3 Question Interview: Carol Gann of Orlando Web Wizard

3 Question Interview: Carol Gann of Orlando Web Wizard

3 Question Interview

Carol Gann Head Shot Photo Shoot-10Over the years of networking and working in Orlando’s design community, I’ve met and befriended a lot of people. One of those is Carol Gann. She’s one of the sweetest people you’ll meet with a wealth of information for people in small businesses looking to create a web presence.

Question 1: In your option, what’s the biggest value a small business would appreciate with managed hosting? 

Managed website security and updates enable the small business owner to manage their online marketing. The Internet is not a stable environment. A WordPress website needs maintenance just like a home or car. Any number of things can go wrong in a hosting environment. The benefit of managed care is the small business owner doesn’t need to be concerned with their website getting hacked or becoming data corrupted. This saves them time and money.

Question 2: What do you do to educate your customers about their WordPress websites? 

We teach clients how to use their WordPress websites to get customers attention through inbound marketing by blogging and list management. We empower clients by teaching them to create their own lead and funnel pages. We’re in the process of developing MasteryWP an online education system with these goals. We turn WordPress into a CRM and teach them how to effectively use it. We create custom Google and Bing analytics to track marketing campaigns. We also give consultation to develop an online marketing plan.

Question 3: Whats the most challenging aspect of a firm that most of your clients wouldn’t know from the outside looking in? 

As an older woman in a predominately male industry and of small stature, with a soft voice, I think it is harder for me to gain trust and respect; until I talk with people to develop a relationship.  I think most people are surprised by my level of expertise and I work hard as a lifetime learner. I embrace the WordPress Community with open source principles and the code of conduct. This community has equal opportunity for everyone. Open Source Citizenship is friendly, safe, welcoming, and truly open for everyone. I wish the whole would value and follow Open Source Citizenship principles.

orlando-web-wizard-graphic

For more from Carol, be sure to visit her website Orlando Web Wizard and see all the services offered.  Stay tuned for more quick interviews with other business professionals.

Where to find the best real world advice

Web Design

People and a mouseWe’re all familiar with some industry blogs. There are blogs upon blogs for just about every topic you can think of. For us in particular, designers have many interesting blogs like:

Everyday these blogs and more put out pretty good content on various topics that are relevant to us all. However, most of that content is from a true professional experience. Another words, the person writing the post usually has some level of authority on the subject and has been involved in the industry for many years. The key is to focus on the comments from real users like you.

The rich content I’m talking about, the real world advice is in the comments. I’m not negating the post itself, but you’ll hear some real honesty in the comments. Think of this; your favorite design blogger posts about some new piece of software from Adobe. They talk about their first experience using it, how much it costs them (probably nothing), and how they like or dislike using it. All of those opinions are based on their feelings for that software apart from the many other programs they have access to. The average designer, especially those just starting out, don’t have the money to just keep buying software until they find one they really gel will.

Now reading the responses in the comments area is where the real gems are. This is where you’ll hear arguments from many people on their “real world” experiences. From the amateurs talking about the learning curve on using an application, to seasoned users explaining why an open sourced program has better features and costs nothing to own. You’ll also have the opportunity to find and communicate with other people who seem to be in the same level as you are in your career, or connect with experts that may be more than willing to be a mentor you.

Point is, next time you really need advice on a topic, program, or tactic, read a few blogs that have the topic you’re looking for and read through the comments. Don’t be afraid to engage by replying to comments. Sign up to get emails whenever new comments are posted and save ones really informative so that you can use them at a later time for reference. If you’re looking to crowd source, this is also a great avenue for little effort and great returns.