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Observations, Ideas and a little common sense about the web industry…

Archive for the ‘Web Development’ Category

Small Business Owner or Operator?

Friday, June 11th, 2010

I own a small business, and many of my clients are small businesses. They are what helped me build my company, and I am always on the lookout for ways to help other small business owners make the most of the web. It’s the essence of TKG – it’s just what we do.

Small business is all over the news these days. With unemployment down, folks are starting to understand that it is small business that employs most people in our country. Small business dictates the way our economy fluctuates. When you overtax or otherwise hurt small business, it has a huge and lasting impact on the country. Many small businesses need all the help they can get just to survive right now, so I have included below a few posts that I think will be particularly helpful to small business owners.

1. 5 Ways Small Businesses Can Use Tech to Save Money

2. Make Your Web Site a Daily Destination

3. How To Boost Your Business on the Cheap

Running a small business can be a challenge, but really a rewarding one. I love the ability to tailor my business to what our clients need. I can offer a service that will benefit the business and livelihood of others. But, the best thing about this job is making the web useful to my clients, and helping their business thrive. That’s what I get a kick out of everyday. I hope you found the posts helpful and as always, if you have one to share, leave it in the comments section. Check out the video – another little pointer for ya…

Sad, Angry for all of America

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

I know this is a professional blog, and I’ll do my best to keep it under control, but I am mad. I am so angry. Our representative form of government (Dance, Boccieri, dance to Pelosi’s tune while you still can!) was shot all to hell today, and there are actually people celebrating. We called, we were polled, we protested, we made our voices heard, and hear us, they did. But they didn’t care. They were going to do what they wanted, no matter what the American people thought. Health care reform has been on the liberal agenda for a couple of decades now. Two words, TORT REFORM! Would’ve changed the landscape of healthcare today if it had been passed years ago, but now we’re in deep.

There are so many things wrong with this health care bill, I hardly know where to start. Congress is fine with this bill because they will not be subject to it’s consequences. They, unlike the rest of us, will still get to make their own insurance and medical choices. So if you are self employed or make more than $250k a year, you are in big trouble. If you are small business, you are in big trouble. If you happen to be older and sick, look out because the “board” might not think you are worth treating. The people that have insurance through big corporations are going to either pay more or receive fewer benefits when those corporations decide they scale back the benefits they offer! The only way to win is if you are on welfare… oh wait, people on welfare were already getting medical coverage through the state, so that means the states are going to be in just as dire a financial situation as the rest of us, as more and more people will lose jobs due to higher taxes, and apply for benefits.

There are many things wrong with this bill, but here’s a start:

1) Significant tax increases for small business and individuals in the midst of the worst economy in a generation, that will surely lead to the loss of jobs.
2) The likelihood (near guarantee) that insurance companies will go out of business leaving the government as the sole insuring entity, hence a single payer system. Insurance companies cannot survive the demands in this bill – they are businesses too, and already only turn 1-2% profit. (Single payer system = Governmental monopoly, socialism, tyranny)
3) This is almost the sickest part of all of this: the government takeover of student loans, i.e.> deciding which individual gets the loan, which schools get students through loans and the control this gives the government. Now the government can reward those institutions that sell their ideology and punish those that don’t. Don’t think they’ll do that? If they can pass a massive infringement on individual rights like this bill through unconstitutional trickery, they can certainly push their agenda through student loans. And please, remind me again what this has to do with health care?
4) The strain this will put on medicare, which is already tremendously in the red.
5) The gross infringement on individual rights created by this bill – it is not this government’s role to require us to buy an insurance policy or anything else – and the IRS will be enforcing citizen participation, with fines!… seriously?
6) The process – if this is the right bill for Health care reform, tell me why, do we have to resort to such underhanded, desperate tactics (bribes, special deals) to get it passed. It’s just wrong to pass such a massive piece of legislation with such partisan, divisive and likely unconstitutional methods.
7) Over control by the government will mean that you and your doc will no longer make your health care decisions. A board will do that, and let you know what they’ll allow. In response to this, we will lose doctors. This is already happening, and it will only get worse. Who wants to be told by the government how to do their job, and then be paid, too little, too late, for it?

