Thursday, December 23, 2010

Our Very Own Running Man

We are suckers for a good charity, especially one for children.  So we were delighted to find out one of our LE friends, Gerhard, ran 163 miles for one such charity.  That was 52 hours of non-stop running from Cocoa Beach to Clearwater Beach, starting Friday night and ending at midnight on Sunday.

Volunteers were set up the whole way to run or bike with him for several miles at a time and also a support vehicle to carry all the provisions that he may need, including rain gear for when it started raining on Sunday afternoon. 

When he finished at midnight on Sunday it was really windy, cold & wet conditions on Clearwater Beach.  The weather was so bad, cruise ships were not allowed back into the Port of Tampa on Sunday as they were worried they wouldn’t safely make it under the bridge they pass through to get back to port. 

He was doing this to raise money for the Sunshine Foundation whose sole purpose is to answer the dreams of chronically ill, seriously ill, physically challenged and abused children, ages three to eighteen, whose families cannot fulfill their requests due to the financial strain that child's illness may cause.

If anyone would like to donate to this great cause, you can do so by either

Making checks payable to Sunshine Foundation
Mail to
Gerhard Treviranus
1731 Vintage St
Kissimmee, FL 34746

Or going online to www.sunshinefoundation.org/donations click on Donate Now and reference ‘Gerhard’s Run’ in the Notes/comments section of the donation page.

Run Gerhard, Run!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

’Tis the season for Scammers!

Do you ever feel like everyone is out to get you?  Well, don’t dismiss that feeling all the time.

There’s a new scam out that is aimed at business owners.  The email you receive will start out with this:

Do not disregard this message. Your email address was provided by the
Florida Division of Corporations regarding YOUR COMPANY’S NAME.
NOTICE
ANNUAL REPORT ORDER NOW DUE:

Then the email will go on to list your federal tax ID number and lots of other personal information.

It even goes so far as to say that, “Your email address was supplied to us by the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations.”  This is not true!

When one of our clients called this morning to ask what this was, we immediately took action and called the Department of State.  They have NOTHING to do with this company.  Another clue was the fact that it’s too early to even file annual reports.

This is a SCAM and should be disregarded.

The real truth?  You DO need to file annual reports after the 1st of the year, but not through Arvitas.  Annual reports can only be filed through SUNBIZ.ORG.

Ever have a question about something like this, call us.  We are here for you.

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas from the gals at Licenses, Etc.!

Our holiday gift to you:

Friday, December 17, 2010

Installed and Honored, Congrats to ALL!

Congratulations to those of you honored at last week’s Collier Building Industry Association Installation held at the Olde Cypress Club in Naples, FL.
Thomas Wegwert is now officially the 2011 President of the CBIA.  All the board members and all council members (for the Sales & Marketing Council, Remodelers’ Council and the Business Builder Council) were installed along with Tom.  Our very own Lisa Adams was one of the associate members to be installed as Secretary of the Sales & Marketing Council.
In addition to the installation, several well deserved awards were distributed to members.  Congratulations to them especially for the recognition they received.  It is because of their dedication to the local building community that our association continues to lead the nation.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
·         Builder of the Year:  Thomas Lykos of The Lykos Group, Inc.
·         Associate of the Year:  Stacey Herring of Fifth Third Bank
·         Remodeler of the Year:  Bill Varian of Varian Construction Company, Inc.
We are thankful for all of those that work to build our organization and keep the CBIA strong. 

Monday, December 6, 2010

Congratulations, November licensees!

