I was on the Internet before Al Gore invented it. My focus is marketing, promotion and site traffic. Consequently, my responsibilities at The Harper-Mees Team involve online marketing and promotion for the team.

At times, I still provide consulting services for small businesses and entrepreneurs. It boggles my mind that many small business owners feel a website is something they can get around to later than sooner. A website should be right under “get a cell phone” for any small business owner or entrepreneur.

I wrote this post to demonstrate to my friend Greg, a chiropractor in Warner Robins, GA the power of a good website. I have noticed over the years, that no chiropractor that I could find is leveraging the Internet successfully – and it would be so easy for these guys! The day after I posted the article about Greg, our site came up #1 on Google if you searched on “warner robins ga chiropractor.” Heck, we are far away from Georgia and real estate is a long ways away from chiropractic. But that’s the power of the Internet, those that know how to use it can dominate Google search results.

Here are the Top 10 Must Haves for Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs

Get A Blog – Read BusinessWeek – Blogging for Business This is a must read – The New Rules of Marketing & PR and don’t forget this one –Publish and Prosper: Blogging for Your Business

CraigsList – This site can do wonders for your business. 80% of the people using Craigslist use it ineffectivley. Craiglist is responsible for 10% to 20% of our monthly traffic (6500 unique visitors a month)

LinkedIn – a business networking site. What can I say – get linked! Once you create an account, read Jason Alba's book.

RSS – Learn about the value and power of RSS. This rss reader – Netvibes –  helps you to stay informed, track your markets, keep an eye on the competition and much more. Short videos here and here on rss.

Google

• Alerts – Keep on top of your reputation, the competition, your local communities and more.
• Base – Instantly post anything into the Google index. Use this and Craigslist to broaden your product/service exposure.

News Releases – This valuable resource is overlooked by many. Here are several sites you can use:

• I-Neswswire
• PR Leap
• Free Press Release

Send Out Cards – Create custom greeting cards for your business and send them to your clients/customers with gift cards included.

Duct Tape Marketing – Read John Jantsch, his site is a treasure trove of small business marketing gold.

PhotoScape – For those overwhelmed by Photoshop, try this free photo editor.

Digital Camera – You can still find this discontinued digital camera – Kodak EasyShare V610 6MP Digital Camera with 10x Dual-Lens Optical Zoom – This is a dual lens ultra-wide angle camera that is so easy to use. If you can get one of these – do it quick!

If you’re a small business owner or entrpreneur interested in improving your online presence and marketing – send me an email – john (at) the harperteam.com

The Ubiquitous Orange Cones of the San Ramon Valley

Are you ready for more orange cones? Residents of the San Ramon and TriValley areas will not be experiencing orange cone withdrawal symptons anytime in the near future. If you're a commuter keep an eye on these projects.

State transportation officials OK $1.4 billion for Bay Area - Among the projects receiving priority status from the commission are construction of a fourth bore for the Caldecott Tunnel between Oakland and Orinda, widening of Highway 4 in east Contra Costa County from Somersville Road to Highway 160, a new southbound carpool lane on Interstate 880 between Marina Boulevard in San Leandro to Hegenberger Road in Oakland, and new westbound carpool lane on I-580 through the Highway 84 interchange in Livermore.

The Oakland Airport has its share of orange cones too. In the "Things are getting better, no they're worse, nothing has really changed - department" - we have this.

Third curb to ease Oakland Airport congestion - A third curbside that opened Wednesday at Oakland International Airport is expected to reduce congestion in front of the two terminal buildings. The third curbside will be the new stopping-off point for taxi cabs and AirBART shuttle buses traveling between the airport and the Coliseum BART station, among other vehicles.

Internet Evolutiion & Education 

John Mahoney at The Digital Edge has produced a great 7 minute video on Practical RSS. This short video will explain the basics of RSS, RSS Feeds and how to subscribe to feeds. RSS is one of the major forces influencing the evolution of the Interenet. Watch the video to learn how it can make your Internet life easier.