The LocalPAGES team is pleased to announce our Business of the Week winner, A to Z Construction & Handyman Services! Located at 8243 Pamlico Orlando, FL, this home and property improvement business serves as the friendly and trusty neighborhood handyman in the area.

A to Z Construction truly is your one-stop shop for your various handyman needs. Whether you’re a homeowner making some changes in the house, or an entrepreneur renovating your office, you can count on A to Z to handle all the heavy lifting that you need.

When it comes to home improvement services, the guys at A to Z Construction can take care of both exterior and interior improvements for your house, including the installation and repair of doors and walls as well as any flooring or painting jobs.

Making some changes in your business location? Let A to Z Construction & Handy Man Services help you! They can take care of various construction, remodeling, and maintenance jobs, including interior and exterior property maintenance as well as structural and cosmetic repairs. Whether you have an office, restaurant, or warehouse, A to Z can get the job done for you.

A to Z Construction and Handy Man Services also offers sprinkler and irrigation services in the Orlando area. They cater to both residential and commercial systems and “service and repair all brands of existing lawn irrigation equipment including Rain Bird sprinkler and irrigation systems.” You’ll also get peace of mind whenever giving a job to A to Z, knowing that they’re fully licensed, professional, bonded, and insured.

Need someone to take some junk off your hands? Give A to Z a call! They also provide demolition, hauling, and junk removal for residents and businesses in Orlando. They haul and remove trash, construction debris, yard debris, discarded furniture, and hazardous materials.

Of course, keeping a tidy and great looking home or place of business goes beyond sturdy and high quality materials. Regular maintenance is required to keep your property looking presentable at all times. Thankfully, A to Z handyman services can look out for you when it comes to maintenance. The company offers customized maintenance agreements for those who need an extra hand in property management. Whether you need maintenance services at an annual, bi-annual, quarterly, or monthly basis, A to Z can create a plan for you.

Yep, anyone who needs effective construction and handyman services in Orlando, FL only needs to turn to one company, and that’s A to Z! Call them today at (407) 522-2730!

One aspect of the image of your brand that is often overlooked and undervalued is the good old business card. Sure, things have evolved in the way a person networks and markets through internet and social media, but the business card is still an important piece of your brand. Networking through gatherings is not a thing of the past and the possibilities of gaining prospects is alive and well through the use of business cards, or the first impression.

Your business card should reflect you and your brand image, but you got to know that an impressive business card is not cheap. The cheaper you go the less professional it is and the message doesn’t look good when you hand it to a prospective client. These are some tips to making the business card perfect for your business and leaving a lasting first impression.

First off, plan on how you want to design the card or if you want a professional to do it for you, such as logos, background or any other images you’d like on there. The designs on your business card should reflect your company and even the designs on the company’s website. It’s creative, simple and goes a long way in making a great first impression on prospects.

Secondly, you don’t want your card to be too big and cluttered. Keep everything you do on your card simple like an average size logo, regular sized font and on a basic 3.5” x 2” card so it first right in the prospects wallet or business card holder. You can be original with a basic card, as well, such as giving it rounded corners or any other small flare that doesn’t hinder the size and easy accessibility of the card.

Be picky about what goes on the card. It doesn’t have to have 20 pieces of information about everything your company specializes in and the card should get right to the point. Your name, logo (company name should be with the logo), phone number, email, website and your title should suffice on the card and it can help get the prospective client to call for more information on what you do.

Your business card doesn’t necessarily need to have anything on the back side of it so keeping it blank is not a problem. The front of your card should have all of the information and get to the point of what you want to display so that prospective clients don’t even need to turn the card around. Keep things simple and don’t confuse the prospect.

Remember these tips as well as making sure you use high quality cards in order to give off the right image for your business. Although the business world is evolving, the business card is still a major player.

Image credit: PSDHOME

The team that helps run your business is just as important as the product you are supplying because the people on your team interact with potential customers and help in key roles that keep your business running smoothly. Getting the proper people in place to ensure that everything is organized and that customers are happy are very crucial to your success in the business world. So, how do you go about hiring the perfect person to help your company grow?

There are certain questions that you must ask yourself as a boss in order to be completely positive that the person that is interviewing for the job is the right person.

First off, you need to be able to know that this person can do the job that you are hiring for. Apply hypothetical situations or challenges that the candidate will have to solve and be sure you are paying a lot of attention. The way that the candidate addresses the problem in front of them is just as important as the solution they come up with in order to solve the problem.

