1. I promise to hire a real designer to revamp my website, logo, and sell sheets.
2. I promise to rethink Facebook and ask if it’s really right for my business.
3. I promise to pick one social media channel and use it to build my reputation as an expert in what I do for a living.
4. I promise to collect information and feedback from my customers and ask their permission before sending them things.
5. I promise to not use Copperplate Gothic or Comic Sans for any reason whatsoever.
6. I promise to befriend two members of the local media and tell them a story about my business.
7. I promise to take one day off per week and do anything BUT work.
8. I promise to attend chamber of commerce meetings in the city where my business is located.
9. I promise to reward my best employees for their hard work. Even in a bad economy, good help is hard to find.
10. I promise to ask 20 people what the biggest problem with my business is and then do something to fix it.
11. I promise to find someone to help me with SEO and SEM and track my website traffic with Google analytics.
12. I promise to explore and test a way for my customers to use their phones to interact with my business before the year is over.
Please don’t use elance. Real designers don’t hang out there.
What site do you recommend instead?
Nothing wrong with eLance, Guru, VWorker or any of the other freelance web sites. Sure, they drive down the cost of web development work and I suspect that’s what Dan is upset about, but the problem isn’t with the sites.
The problem is with some of the developers (and customers) who use the sites. As with any employment relationship, both sides need to exercise caution and check references.