3 Qualities to look for in a Website Designer

When choosing a web designer, you are choosing a partner. Not only is this person supplying you with a much needed service for your business, they are also telling the world who you are and what you do. They will be partnering with you in sharing your message, goods and services with your clientele.

So, What do you need to know about them? What things should you be looking at in your current and/or future web designer or web maintenance person?

First, Look at their personality. Are they organized? On time to meetings? Do they follow up with you on a regular basis? Do they miss items you ask for frequently? Are they often in a rush? Do they speak about being so busy and never seem to have time for you? Make sure that your Designer meets your needs while still being able to handle other clients. No one should wait longer than 10-15 days to have a change made on their website (as long as it is within the maintenance contract terms.)

Second, Look at their work. I know that many people say they are website designers. I have heard many horror stories of client’s who have learned the hard way, not every one who claims to be one is one. Also, you may be more drawn to one aesthetic than another. This is OK, don’t go with someone just because they are your friend, or because you think you should as not to rock the business boat. Branding is very important, go with your gut. Trust me, there is enough business to go around for everyone. Choose someone whose work you enjoy and think would be a good representation of your product.

Third,  Look at their price. I know you have a cousin or friend whose husband can whip up a site in an hour and TADA, you are online. And I know that college freshman down the street or that photographer said she would do it for $300. And I know you are on a budget so, what harm can it do? It’s just a website, right? That is like saying, who cares if my car is reliable, it just gets me to work and back, right? In today’s world of smart phones, tablets and the internet, your website is how you are legitimized. You get what you pay for and in this case, that’s not a lot. On the other hand, a website that costs $5,000 is too pricey due to the fact you should change your site within 3 years anyway. Go for something more in the middle. For most websites, you are looking at spending about $1000 to $2500.

These are not rules, but more like Guidelines. Everyone is different and a different approach should be made to each website. As a website designer, I am saddened by the number of pretenders there are out there who take advantage of the small business owner. I hope that on your hunt for the perfect Designer, you can use the guidelines I have talked about in this post. Now, Go Get Em!!

Elizabeth Pampalone has been creating websites for 15 years and is committed to customer satisfaction. She works with her client to create a beautiful, one of a kind, customer experience that will have YOUR clients coming back for more! Her passion for teaching has spread to her newest endeavor, MyBusinessWorkshops.com which she runs with her husband, and partner in Crime, Joseph. As if that wasn’t enough, Joseph and Elizabeth fix computer hardware and software in your home or office. Yes, they do house calls!

Why is One Spark so important for Jacksonville?

If you’ve read the newspaper at all lately, or listened to the local radio, or seen the signs downtown, then you’ve probably heard a little bit about One Spark.  Maybe you’ve heard it mentioned, but do you know what it is?  Well, to quote the FL Times Union, One Spark is a “huge ‘crowdfunding’ festival coming to our city this week, bringing more than 500 ‘creators’ to show off their great ideas – art, music, inventions, organizations and innovations of all sorts – at more than 50 downtown venues.”  

So, what exactly is a “crowdfunding” event, you ask?  It’s a chance for all the creators mentioned above to have a venue to show off their products/ideas for several days while the crowd (that’s us!) votes on the projects they like.  As we all know (especially us fellow entrepreneurs), it takes money to put ideas into reality.  One Spark has secured a guaranteed  $250,000 crowdfund to be distributed to participants based on our public vote, and a pledge of up to $1 million in equity investments to chose Creators from STACHE Investments Corp., an investment company formed by billionaire and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.  So basically, the idea of One Spark is to connect projects with the money needed to launch them.

I first heard about One Spark quite a while back because my husband, Tukz, is good friends with one of the local founders of One Spark, Varick Rosete.  They were in FSA (Filipino Student Association) together back in college.  A couple months ago, Tukz sat down and did a recorded interview with Varick for his FSA Alumni Youtube channel and they talked quite a bit about One Spark.

So, why is One Spark so important for Jacksonville?  To me, important because it’s literally the first of its kind and it is happening HERE, in OUR CITY.  As someone who grew up here and has seen Jacksonville struggle to get on the map in terms of art, culture and a vital downtown, this is definitely a huge step in the right direction.  Creators are coming from all over the WORLD this week!  To Jacksonville, FL.  Amazing!  And in addition to the creator booths, there will be great food and music….as all good festivals should have!

It all starts Wednesday afternoon at 3pm and the results will be announced on Sunday morning at 11am.  While attending the festival, you can vote on your favorites via various kiosks set up throughout the festival, text message, smartphone app and/or the One Spark website.  See something you like?  Vote for it!  And if you REALLY like it, you can choose to contribute funds toward it.