If the job is something that requires long-term strategic planning, possibly think of a ‘project’ for the candidate to do before they come in for the initial interview. It gives them a problem with a deadline and allows you to see how they work in that time period.

Secondly, look for motivation in the potential hire that ensures to you that they will do whatever the job is and not have any problems with it. If you have a potential hire that is bored and unenthusiastic, odds are that’s the kind of production you’ll get out of them. However, a candidate that is excited and can display work ethic, honesty and a positive attitude will show that they are passionate about certain things.

You’ll also see the things they don’t like to do.

Finally, and probably the most difficult trait to decipher, find out if the person will fit in with your company, your goals and the rest of the team. It’s very difficult to figure this out simply through an interview because they are not being put in that situation where they have to work with an existing member of your team or in a specific setting. However, gathering as much possible information about the candidate ahead of time by simply asking questions can go a long way.

Often times, understanding a person’s life journey of success and pursuit of goals will tell a lot about how they are.

Remember these tips as you hire your team for your business and be sure to make sure that you hire the best people for your team. The right team can build the perfect success for your company.

Image altered from original photo by sillygwailo on Flickr

The LocalPAGES team is pleased to announce our Business of the Week winner, eVisionary Marketing!

eVisionary specializes in small business marketing, and their staff truly understands the special needs of local entrepreneurs. With their affordable prices and unique marketing strategies, eVisionary Marketing considers their services as “Small business-owner friendly.” They’ve been working with local businesses for years and their several clients can attest that this company delivers results.

eVisionary can really put your small biz on the map. Need to get your business information listed in various directories? eVisionary can submit your business in over 30 premium local directories including Manta, Yellow Pages, Google Places, Yahoo! Local, SuperPages and CitySearch. They’ll even get you in car navigation and mobile directory assistance to make sure that potential customers can find you even when they’re on the go.

Aside from directories though, it’s equally important that users find you through Google and other search engines. This is why eVisionary Marketing also provides offers Search Engine Optimization Services. They offer various SEO packages and will work with you to help give your site more visibility when people search for keywords relating to your business.

eVisionary also provides Social Media Marketing and Advertising services to generate leads and boost the engagement of your existing customers. They even teamed up with Main Street Hub, a leading social media management company, that can help widen your social media reach and strengthen your presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Foursquare, and more.

Want to keep your customers updated on what’s happening in your business and the latest news in your industry? Then ask eVisionary about their blogging services. Not only will a blog keep users coming back to your website, but it will give your site a big SEO boost!

They also offer website design services to make sure that when people DO find your business on the internet, your website will be able to convert them from mere window shoppers to actual buyers.

Unsure about the services that you need? No problem! eVisionary provides free consultations to make sure that businesses are only getting the marketing services that they need.

Yep, eVisionary should certainly be the top choice for small businesses who want to boost their online presence. If you’re looking for an online marketing company in San Francisco, CA, you can contact them at 415-524-7183.

A majority of the success that a startup company receives begins with brand recognition from potential and returning clients. Having the name of the brand out there is a huge plus that will benefit your company from the very beginning and allow clients to associate your company with quality. As the image shows, one of the best ways to garner notice (and success) is to get your name on a known-basis through multiple outlets (such as Google).

Earning a position at the top of search websites across the internet is a positive thing for your company and its relevance to success. The more people that know your brand and associate quality with your business, of course, the higher the chance for success in your respective niche. So what are some ways to get people, and websites, talking about your brand?

Understanding that marketing through social media websites is a helpful tool should be a beneficial step to your plan to get recognized. Social media marketing has been a recent craze that has been helping businesses grow and succeed at a rapid rate over the past couple of years due to the high volume of activity on these sites. What better way to get clients than to interact with them on a regular basis?

Just because business is a competitive field doesn’t mean that all businesses will look to shut you out. Many times there are ways to get help or advice from the top people in your respective niche whether they are still in business or not. Going out of your target area, proving you’re not a threat to their business, will increase your chances of getting solid advice from some of the top people and companies in your industry.

Of course, these aren’t sure fire ways to bring potential customers and clients to your business and there are other ways to achieve this goal, but having a way to get your name recognized is a key benefactor towards your success.

Market your company well as it will turn around and reward you in the end. Social media markets, Google and online advertising through various methods are all ways to get the focus onto your brand, but keeping that focus on you is important as well. However, you can’t have success if people don’t recognize you in the first place, so work hard on showing up in front of the eyes of potential clients and watch as the success rates increase.

