Pictured above is a dodo bird, and if you are not saying atop of recent technology odds are you and your business will become like the dodo: extinct. Technology is advancing in leaps and bounds, and at times it can seem intimidating, and confusing. There are many easy to use tools that will help you stay atop your game, save you time, save you money, and make your business run more effectively. Here is a short list of time tested tools I know, love, and have been using to reduce my overhead, and save time.

If you are paying for virus protection, or worse have no protection: STOP IT! A computer virus can lead to lost profits, destruction of computers, and even theft of important company information such as your credit card details, or worse your customers credit card details! If you are in need of -free- virus protection check out Avast: http://www.avast.com . Avast is one of the largest, and oldest anti-virus software companies in the world. Avast even offered mobile versions ideal for smartphones, and tablets.

Business cards are one of those little annoyances that can really pile up. The contact information a business card has to offer is important, and yet the record keeping involved with them can be a time consuming burden. Rather than be left hunting for lost business cards, there are smartphone apps that let you take a photo of the business card, and then automatically save the contact details straight into your phone! One of the most beloved of these business card apps is Card Munch: http://www.cardmunch.com/ . This free little time saver has been around for years, and is useful in countless applications. I find this app to be a real life saver on a busy convention floor.

Mobile digital storage of important files, or even just backup space for important files can be expensive. When out of the office, or even needing to share a project email is slow and prone to being out of date! There are a variety of services that let you save files to a cloud, and then access or share them anywhere in the world to anyone. Box offers 10 free gigs of space: http://www.box.com . Drop box offers 2 free gigs of space: http://www.dropbox.com . Google Drive offers 30 gigs of free space: https://drive.google.com/ .

In our industry there will always be a need for the ability to create spread sheets, write documents, and create presentations. Having to buy programs for these tasks can be very expensive, certainly when you consider that you have to buy the programs per machine. https://www.openoffice.org/ offers fro free a word processor, a presentation maker, and more!

Have you heard of or seen a QR code? If not, are you living under a rock? QR codes are more than just a means to get someone to go to your website, they can be used to generate digital business cards and more. One of the top things I commonly suggest to construction professionals is that they link a QR code to a portfolio of their best work, and have the QR code on their business cards! Did you know that you can generate a QR code for FREE? Did you know you can do custom colors and designs with your QR code? https://www.unitaglive.com/qrcode offers free QR codes that you can customize to your needs. Don't let someone sucker you into paying for a QR code - these babies can easily be made for free.

Happy contracting, and may your business have a great New Year!

*I recieve no endorsements, payments, or referal perks for having recommended these free tools. I am a life long Marketing Professional who likes to think outside the box and currently work for: www.prosweep.com .
**Image credit: wikipedia.org

A CONVERSATION WITH BETSY FIGUEIRA REGARDING CONTRACTORS STATE LICENSE BOARD EXAMS PART 2.

Ms. Figueira stated in a recent email to me:

Phil,

I have submitted an IT request to correct the website statement regarding exam waivers ?

• Within the last five years, you have passed both the Law and Business Examination and the trade examination in the same classification for which you are applying, and the license for which you took the examinations was not denied due to lack of work experience.

Regarding your other concerns about applicants taking examinations and then ultimately not getting licensed, that can happen under multiple scenarios ? an applicant can fail to provide the required bond or workers? compensation documentation, an applicant can fail to be cleared by the Criminal Background Unit, an applicant can fail to provide requested experience documentation, etc. As a governmental agency that processed tens of thousands of applications annually, we have procedures that address the vast majority of our applications ? allowing them to test as soon as possible to avoid delays in licensure? which I believe most of them are appreciative of.

If you know of an applicant who does not want to take the examination until all of his/her other licensure requirements have been met, please have them submit a written request to me to have the examination process set aside while the entire rest of the licensure process is complete. I will consider the request. Of course, even if such a request is granted, we would still need to confirm that all of the licensure requirements are still valid after the applicant has passed the examinations and is at the point of licensure issuance.

Also, be please be aware that pursuant to CCR Section 816 (c), ?nothing in this Rule shall be interpreted to limit the Registrar?s authority to require an applicant to provide any other information necessary to determine the applicant?s qualifications.?

Betsy Figueira CSLB, Licensing Division Manager 916-255-3369

Contractors State License Board Exams Part 1

it's a banner day when the CSLB actually admits (almost) to making a mistake. Requesting to have the website updated to remove the ?license denied due to lack of work experience? is a victory. This non-admittance to a mistake basically proves that cslb staff makes decisions on a whim without regards to the law. Somebody at a high level had to request that text be added to their website.

Her list of why licenses are denied is correct, but she was side-stepping my comments/concerns that certain classifications are being unfairly targeted. Again, there is no specific rule, regulation, or law that gives the cslb the authority to do this.

Her comment about ?procedures? for the thousands of applications they process a year is, well, ridiculous. Again, she side-stepped my comments that there are many instances, rules, regulations, laws that state that the applicant will be sent to the exams AFTER they have determined that the applicant meets the minimum requirements. Obviously they follow the procedures they want, and ignore the rules, regulations, and laws they Don't want.

She believes most of the applicants are appreciative. Granted, I do not speak with every applicant who has been sent to the exams and their app to investigation. I can only speak to the number of people who have called me with questions about what they should do. And listen to how they are unhappy with how they?ve been treated by the cslb. So unless Ms. Figueira has taken it upon herself to speak with every applicant, or even some of them, about how they feel regarding the run-around these applicants are receiving, her ?belief? is, at best, a guess on her part.