Congratulations to the following Licenses, Etc. clients who were approved in November:
  • Matthew O'Brien of Wesley Chapel, FL.
  • Ray Orasi at ASAP Remodeling, Inc. of Largo, FL.
  • Steve Randel at S&R Quality Construction, Inc. of Islamorada, FL.
  • Bryan Meklir at BBMK Contracting of Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  • Melissa Kuzak at Advanced Roof Systems, Inc. of Wellington, FL.
  • Isabelo Rodriguez at Accutilities, LLC of Miramar, FL.
  • Christopher Hedges at Hedges Heating & Air, Inc. of Riverview, FL.
  • Jordan Poppa at Poppa Construction of Naples, FL.
  • Jeremy Smith at JKM Building Services, Inc. of Middleburg, FL.
  • Robert Sarduy at Kingdom Air Conditioning, Inc. of Miami, FL.
  • Robert D. Smith at Specialized Roofing and Contracting, Inc. of Largo, FL.
  • David Hobgood at David Hobgood Construction, LLC of North Palm Beach, FL.
  • John El-Koury at Freewheeler Construction Corp of Islamorada, FL.
  • Gene Yacobacci at Radon Mitigation Services, LLC DBA RMS Environmental Construction Services of Punta Gorda, FL.
  • Richard Ivans at FKI Logistex, Inc. of St. Louis, MO.
  • Brian Panter at Unique Impressions of South Florida, Inc. of Cooper City, FL.
  • Pamela Fajardo at Home Renovation Group, LLC of Cape Coral, FL.
  • Casey Dooley at Mike Dooley, Inc. of Tavernier, FL.
  • Marc Devisse at Tri-Town Construction, LLC of Fort Myers, FL.
  • Maynard Baker at National Electric Contracting, Inc. of Tampa, FL.
  • Jim Houser at Trim by Knotts, Inc. of Bonita Springs, FL.
  • Gerhard Treviranus at Gerhard, Inc. of St. Cloud, FL.
  • Jeff Puterbaugh at J & L Refrigeration & AC, Inc. of Naples, FL.  

We're also pleased to share the newly created or revamped Social Media Networking pages for these fine businesses we get to call clients:
 
Tri-Town Construction:
Kitchens by Clay:
KleanPros
Be sure to follow them all on Facebook and Twitter. Would you like to be set up on Social Media Networking sites, too? Call Lisa at 239.963.5369.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Winding Down the Year

As the end of 2010 approaches, there are several things to do for your business to finish out the year and prepare for the new one:

Talk to your CPA - Find out if there is anything you need to do to cut your tax bill. December may be your last chance to take advantage of special programs with tax benefits.

Check deadlines - Make sure none of your county or state licenses, permits or other requirements don't expire on 12/31 and if they do, take care of it now before the holidays take over and you forget. Also check on anything that expires in January so you can be prepared. Florida Annual Reports aren't due until 5/1, but you can start filing on 1/1. Need help tracking all your deadlines? Check out our License & Business Maintenance Services.

Review your goals for 2010 - What did you hit? What did you miss? Why did you miss them? What can you still accomplish in December? What can you do differently next year?

Prepare your goals for 2011 - Create your plans of action while you're at it. If you want to boost revenues by 20%, how are you going to do it? Create a monthly schedule so you can be working on these goals every month.

Plan your marketing and advertising for 2011 - How and where are you going to advertise? What kind of special promos are you going to offer? Create your plan and budget - this is NOT the place to be cutting back. You can't increase revenues without new customers. Don't forget to include the most cost effective marketing resource - Social Media Marketing. It's how businesses keep in touch with prospects and customers these days. Find out more about our Social Media Marketing Services.

Get your license! - If you've been procrastinating on a new license you've already tested for, what are you waiting for? All the fees and expenses you've paid so far might be tax deductible. Why not finish the process? If you're testing in December, you can still get your application submitted - and possibly approved - before the end of the year. Another goal accomplished! If you haven't tested but there is a license you want to obtain, start working on it. Register for the next exam (February), contact the schools, get your books and talk to us. There's no time like right now to get your license!

We all know how December turns chaotic with the holidays, vacations, employees on break, special closures, parties, etc. And then January blows right by as we recover from the holidays, catch up on what didn't get done in December and prepare for the new year. By being a little proactive, you can set yourself up to finish 2010 on a high note and start 2011 with a bang!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Thank You to Our Veterans

Regardless of the economy, regardless of how broken our country sometimes seems, regardless of how much we struggle right now, we still live in the greatest country on Earth. We can still have hope. We can continue to fight the good fight. We can keep working hard to make it through and eventually succeed. In many parts of the world, this is far from true. Only we have the American spirit. Only we can keep it alive!

Thank you to our veterans and active-duty military personnel for all of this. Thank you for protecting us so we can live safely. Thank you for protecting our American dream. Thank you for instilling and reminding us of that American spirit.