Image credit: DonkeyHotey on Flickr

Certainly if you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, getting a jump on everyone else can serve as a big advantage to you and your brand. Marketing that name is, of course, one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd and that is your main objective when it comes to garnering interest in your company. With marketing comes the interaction on you’ll receive, but none more than what you will get back from those on your social media networks.

So, what is the best way to use these social media networks in order to ensure people see your brand and interact with you as often as possible?

There are quite a few ways to go about this and there are certainly tips that, if followed, can lead to a successful social media marketing ploy in order to help your business strive. What are these tips? Let’s take a look.

The first thing to understand for the social media marketing world is when to post your topic of interest in order to get the most interaction and views. Doing this means understanding when other companies are not posting; usually the posts drop dramatically on weekends and in between the hours of 2 P.M. and 5 A.M. Facebook page administrators of pages rarely post within these time frames, which equals your perfect opportunity to do so and gain a high interaction rate from fans.

Finding the perfect balance between too few and too many posts is the best way to keep the fans interacting with you. If you post too many times, you risk becoming a nuisance and will lose the followers, but posting too few times will lower your chances of getting noticed and recognized by your company’s fans. Give them a chance to see what you’re posting, but don’t allow it to get to the point where it looks like you are just spamming everything they see.

It’s not a bad thing to request that your fans ‘Like’ or comment on your posts as it will in fact increase the rate in which they interact with you. This is letting the fans know that you want their input; you want them to interact with you in order to grow familiar with who they are and understand their needs within your company. The simple action of requesting your fans to ‘Like’ or comment will easily increase your interaction which could positively affect your company’s sales.

Feel free to post photos to your statuses as they give the fans a visual effect which will help increase interaction ratings. Giving the fan of visual of what you may be talking brings them in a bit more and is like the magnet you need to draw them in. Posting videos, music and links are okay too, but the photos capture the fan right away and give them the instant first impression that is important, not just in business, but in life as well.

These tips should help you plan your social media marketing strategy early and let you get off on the right foot to gaining more fans and more interaction.

Image credit: west.m on Flickr

The LocalPAGES team is pleased to announce our Business of the Week winner, Box Brothers! Located at 22124 Ventura Blvd. Woodland Hills, CA  91364, this moving, packing, and shipping company, has been helping people with all their moving and shipping needs since 1985.

No package is too big, too small, or too far away to ship for Box Brothers. They’re authorize shippers for FedEx, UPS, DHL, and USPS, so you can definitely count on their reliable services. Speaking of services, some of the things that the Brothers can help you with include the following:

Shipping – As previously mentioned, Box Brothers is an authorized shipper of several companies, and this allows them to offer clients competitive rates from multiple shipping companies that others just can’t match. Whenever you have a package to ship, Box Brothers will automatically give you a comparison of rates from different carriers allowing you to get the best possible deal. Box Brothers can ship to national and international locations and can process land, air, rail, and ocean cargo shipments as well. As an added convenience, you also have the options of either dropping your package off, or having it picked up at your home or business location.

Small Moves – From apartment and senior citizen moves, to college and office moves, Box Brothers can help you out in every way. Why should you choose the Brothers to help you in your small moves? Why, it’s one of their specialties!  According to their website, “If your move is of lesser volume than full service movers usually tend to, you may find yourself paying for services that you don’t need. At Box Brothers, we understand that every client has their individual needs, budget, and time frame.” Stop paying for space and equipment that you don’t need, just call Box Brothers and let them work out a customized plan and budget for your move.

Storage – Need more storage space at your doorstep? Talk to Box Brothers about their “At Your Door” services, where they deliver a large, weather proof, and secure storage vault right to your home. Just fill it up at your own pace, and they’ll pick it up to store at their facility. This service is perfect for unexpected relocation delays, time-gaps between moving, and more.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Box Brothers also offers special services for antiques, artwork, eBay items, and even estate distribution. Just call them up for a quote—they have multiple locations in California, Nevada, and Washington! If you ever have any general questions about moving or shipping, you can contact Box Brothers Corporate in Woodland Hills, CA at 818-703-9393.

Often times, the first impression a potential customer can get of your business is by your online website. Your website is what sells your company, your product and gives the customers a great idea of the services and products that you provide. Having a website that speaks volumes of your business is very beneficial and learning how to keep the website presentable and keeping it free of problems will go a long way in making that great first impression.

