Why You Should Hire a Professional Web Design Company

Posted on May 16th, 2008, 02:05 pm
Filed Under (Branding) by Jeffrey Heiserman

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If you’re just starting your business, or already running a small business, hiring a professional web design company may seem unnecessary, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve highlighted a few of the more common arguments below.

I have a web site, and I made it myself in about 10 minutes.
Most web sites that are generated by do-it-yourself software use templates, which are stored in a database for any and everyone to use. If you want an online identity of your own, do-it-yourself software can’t provide it. A professional web design company knows how to translate your overall business objective into a visual, functional solution, using current web design trends; whereas, a template can be used by anyone, at any time.

I Don’t Have the Budget to Hire a Designer.
False – You may not want to admit it, but you just don’t want to have a budget to hire a designer. One appealing thing about web sites is that you can build onto them as needed. Most reputable web design companies understand this. As long as you have a well–designed web site with valuable content about your company, it doesn’t matter if your web site has ten pages or a thousand. This means that you can start with a reasonable budget if necessary. The most important fact to consider is that, in today’s technology driven world, you need to have an online image to stand out. There’s only one way to be available 24/7, and that’s via your web site.

They Know What They’re Doing.
Not to mention, a professional web design company has more resources. When you hire a professional web design company, you have a team of professionals that make web sites day in and day out, working to create the best possible web site for your business. Design, programming/development, and optimizing your site to rank higher in search engines, are generally each handled by separate employees. Would you rather have a web site created in this manner, or by yourself—learning as you go, and hoping that you’re doing things the right way?

Do what you do best.
Just as you know your business better than anyone else, a professional web design company knows what type of web site your business needs. Essentially, a web designer applies all the principles of graphic design to the web—only they know how these principles need to be re-thought so they do apply to the web. Trying to learn web design on your own will be way too time consuming, and will test the limits of your patience to the fullest possible extent. Running your business is busy enough. As they say, “Keep your eye on the prize.”

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5 Critical Tips for Small Business Owners (that want to grow)

Posted on May 16th, 2008, 01:05 pm
Filed Under (Biz Start Up) by Joe Witte

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By Joe Witte, Executive Vice President and Partner, Logo Design Guru

Starting a successful business is challenging and stressful. That’s why 80% of small business don’t last for more than 5 years. Of the 20% that do survive… only 20% of those will last another 5 years. So, what can you do in order to avoid going extinct like the rest of the small business owners?

1) Be prepared to sell

“Selling” has developed a negative stigma. If you want run a successful company, recognize that sales and business development are critical. You’ll need to fight tooth and nail to earn and keep every piece of business.  You’ll be competing with companies that have more resources, experience and better branding. Your customers will be buying YOU and the connection they make with you.

2) Remove your “expert” hat and Become a leader and businessperson (sometimes)

If you are designer, and love to design, be prepared to sacrifice a significant amount of your design time to manage employees, find new customers, manage your books,  fix the phones, take out the garbage, manage vendors… and the list goes on.  If in your heart, you only want to “design”- then I recommend you work for another company, or do freelance work. However, your expertise in a specific field will still play a very important role in ensuring that your employees meet your standards.  Don’t ever sacrifice your high standards.

3) Outsource

One of the smartest moves our business made was to outsource our accounting and bookkeeping. Instead of spending hours each week tracking our books, I currently stick everything in an envelope and hand it to our accounting partner, who provides outstanding accurate monthly reports. I now have more time to grow our business, and better information to make informed decisions. Some additional areas to consider outsourcing include networking/computer support, janitorial, payroll and design. I highly recommend hiring a company that will charge a flat monthly fee rather than an hourly fee.  This will incentivize them to do the job correctly upfront, and allow you to budget for their services.

4) Hire good people

Get ready, your highest expense is going to be payroll. Take your time to find the RIGHT person. The wrong employee can make your life miserable, and sink your company. The right individual(s) can make your company fun, productive and very profitable.  

5) Start small, think big

Now, I stated “thing big”, but I what I should propose is, “think of your end result”. If your goal is to run one small café, then work towards that objective. If you want to own 50 café’s then, make critical decisions based on that goal. That may include investing more capital in to scalable equipment and more experienced employees, so that in 1-2 years you are better prepared for rapid growth.  But most importantly, be prepared to sweat, suffer, and never be happier as you pursue your dream.

Joe Witte is a partner at Logo Design Guru, and has successfully started 3 small businesses including CentricSource and Travel Ad Network. 

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