Okay, last week I wrote about a US census survey that indicated more than 75% of U.S. small businesses did not have a website. Now I've just seen a Canadian survey that makes the case that only 48% of Canadian small businesses have a website. That means 52% of you don't. It is a huge improvement over what is happening south of the border, but come on, that's nothing to be proud of. How can anyone do business these days without a website?
"With the majority of consumers choosing to research and shop for products and services online, businesses without a web presence are missing a significant opportunity," says Jim Mulligan, national director, Retail, RBC Royal Bank. "Businesses need to be visible where consumers choose to be, so investing in an online strategy is fundamental to attract new customers and stay competitive."
In fact, 56 per cent of the entrepreneurs in the survey rate finding and keeping clients as one of the top business challenges that they will face over the next year, yet only 41 per cent of those surveyed promote their business using a dedicated website.
What is the inhibiting factor? Do the majority of non-believers not need a website? Perhaps many are like the consultants who have been recently approaching Your Web Department in signifiant numbers who are telling me things like, "My business is completely based on word-of-mouth, but now people are immediately checking out if I have a website after our first meeting. It's getting embarrassing, not having one."
A website is the new business card. It's impossible to think of not having one. And just like a business card many small business owners are happy with the raised ink business card website equivalent, which gets me onto my next tangent neither the American or Canadian survey indicated if the existing websites were any good. My experience is that about 80% of small business websites are truly awful. So, taking the Canadian example, if only 48% of small businesses have websites and 80% are dreadful then only 9.6% of websites are doing their businesses any good. That's like being attacked by a zombie frightening.
We know why this is, I've been over this before: money, time, inclination, fear. If you can't get your email up and running then how on earth could you even consider tackling a website? Yet, some day, you will have to. And we can help. Just call us at our unhappy website hotline: 1-866-986-3464 ext. 2 and let one of our trained website emotional support staff help you.
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
For years I have been telling you people that about 30% of small businesses do not have websites. Now comes this U.S. Census Survey from the end of 2012 that indicates that about 75% of U.S. businesses do not have websites.
Take a look at this chart.
Business Website Statistics
Number
Percent
Number of businesses surveyed
14,441,089
Business had a website
3,580,247
24.8 %
Business did not have a website
10,860,842
75.2 %
Female Owned Businesses
Business had a website
827,450
22.4 %
Business did not have a website
2,860,485
77.6 %
Male Owned Businesses
Business had a website
1,784,806
24.3 %
Business did not have a website
5,571,459
75.7 %
Co Male-Female Owned Businesses
Business had a website
666,330
25.2 %
Business did not have a website
1,982,767
74.8 %
So how are we to interpret this? How many are solepreneurs selling Mary Kay and won't make more than a few thousand a year? How many are consultants with one client and don't really need a website? That information is missing from the chart but it's still a pretty huge percentage.
One thing for sure, because of the recession more people are going into businesses for themselves. But I think it also proves a point that we discovered when we created LiveBuild, while there are bajilion companies offering free template websites most people want help with building their websites.
I wonder where that 75% live?
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
Hey, you customers out there. Stop screwing with our brains? The first thing all startups do is try to figure out what you want and we build a business around that assumption. After a few fits and starts when we think we are finally providing what you want you change things up on us.
When we first built YWD we figured that small businesses were tried of being held hostage by web developers who maintained and managed the customer's site for them. We were right that small businesses were pretty tired of having to pay for this extortion. So, YWD took off saving SMBs from rapacious developers. But this model slowly wained as other content management services came on line. So we came up with LiveBuild because one of our learnings was that SMBs just did not want to build their own website. And only YWD could offer LiveBuild. It was a 'unique value proposition' as they say.
Okay, so LiveBuild has been a great success for us and it's been alive for only a half a year, but now suddenly some people are building their own websites and instead have been using the LB service as a way to clean things up before launch. Where did that come from? I don't know, but we love it.
And many companies are now using LiveBuild to prototype their business, figure out their business model, then build something custom a year or two down the road. We're happy to have anyone's business for any time. We are a month-to-month service and this prototyping things is really cool. Helping small businesses get started with their websites is what we're all about.
The lesson here is you really do have to listen to your customers and make sure you are prepared to zig when they zig.
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
Tech writing is no different from sports or business writing. It all pretty much works the same. The darlings are taken to rediculous heights, the big get taken down, the floudingering get kicked a bit more and the down and out who suddenly rise from the dead, against all prognostications to the contrary, is hailed as the 'comback story of the year.' So please feel free to weigh in on my predictions for the new Blackberry 10 as Scott Thompson (AM990) interviewed me recently.
