Q. I want a divorce from Facebook.
A. Recent developments have caused a lot of folks to want to part ways with Facebook and join other social media groups. But they are finding it much like ending a relationship that they, for the most part, enjoyed and profited from. Remember, Facebook started about 16 years ago. Over that time, we've shared information with hundreds or even thousands of people. We've reconnected with old friends and classmates. And, Facebook has collected enough information on each of us to know exactly what our preferences are politically, religiously, and whether we prefer chicken over beef or a meatless diet. In other words, they know us as well as a spouse knows us.
And leaving them might mean leaving the "friends" we've gained as well as the followers of our business and social life. Other sites have started up causing many to join without actually abandoning Facebook. From a business standpoint, the new sites haven't existed long enough to gather the data used to zero in on our target market--and many of them are designed specifically to avoid such invasions.
Algorithms take time to develop, so expectations of these sites to generate sales or other engagements should be low for now. Most likely, Facebook is keeping track of anyone that posts that they are joining Parler or MeWe and will add that information to their growing list of what they know about you. They're like the ex that kept stalking you even after you said, "We're done."
From a purely economic standpoint, Facebook will continue to provide a high ROI. The other sites will gain traction as more people move or add this platform to their marketing menu. Time will tell whether the new sites will be able to monetize quickly enough to stay afloat or become a viable option for business use.
Stay tuned! We are keeping a close eye on the best options for business owners!

​Every business will either eventually either close or be past to the next generation or sold to a new owner. That demands an exit strategy even if the business is new. Your exit strategy will vary based on what assets are part of the business. There are many important aspects to realize as transferable assets.
1. Real estate and improvements. Does your business have a visible commercial space that any subsequent business owner would desire? What about any specialized equipment or build-outs that are critical to the business you own?
2. Customer base.
Do you keep a database of customers that a new owner would need to continue the business? If not, why not?
3. Website and Social media followers.
Your website is an asset that is part of the value of your company. Particularly, your domain name may be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Followers on Facebook, Instagram and other media can be worth paying for to a new owner.
4. Reputation.
This is referred to as "goodwill." It's also considered "blue sky." Your reputation as a business entity can be a positive or negative as it relates to value. How you have managed reviews and customer complaints can affect your valuation and a prospective buyer's impression of any business.
5. Financial value.
Most business transitions involve the buyer obtaining financing to acquire your "going concern" business. Having accurate financials that are current will be a critical part of justifying the sales price and make it possible for the buyer to be approved for a loan. While every business owner likes to minimize their tax liability, it is important to not understate revenue or overstate expenses when filing tax returns.
Having an independent analysis of your financials that demonstrate the amount of financing the business can support as part of your sales strategy can not only help you get your price, but also assist a buyer when they go to their lender.
6. Condition.
Deferred maintenance of the business property tells a story of the profitability of a business. In residential real estate, "staging" has become an important part of the sales process. The same is true of commercial and business sales. If the buyer feels they will have to make immediate improvements in the appearance, signage or other upgrades it will dramatically affect what they will be willing to pay.
Waking Girl Company has helped many of their clients from coast to coast in the succession process. Having decades of experience in real estate sales, lending and marketing with members of their team, makes them a great first contact in making plans to sell.
775-544-6612

A business owner asks, "Can I get more traffic to my website without getting a new website?"
Possibly!
Are you currently receiving enough new clients through your website to keep you busy?
If yes, then you probably don't need a new website to continue your normal operations. However, your website may be missing out on key tools and resources that will improve the experience for customers, and decrease the amount of time you need to spend with customers.
If you are not currently receiving enough new clients, then it doesn't matter how much traffic we send to your site, we don't know that your website will work when customers get there.
Huh?
The process of converting people to customers online is this:
1. Get people to your website.
2. Provide a call to action (call, sign up, register, enroll, schedule, book, buy now).
3. Follow up with those who take action (close the deal, provide the service, send the product).
If you have a website already, but you're not getting customers from it, then you need a new website.
Why?
-The current website was not built for SEO
and/or
-The current website was not built with a solid offer and call to action
We are great at building websites that climb the ranks of Google.
We are also great at building out a reasonable call to action that will get your traffic excited about being your customer.
We built one site that received more appointment requests in the first 48 hours of its launch, than it had received in the previous 5 years combined.
We don't like wasting time on things that aren't going to work.
Providing SEO services as an afterthought, without ensuring that your website will bring in customers is a disservice to you.
We want to build a longterm relationship with your business. We do that by providing services that work!
Call 775-544-6612 to wake up your website and wake up your business!