This whole thing is something I never thought I would see in America. We planned to teach our children about individual liberties, Capitalism, States Rights, and the Constitution by allowing them to live it, experience it for themselves. Now, I am afraid these lessons will be gotten only from the history books. Thank God we homeschool, and for now, can choose our own books, or they probably wouldn’t even read about it in history class.
Some additional commentary:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703775504575136133814210008.html?mod=rss_opinion_main
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/03/22/andrea-tantaros-obama-pelosi-reid-health-care-cbo-abuse-power/
http://health.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/19/here-comes-the-health-care-bill-%e2%80%a6-there-go-the-doctors/

Some Truly Excellent and Helpful Posts

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

I have done the research for you, folks. I have found sound bits of advice, to do lists, and marketing tips just for you. I have scoured the net and brought back to you a wealth of small business marketing information. OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but there are some great quick reads below.

1.The first post I have for you includes 9 tips for Small Business Bloggers. Very interesting read:
9 Tips for Creating More Small Business Blogging Ideas

“We all know by now that consistent small business blogging can drastically improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and overall web presence. Additionally, a small business blog can increase your opportunities to interact with (and highlight) your customers and provide an additional occasion for you to share your expert knowledge.

Unfortunately, nothing stops a would be small business blogger faster than a perceived lack of time, and the frustration that comes with a lack of ideas to blog about.”… I don’t want to repost the whole thing here, so follow the link I have provided, but you get the gist, the author has some really great ideas for you!

2. You all know that I think LinkedIn is a great marketing tool. This gal has a great post on 5 methods to getting the most out of LinkedIn.
Here’s a tidbit from her post which I have linked to above: “LinkedIn, however, stands apart from the crowd. The roots of popular sites like YouTube and Facebook are founded on the entertainment side of things. But since its creation, LinkedIn has been geared toward the professional business crowd.”

3. The basics of social media marketing: Face book and Blogging. Lee Odden did a great post about this back in September. His post Social Media Marketing Basics: Facebook & Blog Promotion has a lot of relevant information for Fan pages of small businesses. Check it out when you’ve got a few.

4. Here is a great post from over at Mashable – Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them This post also has a great list of other posts at the bottom that you might want to check out. This is common sense stuff, but it can’t hurt to hear it again.

5. This post is also found on Mashable, I wanted to include it because it lists all the best places to promote your blog. Really a great resource! Top 20 Ways to Share a Great Blog Post

Of course this isn’t all the knowledge of the web, but these bits and how to’s will give you any needed boost for your business blog. It’s a great tool when you know how to use it, so get your studying done! I’ve already done the research!

Help Wanted, or We’re Hiring, or Positions Available or…

Friday, February 26th, 2010

You heard right! We are still looking for a few talented folks to fill some available positions here at TKG.
TKG has a lot to offer the right talent! We have a pretty laid back environment, friendly atmosphere, and the ability to wear jeans to work everyday. And if that weren’t enough, we also have a competitive pay scale, great benefits, and some advantages you won’t find anywhere else!

We are currently hiring for two positions:

IT Customer Support
and
Graphic Design Manager

The IT Customer Support person we are looking for needs to really enjoy people and communicating with them as much as they enjoy all things tech. We try to provide our clients with the best possible customer service, so this part is even more important to us than your technical skills.

TKG is also looking for a Graphic Design Manager who wants to be a part of a team. You need to have at least two years experience designing for web and print. If you’re interested, we’d love to see your stuff, so pass along your portfolio when you submit a resume.

Benefits include medical insurance, life insurance, 401k, paid vacation and holidays, a bonus system, great team members, and the occasional game of pool, foosball or darts! More information on both of these positions can be found at the links above or inquire with Stacy Hoffman. We look forward to making you part of the ever growing Karcher Group!

Looking for a few good men, or women…

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

Well believe it or not, in this economy, TKG is hiring! We need a couple of experienced, qualified folks to become memebers of our SEM and Design teams.

Openings include a search engine marketing job working with our amazing SEO and SEM department. The other is a website design job with our incredibly talented Design department.

If you are interested in working in a fun, fast paced yet laid back environment, please check out our job postings and submit a resume.

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