We were so excited to host an amazing array of entrepreneurs and business owners during “The State of Small Business Panel Webinar.” The webinar was led by Bluehost General Manager and SVP Suhaib Zaheer who shared tips on how businesses can transition online along with various eCommerce solutions. He also provided a housekeeping list that covered how to improve your website to include eCommerce options and updating your pricing or business plans.
The panel consisted of:
- Suhaib Zaheer, Bluehost General Manager, and SVP
- Rebecca Teaff, Redstart Creative Founder
- April Johnson, Happied Founder
- Art Ortiz, DogFit Dallas Owner
- Amber Knowles, Owner, and Lead Photographer, The Amber Studio
- Aaron Clay, Director of Marketing for Amy’s Ice Creams
As we progressed through the webinar, each speaker discussed creative business solutions they have been using across their individual industries. Whether it’s how to ask for donations, streamline communication with fellow employees, or collaborating with local businesses, our panelists gave innovative examples of what they are doing with their current businesses.
In case you were unable to catch the webinar live, we compiled some of the most popular questions attendees asked during the duration of the webinar. If you have any additional questions, please let us know in the comments below!
What tools can help to create gift cards for customers?
PW WooCommerce Gift Cards, Canva, Visme, Crello, and Vistaprint are online tools you can explore to create online gift cards.
What is PPC?
Suhaib: “They are various tools and resources that can help manage your Pay-per-click campaign (PPC). PPC is a model of internet marketing where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. When you invest and build an online presence you want to make sure every dollar spent is effective and counts towards getting your business in front of potential customers.”
Does Bluehost have a support system that helps people evaluate what tools can work best with their website?
Suhaib: “Yes, our support teams are trained to support your website technically and determine what tools are best for your site based on your goals. While every business doesn’t have the same needs, target audience, products, services, etc. our support team is happy to provide assistance and recommendations based on your personal goals.”
How do you market your nonprofit business to donors if you do not have a specific donor profile?
Rebecca: “First, you want to determine what your ideal donor is whether you are scanning your fundraising software or using a tool like Wealth Engine that can help you determine your demographic. It’s really important to determine who that audience is so you can determine where they are on or offline.”
If you have a nonprofit that does not currently have donors, how would you suggest seeking or finding them?
Rebecca: “Donors can be made up of state or local funding, scholarships, grants, or individual donors. Every nonprofit is different, but I suggest having an array of funding options for your nonprofit. If you’re looking to build an individual donor program, you want to develop a 3 years plan to help grow and cultivate those individual people.”
What resources would you recommend for hosting a virtual event?
April: “I would first recommend seeking out a platform that lets you do a run-through with a staging guide and gives you the quality experience you desire. Think about what experience you are trying to create and making sure it is beneficial for your business and the attendees. Eventbrite is great for hosting virtual events and has an ongoing list of events you can attend.”
How do you recommend partnering with other businesses in your community?
Art: “There was a lifestyle account that markets bars/events here in Dallas and since they were our clients, they wanted to see if I wanted to promote our virtual consultations on their social media account. We did see a huge social return on working with them because they have a large number of followers and I was able to collaborate with a local business in my community.”
In retrospect is there anything you would have done to prepare for transitioning your business online?
Amber: “I would have done many of the tasks I have been doing now like learning about getting my images prepared to sell on stock photography sites or having my second website setup where I am now currently selling product photography. But I never think it’s too late to do anything.”
How did you decide on which costs to cut back on?
Aaron: “The first was determining the value of something in accordance with our guiding principles or mission statement. I had to ask is this bringing value to our customers? The second is Return on Investment (ROI) and looking at any additional expenses or services and asking what is going to make the greatest impact for my business right now?