This is my all time favorite regulation! ?nothing shall be interpreted to limit the Registrar?s authority.? If you are a cslb employee or manager in licensing, this means you have carte blanche to do whatever you want. How much better can it get if you are a State agency? They actually wrote a regulation that says they can make up the rules on a daily basis. Today ~ they have 8 critical classifications that they will scrutinize beyond belief. Tomorrow ~ you might have take a lie detector test, or make a personal appearance in front of an experience review committee. If the Registrar?s authority is limitless, where does it end?

As you're well aware, we are deep into the era of instant information.

You probably searched for a keyword to find this blog post.

As a business owner, you want your potential clients to be able to do the same.

The benefits of a business website is that it gives something for potential customers to find when They are searching. And once those people are on your site, the content can sell them on your services without you even being present.

But it'starts with getting your website ranked.

• Keywords
• Social networking
• Blogging

How to Get Your Website Ranked

Climb to the top of the search rankings

According to Google (AdWords Tool), there are over 8,000 monthly searches for the term ?general contractor? performed in the US.

Each search represents a potential client.

Your goal is to be a top result in a search for your specific contracting service in your specific location.

To start, your website needs to focus on the right keywords. In other words, you need to focus on the right customer and the terms they are using when they search.

Be sure any possible combination of search words is prominent on your website. Consider how people would try to find you.

Would they search for licensed contractors? General builders? Specialty contractors?

Consider layman?s terms as well as professional terms when thinking about keywords. Even if you're an Environmentally Conservative Ornamental Welder, people are going to be looking for ?Garden Gate Welder?.

Think in customer terms, not industry terms.

Use the link above to experiment with the AdWords Tool. it's meant to be for AdWords, but it gives you a general overview of how many searches are performed each month for specific keywords.

You can also ask your customers directly what they would likely search for on Google if they were looking for your services. You can get a lot of insight directly from your target customer.

Once you have an idea of keywords your target customer is using you can make the language part of the content on your website.

The basic concept with SEO is to focus on the customer, not on the search engine. You can get into trouble if you focus too much on the engine. Tactics like keyword stuffing, buying links and others have had short-term success in the past, but they always cause issues in the long run.

An example of what you should do is to make headlines on your website clear.
For example, on your homepage you want it to be clear to your customer what is that you do. If your target customers search for the keyword ?Miami Plumber? then use a headline such as:

John Doe: Miami Plumber Specializing in Bathroom Remodels

Your visitors will instantly understand what you are about and you've spoken their language, their keyword language.

Search results are much more than ten page listings today.

Images, videos and social media information are all incorporated in the results.

Each Google user also typically sees different search results based on their specific browsing habits, location and social connections.

This is why it's important to grow your social media profiles.

If someone is following you on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ and they search for ?Miami Plumber? on Google they are more likely to see a result for your website than someone that doesn?t follow you.

Rand Fishkin shows an example of social search results.

This is part of the reason companies build social followings while incorporating social media into their business websit's.

More and more people are subscribing to blogs of companies they know and trust. If you use keywords in a blog on your website, people will be taken there and can be lead to your information page. They can also see the kind of expertise you offer and get to know your company at their leisure.

Google and other search engines love blogs. The reason is that blogs are consistent sources of content, which Google needs in order to provide relevant search results for its users.

Google has put an emphasis on fresh content.

A blog that generates fresh content focused on questions your customers are asking can be a huge traffic generator for your business.

Potential customers will find your site through search, subscribe for more updates, learn to trust your brand and contact you to hire you for your services.

Your website can be one of your best marketing tools if used effectively. While there may not be a guaranteed way to get your website ranked number one for every target keyword, following the above guidelines will certainly get you toward the top of the pile.

Image Credits: mariachily, AdWords Tool, Rand Fishkin

Original Post: Contractor Hero Blog

Word of mouth is how people find contractors they can trust.

While you may advertise on the radio, television, billboards, flyers, or in newspapers, your satisfied client base is still your best advertisement.

With companies like AngiesList.com and even Yelp.com becoming trusted sources for contractor reviews, it's important to get your customers spreading positive testimonials of your work.

• Will be looked for in multiple locations depending on your clientele
• Allow you to get feedback to improve your business
• Allow potential customers to picture themselves working with you

You want customer reviews from multiple sources if you can get them. Some people consider testimonials directly on a contractor?s website the most reliable, while others think posts on third party sit's or social media sit's are more trustworthy simply because they are third party.

A person thinking about getting their kitchen redone might ask a friend who recently had their bathroom cabinetry replaced who they worked with and if they liked them.

Another person might see the recent lawn and garden work at a backyard barbeque and get the idea to use their friend?s contractor to revamp their front garden or plant some rose bushes in front of their store front.

These types of encounters spread the word to one potential client.

If those people that are happy to recommend you as a contractor to their friends will put their testimonial in writing and allow you to put it on your website it will spread the word to countless potential clients.

Your company?s Facebook page is another perfect place for clients to post their personal account of your services.

A satisfied customer is very likely to rave about the great service They areceived and if they do it in a public forum, it is widely available to everyone in your area searching for the right contractor to work with.

Simply having a substantial number of people ?like? your page will impress some clients. Others will look to find the times you are ?talked about? since these aren?t necessarily positive.

Being well informed of what people are saying about you on social media sit's will not only help you get feedback on how your business is doing but keep you up to date on what the public is seeing other people say.

you'll know what your strengths are based on what your clients discuss the most. Do they appreciate most that you're on time or maybe that you pride yourselves on leaving a clean work place when you've finished for the day? it's all in the small details.

Clients like being able to picture themselves working with you.

Helpful and specific stories of your project work with a customer can paint a detailed picture for a potential future client that simple marketing can?t.

Do they feel comfortable telling you they?ve changed their mind when they decide on a different paint color or cabinet style? If you're flexible and understanding with your current clients, They are likely to pass that information along to future clients.

Original Post: Contractor Hero Blog