Notes
Notes on running a small business
Practical things I have learned building and photographing small businesses around the East Valley.
- 10 Ways a Photographer Can Help Your Small Business
A business photographer in the Phoenix metro on what real photos do for a small business — and five phone-photo tips for when you are not ready to hire one yet. - How to Get Customers for Your Service Business
Ten things that actually bring in customers for a cleaning, painting, landscaping or construction business in the East Valley. The first six are free. - What Does a Small Business Website Cost?
Three things move the price: who writes the words, who shoots the photos, and whether the site must do a job beyond being read. What to ask before you accept. - Does My Small Business Need a Website?
Not every business does. If your work comes from one contractor or you are booked out for weeks, fix that bottleneck first. Here is the test that settles it. - Can You Run a Business Without a Website?
Yes, and plenty of good trades do for years. What it costs you in practice, and the free thing that closes most of the gap. - What Does a Free Website Builder Really Cost?
Free builders are genuinely free until you need your own address, your own email, and your own photos on the page. Where the cost actually shows up. - What Are the Monthly Costs of a Website?
Hosting, domain, backups, security updates and changes. What each one is, which you can skip, and the question to ask any web designer. - How Long Does a Website Take to Build?
About two weeks for a five page site. What happens in each week, and the one thing that makes almost every build run late. - How Many Pages Does a Website Need?
Five is enough for most trades: home, services, your work, about, and contact. What belongs on each, and the pages you can safely skip. - Why Does My Website Get No Calls?
Usually one of eight things, and it is almost never the design. The order worth checking before you pay for a redesign. - What Should Be on a Small Business Home Page?
Four things, above the fold: what you do, where you do it, proof you have done it, and a phone number that dials when tapped. - Google Profile or Website: Which First?
For most local trades the Google profile brings more calls than the website does, and it is free. Do it first, and finish it. - How Do I Show Up in Google Map Results?
Three businesses get the map pack and most of the calls. The four things that actually move you into it, in plain terms. - How Do I Get More Google Reviews?
Ask once, in writing, at the moment the job is finished, with a link that takes one tap. A QR code on the invoice beats asking in person. - What Should a Quote Request Form Ask?
Name and message wastes everyone time. Ask what the job is, where it is, when they need it, and let them send a photo. - Is Online Booking Worth It for My Business?
If you sell time rather than jobs, yes. An empty slot never comes back, and most bookings are made outside the hours you answer the phone. - Should My Business Website Be in Spanish Too?
In the East Valley, often yes. What a real second language version involves, and why an automatic translate button is not it. - Do I Need Professional Business Photos?
If your work is visible, yes, and sooner than you think. What a shoot involves, what you get back, and how to tell whether you are ready. - Are Stock Photos Bad for a Business Website?
Customers recognize them, and the moment they do your site stops being evidence and starts being decoration. What to use instead. - How Do I Take Better Photos With My Phone?
Shoot in the shade, wipe the lens, get closer, and take the before photo from a spot you can stand in again. Nine habits, no gear. - How Do You Take Good Before and After Photos?
Shoot both from one marked spot, at the same height, in the same light. The mistake that ruins nearly every pair, and how to avoid it. - What Should I Wear for a Business Headshot?
Usually the shirt you wear on the job. Solid colors, no logos competing with your face, and nothing you have never worn before.