If you don't believe there are any real heroes anymore, you only need to walk into a VA hospital. Your belief will be renewed. Thank a veteran today! Better yet...hug one!

The gals at Licenses, Etc. each have a personal connection - as in family - who are active duty or recent veterans. We appreciate every one of you!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

New ETC Released - Did You Get Yours?

Our email newsletter was just released today. Did you get yours? Are you subscribed? If not, you can view it here. And while you're at the site, be sure to subscribe so you can get it right in your email inbox.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Congratulations, October licensees!

Congratulations to the following Licenses, Etc. clients who were approved in October:
  • Donald Simard at Dramis Construction Management, Inc. of Hallandale, FL.
  • Dwayne Thomas at Renown Roofing, Inc. of Fort Myers, FL.
  • Jonathan Arndt at Colburn Construction, Inc. of DM Colburn Construction, Inc. of Cullman, AL.
  • Gregory David at Shoreline Construction of SW Florida, Inc. of Naples, FL.
  • Michael Harding at My Aqua Blue Pools of Florida, Inc. of Casselberry, FL.
  • Lee Young at RMB Construction & Development, Inc. of Tavernier, FL.
  • Andrew Wojak at New Green Construction, LLC of Naples, FL.
  • Jorge Valdes at Technology Roofing, Inc. of Homestead, FL.
  • Darris Allen at Silver Meteor Installations, LLC of Orlando, FL.
  • Chris Ryan at Air-Ref Electric, Inc. of Boynton Beach, FL.
  • Richard Settoon at Happy Hour Pools of Tavernier, FL.
  • Neal Erbes at Artesian Plumbing, Inc. of Venice, FL.
  • Brian Linhard at Linhard Home Services PLLC of Naples, FL.
  • Seth McArdle at McArdle Building Co. of Naples, FL.
  • Ellen Witczak at Titan Wrecking & Environmental, LLC of Buffalo, NY.
  • Giuliano Toffanello at Toffanello Construction, Inc. of Hobe Sound, FL.
We're also pleased to share the newly created or revamped Social Media Networking pages for these fine businesses we get to call clients:

Imperial Fire Alarm, Inc.

Fringe Home Interiors

Klean Pros

Reliable Disposal & Recycling

Be sure to follow them all on Facebook and Twitter. Would you like to be set up on Social Media Networking sites, too? Call Lisa at 239.963.5369.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

New Florida Certified License Category - Tower Specialty

Florida has a new certified license category! You can now become a Certified Tower Specialty Contractor. The new license category goes into effect 11/10. We'll keep you updated when the exam becomes available and as any other news becomes available.

Here's the specific license information: https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?id=61G4-15.034

As always, feel free to call or email Licenses, Etc. with any questions.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Who's Saying What About Your Business?

There are so many web pages out there today that not even Google knows exactly how many. With many of those pages a part of social media, the number of conversations taking place on the interwebz at any given time is astronomical. And some of these conversations might be about you and your business.

Maybe it's yourself, family and friends talking up your business. Maybe it's your networking contacts, sharing information with their friends and customers. And maybe it's customers and prospects.

Makes you wonder what they're saying, right? If not...you should be wondering. They could be saying great things about your business, in which case, you should thank them. Or maybe they're saying not-so-great things, which you also need to know about and address. You can jump in the conversation, showing these people that you care about your business, your products and, most importantly, your customers. Or sometimes it's not worth jumping in, but it's something you can be addressing internally.

Either way, it pays to know what's being said about you on the Internet.

So how can you find out? It's actually easier than you could ever expect. Simply sign up for Google Alerts here. With Google Alerts, you can be notified any time a web page, blog post, etc., go up mentioning any search term you desire. Simply enter the search term; select the Type, Frequency and Volume; and enter the email address where you want to receive the notifications.

You can do this as many times as you want, with as many search terms as you want. Definitely start with your business's name. You may also want to set up an Alert for your personal name, other key personnel and even specific industry terms. Then you can find out who's saying what about you and your business!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Good Luck!

