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| Starting a business on one of these? Join the club! |
There have been some big changes at AWW lately, and it's been awhile since I've written about the business side of things, so here I am.
A week ago, I launched the new AnyWay Weddings website - including designing my own logo! Hotness! - and created an AWW Facebook page. I also updated my LinkedIn profile to reflect my new entrepreneurial venture and created a business page for AWW there too. Three VERY big and critical steps in cementing my budding business and making things official.
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| The new AWW logos, designed by yours truly. What do you think? |
Ah yes, I love being my own web developer, social media manager, graphic designer, marketeer, and CEO. (Actually, I kind of do love it. Because I am learning so much! Is that crazy?)
One lesson learned: putting one's business on Facebook is actually rather intimidating. I totally underestimated how official it would feel. After all, you can launch a website under the radar - but going on Facebook means putting yourself out there for all your friends to see and critique. Eek!
While I'm sure my new career is not a surprise to anyone - after all, my MBA classmates always teased me for browsing bridal bouquets during our three-hour international business lectures - it is rather nerve-wracking to have publicly declared myself a bride adviser. I received universally positive feedback on my business idea, my website, everything. Yet self-doubt still lingers: what if I never get another client? I want to be one of my MBA program's entrepreneurial success stories. More importantly, I want to be successful for myself, because I know I am great at this. But what if I never reach the tipping point?
Hold your horses! Take your own advice: stay present, stay positive. (And stop blog-talking to yourself. It's a little embarrassing.) Right-o.
AnyWay, while creating a Facebook page and LinkedIn business page were straightforward tasks that should be on every entrepreneur's to do list, revamping my website was not. Second lesson learned.
I liked my original AWW site. It had a cute pink floral design and offered all the features I needed. Only problem: I was using a free trial of a web-hosting service that would otherwise cost $19.95 per month. I am determined to do as much as I can for free and so was not going to pay to host my website. Not when there are so many different free services out there. But whom to choose?
Lucky for me, I have a brilliant friend who works at Google in London, who invited me to lunch a couple weeks ago. We had a great conversation about my budding biz, and my friend convinced me to gulp the Google Kool-Aid and take advantage of all the free services they offer to small businesses. He then went above and beyond and sent me an email that was approximately twelve pages long (or at least it felt that way) detailing every step to set up everything - email, website, advertising, you name it - through Google.
I won't bore you with every step (though please do contact me if you have questions!), but I will say this: moving each of the various parts of my business into Google's entrepreneurial zone was intricate and tricky. It was also an emotional rollercoaster. I was so afraid of making one wrong click that would have screwed everything up. And at first I was disappointed in the website templates, which actually turned out to be more flexible than I initially thought. In the end, it all worked out. I learned a ton about the way websites work - lessons that will surely be valuable to me in the future. And I am really happy with the new AWW. I think it looks about as good as any free website could. Check it out and see for yourself!
So I've gulped the Google-Aid and am all hooked up with a website, AWW email address, analytics, and advertising. Now I just have to connect with my target clientele: time-crunched brides.
I know you ladies are out there and I know you need my help. So get ready, AWW is coming soon to an Internet search near you!
Cheers and happy weekend,
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