There are various sources where you can check out all the details about One Spark – HERE, HERE and on the official website www.BeOneSpark.com.  But if you’re the type who gets overwhelmed with all the details, then just pick a night or two this week (Wed-Sat) to head downtown and just explore.  The Skyway will be running for free from 6am-3am Wed-Fri, 8a-3a Sat and 8a-6p Sun.  My plan is to park at the Kings Avenue garage in San Marco and take the Skyway over to Hemming Plaza and then just go explore from there.

Last, but not least, did you know that one of our very own Jacksonville Women’s Small Biz vendors is a creator at One Spark?  It’s true!  Go out and support our own Lina M. Bath Boutique at her One Spark booth (Entry #822) at The Landing.

So, now you know what One Spark is.  The question now is:  Are you going to come out and support it this week?  Comment below!

The Person Behind the Page

Hello!  My name is Carrie and I am the person behind the Jacksonville Women’s Small Biz.  Let me take a moment to introduce myself and tell you how it all got started.  The Facebook page came from a little idea my husband had.  Seeing how well I do with social media, he suggested that I start a Facebook page to post for both our small business and other mom-owned businesses within my Mom’s group at church. I liked the idea, but as I mulled it over, I decided that if I was going to do something like this, I was going to go a lot bigger than just my Mom’s group….I would post for women-owned businesses all over Jacksonville.  Thus, the Jacksonville Women’s Small Biz Facebook page was born in September 2012.  As of the time of this writing, I currently post for 275 businesses on the page.

(Taken at our last networking event, March 2012.)

My husband and I own Safety First CPR & Safety Training, LLC.  Our business is about two years old, but my husband’s experience as a safety instructor goes back 20+ years.  We offer various safety courses such as Community CPR, Basic First Aid, Child & Babysitting Safety, Basic Life Support, Private Swim Lessons and more.  You can find us online at www.SafetyFirstJax.com.  My husband is our Lead Instructor who teaches all of our classes and I am the Business Manager who does all the behind-the-scenes work, dealing with the marketing, finances, etc.  I also co-teach the Child & Babysitting Safety courses with him.

(Here I am teaching our class how to change diapers!)

(And how to make a formula bottle.)

I grew up here in Jacksonville, FL from 6 years old on.  We lived in the Arlington area of town and I attended Ft. Caroline Elementary School, Ft. Caroline Middle School and Terry Parker High School.  Upon graduating from high school, I went down to Kissimmee, FL to Florida Christian College.  After graduating Valedictorian with a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling and Christian Education in 1997, I moved to Longmont, Colorado to do an internship in Children’s Ministry at a local church out there.  After the internship, I stayed in the area and worked with troubled teens for a couple of years and then I ended up in Human Resources for the City of Westminster, a Denver suburb.  I was there for 6 years and that’s also where I met my husband, Tukz (pronounced like Tux.)  In 2006, we each moved back to Florida (he was from FL, too, coincidentally) and then we got married and settled back here in Jacksonville in 2007.

(Here we are at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival.  My husband is a
die-hard Disney fan after having worked there for 9 years.)

One of the things I always wished and prayed for, even before I was ever married, was that I could be a stay-at-home mom after I had children.  I worked at Christ’s Church as an Administrative Assistant up until just a few months after our daughter was born, but I thankfully have been able to be home with her since she was four months old.  I still work, but I am able to do it from home.  I do some independent contracting work for a marketing company and I also handle the business side of Safety First, and of course now I also manage the Jacksonville Women’s Small Biz page and group.  (And take care of our daughter and manage our home!  Can’t forget those two important things!)

(A new Mom.)

Back to the Facebook page….I wasn’t quite sure how it would do or where I was going with it when I started it. But God often gives us pleasant surprises in life and this has been one of them for me.  I never thought I would be leading a networking group of women in business….but here I am, and I’m just following the path as it unfolds.  The Facebook page has been growing steadily, both in fans and in businesses and so it seemed to me that the next logical step was to create a website to go with it.  I wanted a place to be able to list all of the businesses involved, both alphabetically and by category.  I chose a blog because that would also give business owners a platform to post articles and information longer in length than what a Facebook post allows.

Besides working on social media, my favorite hobbies include reading, gardening and going to festivals and events with my husband and 3-year-old daughter. (And sometimes our little Shih Tzu comes along!)  We are also very active in our church and I enjoy spending time with the ladies in my Mom to Mom group.