Good luck to everyone taking contractors' licensing tests this week! Once you pass, let Licenses, Etc. take care of the rest for you. As usual, we'll be at the Miami and Orlando test sites handing out business cards. If you see us, don't be afraid to say "hi"!

If you need to sign up for the December exams, you can do so here: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/servop/testing/documents/exam_applic_pack.pdf The deadline is November 13.

Friday, October 8, 2010

National Customer Service Week

This week has been a celebration of customer service. In today's economy, competition is fierce and customer service can make or break a business. Happy customers tell, on average, 3 people about their positive experience. Unhappy customers tell, on average, 10 people about their unsatisfactory experience. That could potentially be 10 lost customers or 3 new customers based on a single event.

We all know what beautiful and ugly customer service looks like. So what do you do to ensure your customer service is excellent?

Some tips:
  • Under promise - If you're not sure you can deliver, don't say that you can. Only promise what you know for sure can be done, keeping in mind that things can go wrong...and usually do.
  • Over deliver - Exceed expectations by going above and beyond what you've promised. If you've under promised, this shouldn't be difficult.
  • Be responsive - Strong communication can make a huge difference, especially in a situation that seems to be going badly. Don't avoid or run away from a potential problem or dissatisfied customer. Let them know that you're working on remedying the situation.
  • Be proactive - If you can avoid a problem, do something before it becomes a real issue. If there is already a problem, don't wait for the customer to bring it to your attention. Beat them to it - identify the issue, create a plan for solution and let your customer know what you're doing.
  • Communicate - Whether things are going smoothly or not, customers appreciate knowing what's going on. They appreciate progress reports, knowing that you're staying on top of things and that you care about them.

Make sure everyone in your company knows who really pays their bills - the customer. After all, you don't have a business - and they don't have jobs - if you don't have customers. Take care of them and they will take care of you.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Welcome, Lisa!

Lisa Adams has officially joined Licenses, Etc.! We are so excited to have her on board because she has so much to offer our clients. We'd like to give you a proper introduction, so here are the basics plus a personal interview with Lisa, herself.

With a background in customer service, membership director at Collier Building Industry Association and marketing director for a contracting company, Lisa has extensive experience in marketing and the construction industry. Her focus is always on the customer and delivering the highest level of service, making her a perfect fit for our Licenses, Etc. team.

Originally from Tennessee, Lisa now calls Naples home, along with her husband, a bull dog, a black lab and a sugar glider. She's committed to her Southwest Florida community, volunteering her time with several organizations. She has served on numerous boards and committees including Sales & Marketing Council at the CBIA, Business Builder Council, Interior Design Society Naples, and a founding Steering Committee member of the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals.

On to the interview...

What will you be doing at Licenses, Etc.?
I'll be heading up our new service offerings of Social Media Networking and License & Business Maintenance services and will also be assisting with applications and other marketing services. Whatever needs to be done for the customer, I'm there to help.

What do you think is the biggest challenge contracting businesses face right now?
To say it in one word: Budgets. Every company out there is cutting wherever they can to keep cash flow steady, but the one part they should not cut, marketing, is usually the first to go. How will people know that you exist if you don’t tell them?

How can you help clients overcome this challenge?
Social Media Marketing is the way to go. I set up custom pages that show the company in their own unique way and engage the customers to interact.  This will cause a dialogue that will make the customer feel comfortable to ask the questions to make the decisions they need to.

In your opinion, what is the best way contractors can use social media networking for their businesses?
To stay on top of their image.  Most of America is on one site or another and if you are not, how do you know what they are saying about you?  A satisfied customer tells 3 people on average.  A dissatisfied customer tells 10.  If you interact with your customer and listen to what they have to say, you can stop a problem in its track and make sure it never happens again.  Find out what they need and make sure you are able to give it to them.  Be proactive about your business and create an environment where the customer feels safe and sure of their interactions with you.

What do you do when you’re not working?
I like to play Bunco.

What’s your favorite thing to read?
Fiction. I love a good story. (We won't ask your favorite book...because we all know it's Promise by our own Kristie Cook...or maybe Purpose, the sequel...right? <Hint: If not, just nod your head and smile. That's what you're being paid for now.>)

Favorite movie?
Princess Bride has been my favorite movie since I was 8 years old.