There is no doubt that how we do business has changed dramatically since the world wide web presented itself. We have seen the demise of brick and mortar businesses all across our country. The last Blockbuster Movie store just closed as a good example. Changes in how we buy goods and services have impacted the traditional process. How we find companies to do business with has changed as well. Phone books and Yellow Pages have been replaced with web domains. Almost every business has some level of web presence these days if they want to stay viable.

When the time comes to sell a business, owners should consider part of the value of their company is their web presence. It is just as much an asset as inventory and real estate. That being the case, business owners that are thinking of selling should invest some effort in making sure their website is current and valuable and can be demonstrated as a generator of revenue. Some web designers do much more than host a site. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts are a good example of additional services that drive traffic and attract sales. Social media posts and ads directed to a  target market can be shown to prospective buyers that your business is viable and current with today's marketing strategies.  A discussion with the web hosting company should be part of the selling process to determine what is owned and if there are any contractual arrangements that would prevent a new owner from assuming the website terms and conditions.

Your website can be modified to include a "hidden" page that can be shown to prospective buyers that give information not visible to the public that could include sales helps such as a history of revenues, profitability, cost of goods, recent evaluations of inventory, real estate holdings, etc. Tapping into the full potential of a website includes working with your web team to promote the value not only of your products and services, but your business as well.

When Waking Girl first started, we said YES to every customer who came through our door. Whether the project or client fit us or not, we made it work. Now, with a full clientele, we are limited on how much time we can dedicate to a client who struggles to be successful with us.

You may have just taken a pop quiz to see if you qualify to work with us. If you're curious about the answers we were hoping for, read on! You do not need to see your business and website the way we do. No pressure! :)

Q. A business must have a website to sell products or services:
FALSE
We believe a business does not need a website to sell products or services. While a website can greatly increase sales and credibility, early deals and relationships can occur offline. Our most successful clients made their early transactions before ever having a website. We have found that many new business owners rely solely on their websites to generate sales. It is important to use multiple avenues to sell products and services, especially at the beginning stages of a business.

Q. The most important purpose of a website is to:
CORRECT: Generate leads and sales
We see business owners fail in their websites because they are more focused on making the website perfectly match their favorite color, than making it bring in $ales. This is a mistake! When clients follow our design direction, they generally see an immediate increase in sales and leads. Why? We have developed a method that make it easy for your customers to reach you!

Impress customers: studies continue to show that impressive websites don't always bring in new customers and sales. We want you to be proud of your website, but we also want your company to be approachable. 

Display logo and brand: yes, we want to display your logo and brand. This goal is secondary to generating leads and sales.

Reduce my taxes: yes! Your website is a business expense! We love helping you reduce your tax burden!

Q. A business owner should take advice about web design from:
CORRECT: The web designer they hired

Intuition: can be super helpful. Let us know what your gut is telling you.
Business partner and/or staff: can be super helpful, but can also be distracting. Ask abstract questions of business partners, staff, family early in the process, like, "How do you want to feel when you visit our website? How do you want our new customers to feel when they visit the website?" Avoid specifics about design elements, colors, etc.
Articles: can be super helpful, but can also come across like you're micro-managing your web design team. 

Q. A website is like a car and needs regular refueling and maintenance.
TRUE
We believe a website is like a car and needs regular refueling and maintenance. Absolutely, yes! The trends of the web are changing faster than the rules of the road--and a website needs to be able to keep up. We utilize platforms and strategies that allow for easy updates and full site overhauls as the technological demands of a website, company and The Internet change. 

Q. A business will fail if any piece of it is not running perfectly at all times.
FALSE
We believe that growing companies do have a few failing pieces at any given time. Only the companies that have become stagnant have perfection in all areas of the business. To grow requires some trial and error. We access the knowledge base of hundreds of business owners to mitigate the risk of failure for our clients and decrease the time it takes to correct an error. We love working with growing businesses.

Q. My website budget is:
$1000/year to $1000/month
Programs also available for $1000/week website marketing budgets!
We believe it's important to have a budget for your website. While it doesn't need to be a major expenditure, a small, monthly amount of at least $100 can really help a website keep up with the changes in technology.

We strive to work with companies that we can help, by taking "web presence" off the plate of the CEO. We are a full-service agency and can handle everything from website rebuilds to maintenance to SEO and Facebook presence. 

Do you qualify? We would love to hear more about your website--what's working for you now, what's not working; what's frustrating, and what about Waking Girl prompted you to reach out?