearing from you.