Favorite TV show?
Definitely House MD.

Favorite thing to do outdoors?
I love to hike.  Yes I do realize I live in Florida, but back in Tennessee, I loved to hike.

Pick one place in the world you want to travel to.
Australia. I would love to see the animals that they have there all in their natural habitats.

If you were stuck on a deserted island, what is the one object you could not live without?
Solar powered car – could get around wherever I needed to go, sleep in it, keep cold with the A/C, stand on it when I need to be a little taller, and hide in it when animals come attack.

If you could have dinner with anyone in history (past or present), who it would be? Why?
I would have dinner with Princess Diana.  I would want to ask about the differences in social structure and if she regretted marrying into the royal family.  I would love to hear stories from the castle, the unedited ones, and stories from her childhood.  She is the rags to riches story come to life and I always wondered if it was everything she wanted it to be.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Did You Get the Latest ETC?

ETC, our newsletter delivered right to your email inbox, went out yesterday. Did you get it? If not, be sure to subscribe with that little form on the right or on our website at www.LicensesEtc.com. You can read it by clicking here.

Thanks for reading! Please let us know if you'd like more information on anything, either personally or covered in our blog or newsletter.

We hope you have a great weekend!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Congratulations!!

The end of the month means time to congratulate all our new licensees and approved applications. We encourage you to check them out next time you need their type of services and products.

Congratulations to our September approvals!
  • Wendy Zapato-Lento at Extreme Plastering & Stucco, Inc., in Rockledge, FL
  • Ricardo Davila at Dragados USA, Inc., in Coral Gables, FL
  • Tamara Ridings who now qualifies Klean Pros, Inc., in Tampa, FL
  • Douglas Riordan at Stockton Maintenance Group, Inc., in West Palm Beach, FL
  • Daniel Marvin at Midwest Fiberglass Pool Distributors in Sebring, FL
  • Roy Johnston who now qualifies both Stuart Paint & Supply, Inc., and Humming Bird Place, LLC, in Jensen Beach, FL
  • Daniel Zuloaga at Portalp USA Corp. in Naples, FL
  • Christopher Verbeeck at Loggerhead Contracting, Inc., in Fort Myers, FL
  • John Spinella of Apollo Beach, FL
  • Juston Harvey at Structure Cable Concepts, LLC, in Crawfordville, FL
  • Leo Uzcategui at Glass Design in Fort Myers, FL
  • Jason Loveless at Southern Air & Heat, Inc. in Lake Alfred, FL
  • William Debella at Dabco Pool Service & Repair, Inc., in Naples, FL
  • Eric Kunz at Kunz Construction Management, Inc., in Pompano Beach, FL

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Beating the Marketing Drum - Blogging (Part 2)

A couple of weeks ago, we discussed the benefits of having a blog for your company. Today we'll look at what you can do with a blog. Because you're probably questioning what you're going to blog about and who's going to read it, right? We know. We were once there and now we hear the same questions from other contractors.


Who Will Read Your Blog?
There are basically two types of people who will read your blog - those whom you tell about it and those who find it on their own, probably through a search. Since the purpose of your blog is to have conversation with (and market to) prospects and customers, this is who you want reading your blog.

This means you need to tell everyone about your blog, via social media networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, a link on your email signature line, in your newsletter...basically the same places and ways you tell them about your website.

The people who discover your blog on their own will find it by searching for certain keywords or because of comments you've made on others' blogs. (Aside: commenting on others' blogs is the key to gaining new followers who you would have otherwise never reached.) So, basically, they find it based on the content of your blog - what you have to say.

Which brings us to...

What Will You Blog About?
The beauty of blogging is that you can write about pretty much anything you want to at any given time, just keeping in mind your audience and what they would want to know. Ideas:
  • Your current specials
  • Pictures of a recent project you completed
  • News about your company
  • New products you can make available to your customers
  • New ways of doing things that benefit your customers
  • Informative articles that help your customers
  • Industry trends

For example, a home-builder can post pictures of a home recently completed one time, announcement of a new employee another time and information about how customers can help keep their home within budget yet another time. An air-conditioning contractor can share tips on keeping units maintained and working efficiently one time, a special on service another time and the addition of a new manufacturer yet another time.