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
I'll bet that got your attention. Everyone tries to bait you with headings like, "The 10 steps to a killer website." While those 10 steps sure look doable, to the small business owner, they look like 3,672 steps. If you can't get to any of them then they are not steps, they are chasms.
So, while I feel your pain. I don't really care. If you're not prepared to manage your website to it's fullest potential then don't be shocked when it does not deliver the goods. So, please, heed my list.
The following is a list of items that, when executed properly, increase the likelihood of your website being successful.
Knowing who your market is.
What problem are you going to solve for your customers?
Concentrate on one aspect of your business. Your website should not be a smorgasbord.
What is unique about the way you do business?
How do you do business? Why your corporate culture will make others successful.
Do you have an inspiring logo? A logo is not a brand, it is the graphic representation of your brand promise.
Do you actually have an idea of what you want your website to do? Something that is measurable, updatable, fixable if it isn't working.
Do you have great content?
Clear, inspiring writing that 'sounds' like you.
Great photography or illustrations preferably not from stock.
Do you have a clear ask on the home page?
Do you update your website on a regular basis?
Is your website built on a content management system?
Are you capturing visitor information?
is contact information clear and immediately accessible? (Like in the banner?)
Can you give anything away for free?
Good luck and have fun. Don't say I didn't warn you. And don't be shy about asking for help or hiring experts to fill in the blanks. It will pay off in the long run.
LiveBuild™ For the Business Owner - We design & build your website for free and ready in 1hour yourwebdepartment.com/LiveBuild
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
Many of us would like to have things handed to us on a silver plater. We'd all like things to be easier. Easier to build the business, easier to get the cash that's owed to you and easier in general. But there are those of us out there who like a challenge. I'm thinking of the type of person who is handed the shampoo or breakfast cereal account at an ad agency and loves the idea of differentiating their product with only a clever slogan or sexy packaging.
Then all they have to do is come up with the brilliant campaign, spend a million dollars on the ad and many more millions promoting it through appropriate media. See, easy. Once again, something that us small business owners just don't have the free cash to do. You will notice a pattern over several of my business postings- the lack of money thing, which is also a lack of time thing, lack of focus thing, etc.
What it all comes down to is that you really have to decide what your business is. And by that I don't mean that brilliant widget you've been flogging. What I mean, is your business also about raising capital? Is it about being sold? There are many reasons for having a business. There are tons of small companies that start up near Google for the sole purpose of hopefully being noticed and then bought. How gauche you say?
The widget you are selling could just be the conduit towards this end goal. Therefore your website should not be directed towards the widget customer alone, it needs to be end-goal friendly, also. Mining websites do this overtly. On one hand they have info on their mines and their great people but have a very clear button that says, "Investor Relations". This isn't the best example because most mining companies are public and do need to get information out to investors, but what they really want is NEW investors. That's their market. Gold is not what they want. They want new investors.
If you're an entrepreneur looking for investment money then you will find out very quickly that you will be spending more time trying to find investors than actually running your business as they are two separate and hugely time-consuming activities. But if you are in pursuit of such things then you need to make sure your website serves the needs of your intended audience.
I'd like to add a shout-out to my business partner, Flavio, who's Thursday blog post was brilliant. http://bit.ly/114Z5AI
Paul Chato has been many things: a graphic designer, programmer, comedian, head of network TV comedy, game producer, 3D animator, playwright, event host, director and anything else that matches his fancy. Most of the time he is a managing partner at Your Web Department and is most excited about LiveBuild™. Check out LiveBuild
Okay, last week I wrote about a US census survey that indicated more than 75% of U.S. small businesses did not have a website. Now I've just seen a 
Hey, you customers out there. Stop screwing with our brains? The first thing all startups do is try to figure out what you want and we build a business around that assumption. After a few fits and starts when we think we are finally providing what you want you change things up on us.
I'll bet that got your attention. Everyone tries to bait you with headings like, "The 10 steps to a killer website." While those 10 steps sure look doable, to the small business owner, they look like 3,672 steps. If you can't get to any of them then they are not steps, they are chasms. 
Many of us would like to have things handed to us on a silver plater. We'd all like things to be easier. Easier to build the business, easier to get the cash that's owed to you and easier in general. But there are those of us out there who like a challenge. I'm thinking of the type of person who is handed the shampoo or breakfast cereal account at an ad agency and loves the idea of differentiating their product with only a clever slogan or sexy packaging.
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