Ask questions. Get answers.

Do you have any experience/thoughts on this @Marguerita Cheng ?

When you start a domestic cleaning business, it's likely you'll do much of the cleaning work yourself, with the opportunity to hire experienced and skilled cleaners and take a step-back later on. Having the state-fo art cleaning equipment is the best way for you to gather some new, repeat customers. You can always count on your friends aand relatives to suggest your cleaning to business to their colleagues at work, and, suddenly, you have a lot more jobs to do. 

Greetings Paul from rural Australia,

My partner and I have developed several websites on our own. With no technical skills others than those learned during the development of each site.

The first site we built was in 2006 using Microsoft Front Page.

But now we use Wordpress. And our current site uses a Genesis Framework Theme called Metro Pro.

We opted out of using a third party to develop the site because of two factors.

The high cost.

And the lack of control you have for changing what they call 'trivia' when someone else is building your site.

Our online business is our sole source of income. And we're very fussy about how it looks. And what it says. About us. To our customers. Hence we're control freaks!

There are so many tutorials online about how to develop a site. Especially if you're using the Genesis Framework. And we were able to do it ourselves because of the forums. And tutorials about every subject we wanted to know something about.

As someone who's been through this more than once, I've learned to be more disciplined about how I approach a new site.

The first thing I do is buy a 96 Page Exercise Book from the newsagent. And write down the steps to every change I make. Tedious? Absolutely. But in a week you won't remember what you've done. And if you want to change it again, the notes are better than starting from scratch all over again.

I filled half a 96 page book with instructions on how to do things for our new site. And it's dog eared from use.

Second.

Wordpress is easy to use. But. It's NOT a secure platform. And is easily hacked.

But there are steps you can take to make sure it's safer.

When choosing your username, never use admin. Every hacker can enter your site with the word admin. And never use a combination of your url or site name. Hackers can figure that out, too. Make sure your username is totally unrelated to your site. And complicated.

Ditto for your password. I have a 15 digit password with letters, numbers and symbols. I don't remember it. But it's in a safe place and if I ever need to use it, I can copy and paste it in.

This is the link to our site. http://www.interfaceaustralia.com/wordpress/

I hope this helps you.

Best wishes,

~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

Purveyor of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies

350,000 customers. In 29 countries.

Hi there,

Like John mentioned, it really does depend on your business.

Themes like Valentines Day are predominantly suited to businesses that directly relate to gifts and activities a consumer would purchase or be involved in specifically for Valentines Day. Examples of business who would benefit by engaging in marketing activities based around a Valentines day theme would be:

-Florists

-Chocolatier/sweets company

-Overnight stay venue

-Restaurants

-Jewellery stores

For marketing to be successful you will need to have a specific goal.

If I had a florist, I would advertise my business widely and make my business top of mind for when Valentine's Day approaches.

How? Again, depends on your business and your market. Think of ways to stand out and don't get lost in all of the advertising clutter.

Feel free to reach out for specific help!

The ASIC sit is great. Very helpful and to a degree user friendly.

You can also undertake courses. Courses such as a Masters of Applied Finance, or diplomas through FINSIA.

Hi Yee

Because SquareSpace is a self-managed, or DIY platform, I'm guessing your plan is to be very "hands-on" in the site building process. You probably want the ability to change designs and page layouts on the fly, and see alternatives before making a final decision.

If your intention is the opposite – to have it all done for you – there are other development/platform choices better suited for your needs.

So, assuming the former, I suggest you manage the process by engaging someone at an hourly rate, rather than a flat fee. And you do your work face-to-face, at the same location. That way, you can see what is required to bring your ideas for the site to life. You will learn as you go, better equipping you to build or adapt the site in the future.

Your investment may be relatively considerable up-front – say 10-20hrs @ $50/hr – but quickly taper off as you become adept with the tools.

Think of it as an investment in your own professional development. Hope this helps.