If you keep a regular schedule - the best is to post at least once a week, preferably more to keep people coming back - you can plan out a month's worth of posts in one sitting. For example, week 1 - pictures on Monday and that month's special on Thursday; week 2 - a new industry trend on Monday and company news on Thursday; and so forth. Frequency is more important than length - in fact, readers like short blog posts that they can read quickly.

With twice a week posting, you just need 8 topics to cover one month and some topics can be repeated. And if something comes up that you feel compelled to share on your blog immediately, go for it! That's what we mean about the beauty of blogging - it's quick, varied and can be done immediately, on the fly, or scheduled in advance.

Interested in having a blog but don't where or how to start? Need help with the writing part? Contact Licenses, Etc. via www.LicensesEtc.com because we can help! We can get you started and keep you going.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

New Service From Licenses, Etc!!!

As discussed last week, remembering all the deadlines for a licensed contracting business can be quite stressful, especially when you have multiple licenses in multiple states. We alluded to a new service offering by Licenses, Etc. that can remove this stress for you.

We are now offering License & Business Maintenance Services! For a low annual or monthly rate, Licenses, Etc. will keep track of all your due dates for your license(s), business registrations, workers' comp exemption and county registrations. Not only do we remind you - we actually take care of it for you! We file your annual report, renewals, etc. As always, if there is anything we can't take care of 100% for you, we'll provide you with exactly what you need and instructions for doing it quickly and easily.

We can do this for Florida and for any other state in which you're licensed! You also get a FREE subscription to LE Alerts, our new subscription-based service that keeps you up-to-date on all things related to your business and licenses.

If you simply want the reminders so you can take care of business yourself, subscribe to LE Alerts. For only $25 per month, you receive:
  • Personal phone call to remind you to file your company’s Florida Annual Report.
  • Personal phone call to remind you to renew your Florida license during license renewal years.
  • Prompt email notification of all approaching deadlines, including tax deadlines, renewals, etc.
  • Immediate email notification of changes to licensing requirements, new licenses, new opportunities, etc.
  • Special discounts and promotions offered only to LE Alerts subscribers.
For more information about our new License & Business Maintenance Services or LE Alerts, contact us at 239.777.1028 or 239.777.8321 or email LEAlerts (at) LicensesEtc(dot)com.
 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

License Maintenance

All Florida contractors licensed by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) or the Electrical Contractors Licensing Board (ECLB) needed to renew their licenses by August 31, 2010. Hopefully, you've already taken care of this!

License renewals serve as a reminder of all the things contractors and business owners have to stay on top of to keep their businesses running. Most of our clients remember to renew their licenses, probably because of all the reminders they're given - from the state, from continuing education providers and from us. Still, some forget. And then there are all the other things that slip through the cracks:

  • Business Annual Reports - In Florida, these are due every year by May 1. This is totally separate from your license. Every business, whether contracting or not, must file this report. If you miss the deadline, it's a $400 penalty. Ouch!! If you don't do it at all, the state dissolves your company and you are technically out of business.
  • Local Business Taxes - Formerly known as Occupational Licenses in Florida, these are county taxes that must be paid every year, usually only in your "home" county. Counties differ on the due dates. In some counties, it's the same day every year. In others, it's the anniversary date of when you first filed. If you don't pay on time, more penalties. And you won't be able to pull permits.
  • County registration of your state license - Some Florida counties only require you to register once and you're good until something changes with your license. Other county building departments require that you maintain registration every year. Unlike Local Business Taxes, county registration is required in virtually every county you work in. You can't pull permits without it. So be sure to stay on top of all of these!
  • Workers Compensation Exemption - This expires every two years from the date your receipt was issued. If you don't renew in time, you can fall into extensive legal issues with the state and licensing board.

If you have multiple licenses, the above might be multiplied. If you have licenses in other states, the headache's increased exponentially.