When you go online to check out a website of a store, restaurant or to simply look for a product or service, the first thing you notice is the home page of the website, correct? That’s exactly what your customers are going to see, so here are a few tips on making your website perfect and friendly for your potential customers and clients.

First off, you need to think like a customer when looking at your own site. Is it cluttered and too hard to find certain things or sections of your website? Simplify how the site looks in order to give an open window to all you have to offer. Having too much crammed into one area will get confusing and may make it so an important area of your website goes unnoticed.

Your ‘About’ page is a very important page that needs to be clean and simple. Company news, awards, new products; anything that talks up your business in a good light should be added to the about page. Not only does it give the customer a sense of what your company does, but it also fulfills a trust knowing how much good your business has done and what accolades have come along with that work.

Your website should reflect your business and your personality, giving the customer a feeling of comfort with you and your business. Redesign your website to make sure it isn’t plain, outdated and boring to the eyes of the customer. Give colors, different fonts and other personalized styles to your site, just don’t go off the grid too far.

Many businesses take to their website to blog about certain specials, web products or for any other reason to connect with their customers. However, if you do decide to blog on your website, be sure to keep it up-to-date. A fresh, once-a-week blog will keep your customers entertained while a blog that hasn’t been updated in awhile will worry them.

Remember, your site is often the first impression. Make sure it’s a lasting one through solid management and simple tactics. Don’t forget to keep the vital information of your business in plain view; such as phone numbers, address, hours, etc.

Image credit: Terry Johnston on flickr

The LocalPAGES team is pleased to announce our Business of the Week winner, Salon Noa! Located at 3707 Virginia Beach Blvd. Suite #105, Virginia Beach, VA 23452, this professional salon offers a variety of specialized haircare.

At Salon Noa, they offer the best in Total Haircare with a creative edge! They specialize in a variety of areas including hair treatments, dreads, styling, relaxers, braiding and many more. This small salon in a convenient Virginia Beach location will give your hair the personalized touch that you want and need for any occasion.

Owner Fawnne Smith is joined by Patricia Riddick and Makeeta (or Nikki) Holloman to provide the residents of Virginia Beach, VA with the best possible service in haircare.

For all of your haircare needs, you can feel free to contact Salon Noa at (757) 340-7555.

Salon Noa also offers hairstyles for any special event including weddings, Military/Holiday balls, Christmas parties, reunions, pageants and birthday parties. They can take care of your professional make-up needs as well, assuring that your special event is just as you wanted it to be.

Salon Noa is open Tuesday – Thursday from 9:30 a.m. till 8:00 p.m., Friday from 9:30 a.m. till 7:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. They are also open for appointment only on Mondays.

For all your haircare needs, contact Salon Noa today. Follow them on Twitter and ‘Like’ them on Facebook. You won’t regret it.

Again, congratulations to Salon Noa, our LocalPAGES Business of the Week!

When starting your own business, there are certain members of your team that you should be sure are in place in order to help ensure your company will run smoothly and effectively; your very own A-squad.

Forming this team will broaden the activities within your company and take stress off of you. Having the right people surrounding you could only lead to success and less worry. We take a look at some of those key team members to have and exactly what they can do for you and your business.

One key member to your team is having someone you can trust be right there by your side. From a business partner to a friend, having someone with you to keep you grounded and give you support is always a positive trait to have. This trusted companion can also be the voice of reason, expressing to you when something doesn’t seem right within the business or telling you when an idea is bad.

For any business, having someone that can handle the monetary aspects of a business will go a long way. An accountant that knows numbers and keeps them at a perfect position will save you money and keep your business from dropping like a rock. Make sure the accountant knows the business niche in which you are in and wants to help you and your company grow.

An attorney will go a long way to keeping the legal side of your business on the up-and-up. If you know other business owners that you trust, ask them if they have any recommendations on an attorney or multiple attorneys. Having certain attorneys for different tasks will keep all legal issues, like contracts, running smoothly.

Odds are since you’re starting a business in a specific niche, that you know or admire someone who has expertise in the same niche. That’s the person you want as the mentor of your team; the man who helps you learn and eases the tumbles through the learning curve. Having someone who has been through the whole process and has been successful give you pointers and tips will ensure that your company will continue to grow in the right direction for the future.

Opening your own business is never and easy task. However, having the right people around you to make the transition will take away the stress and tension to put you a little at easy. With the right team, a business can operate and function smoothly, just remember what is needed from each team member.

Image credit: navets on flickr