We have good news for you! Licenses, Etc., is putting together a new offering of License & Business Maintenance services. Stay tuned to find out how we can remove your headache. Want to know more immediately? Contact us through www.LicensesEtc.com.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Beating the Marketing Drum - Blogging (Part 1)

We briefly discussed some of the benefits of Social Media Marketing (SMM) in the August issue of our ETC newsletter. Benefits such as:

  • Opening conversation with prospects.
  • Keeping your business in the fronts of people's minds, so when they need your type of work, your business is the first that comes to mind.
  • Improving search engine rankings for your website.

We mentioned Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube videos and contractor-specific forums. What we didn't discuss is blogging and e-zines/e-newsletters. Although the latter isn't necessarily social media marketing, it goes hand-in-hand with blogging.

Why should you blog? It took us a long time to realize the potential benefits of having a blog for Licenses, Etc., and you're probably thinking the same things. What do I blog about? How is that helpful to my business? We already do a newsletter, why should we blog, too?

If nothing else, blogging boosts search engine rankings for your website. Every time you blog, you're putting up a new web page with a link back to your main website. Google and other search engines pick up on those links as increased popularity of your page and, therefore, increases your ranking. If you use Blogger, which is owned by Google, your blog itself ranks high on the search engine results. People click on your blog, like what you have to say and either call you right away (assuming your phone number's on your blog!) or click through to your website for more information.

Like other SMM sites, blogging allows for conversation with your prospects and customers. See that Comment form below? That allows you to leave comments to us, replying to what we have to say in our post. Then we can reply to your comment and...voila!...we have a two-way conversation going (and when more people comment, it can be even more than two-way). Newsletters/e-zines are a one-way conversation - you speaking to your prospects and customers without the opportunity for them to chime in.

Newsletters are still plenty useful, however. Think of them as ways to create questions so prospects/customers must contact you for answers, giving you opportunity to solidify your relationship and close the next sale. You can make your blog and newsletter work together by including links in your newsletter that point back to info-packed posts on your blog. And every click-through on each one adds points to your search engine ranking.

Still not convinced? Still questioning what to do with a blog? We'll talk about it more in future posts. If you're ready to get started, though, and don't know how, contact Chrissi (chrissi[dot]jackson[at]licensesetc[dot]com) or Kristie (kristie[dot]cook[at]licensesetc[dot]com) at Licenses, Etc. about our new SMM services.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Long Weekend

We hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend! Of course, we will be closed Monday to rest from all our labors this year. :-)

It seems that things start to pick up after Labor Day. Kids are in school, we've settled into new routines and the snowbirds and tourists start to return. It's the perfect time to get back to work on growing your business, finishing your licensing process (ahem) and looking for new opportunities. Perhaps it's time to look at different kinds of licenses - remember, there are new home inspection and mold-related licenses in Florida - or other states.

Make sure your marketing and advertising is ready for Fall home improvements, seasonal homeowners needing repairs and renovations while they're here, the holidays, etc. Think about using social media marketing to reach out to your customers and prospects and keep your business name at the top of their minds.

For now, though, enjoy the long weekend break. We will be!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Other Relevant Blogs to Follow

Wondering what benefits blogging has for you? Well, there are tons of industry blogs, providing a plethora of information to help you with your business, whether it's with making money, saving money, improving processes, making connections...it's all out there. Here are just ten we found to get you started:

  1. 3D Architectural Solutions
  2. The Construction Contractor's Digest
  3. Construction Marketing Ideas
  4. Markup and Profit Blog (subscribe to their newsletter, too - always has great info for improving your business)
  5. Help Everybody Everyday (despite the title, this blog really is for Architects, Engineers & Construction professionals)
  6. Sense of Place - An Architect's Point of View
  7. The New Green House
  8. The Construction Contract Review
  9. South Florida Custom Home Builder (good example of how you can use a blog for your customers and contacts)
  10. Construction Informer

Your head is probably swimming by now with all this information, so we'll stop here. There are so many relevant blogs out there, though, and we'll let you know as we discover some more gems.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for Licenses, Etc., your solution for contractor licensing and marketing needs. Here we will keep you up-to-date on contractor licensing changes and news, industry happenings, new services from us and fun info about us, our clients and the industry. Stay tuned as we grow this blog. In the meantime, you can check us out at www.LicensesEtc.com.