Month: May 2019

Charles Tips – Better Business Bureau Accredited

When exploring who to have build your web presence or do your SEO (Search Engine Optimization), look to see that the web company you’re considering is an accredited member in good standing with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). The BBB does a lot of your homework for you. It actually checks out businesses for things like the fact that they really are in business and what the company’s website states.

This can be very important: make sure the company really is accredited by checking for them on the BBB website. There are many unscrupulous companies out there that place a BBB logo (with is a copyright infringement) on their site and have never even applied for BBB accreditation.

Companies must apply to and pay a fee to pass accreditation member of the BBB. Once again, these are all factors that point to the integrity of the company – it’s reliability – its dependability. You want a company that is going to help you and that thinks about its web clients – so the web company’s BBB accreditation is very important.

Charles Tips – Committed Presence in Networking Groups

Reliable web development companies often maintain a committed presence in local networking groups. This keeps them in touch with those in their communities. It also makes the web company more accessible to those needing services. Developers usually give great service to those they see face to face weekly.

There are many networking groups out there. I don’t consider chambers of commerce networking groups. I say that for a few reasons. First is that there is no commitment to go to the meetings. Many join chambers and never attend meetings. One can join just about anywhere without committing to attend. Some belong to many chambers with no commitment to attend. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to belong to a local chamber and actually be involved.

Web development companies belonging to BNI (Business Networkers International) are ahead of the game. In order to participate in BNI the company’s representative must commit to a minimum one year and agree to show up weekly. Relationships are built among BNI members. This encourages referrals passed among members.

Bear in mind the web company should be able to pass all the items on our checklist (click to see the list again in a new window). That will be the most homework you can do to ensure the best probability of a great outcome with your website development.

Charles Tips – Carrying Liability Insurance

Carrying liability insurance is yet another important part of maintaining a legitimate, caring, responsible business. I’ve come to realize that in the web business many businesses operate without insurance. When something goes wrong, they just change the business name and open as another name.

Businesses operating in this fashion create problems for their potential clients. First and foremost is that should something happen that triggers the need for insurance, the client is stuck totally. The client in such a case may have no recourse or might not even be able to recover damages.

Folks who operate their “businesses” this way are fundamentally dishonest fly-by-nights. It’s easy enough to ask a web developer who handles their insurance needs and a quick check with their agent can verify that.

Avoiding dealing with a dishonest vendor can save you a ton of headaches in the long run.

On the other hand, good, honest businesses are always thinking in terms of the long run. They are thinking in terms of developing healthy business relationships with their clients. Part of that is staying in business so they can continue to provide services to their clients.

Finally, looking at all the items on the checklist we’ve provided in our Web Developer’s Checklist post will ensure you have the best possible shot at a positive experience having your website developed.

Charles Tips – Carries Workers’ Compensation on employees?

The potential for people being injured exists everywhere. If someone gets hurt due to their job, Workers’ Compensation provides coverage. Costs of medical care, rehabilitation treatments and lost wages are covered by this insurance if the injury is due to employment.

People do not understand the ramifications of dealing with a company that does NOT carry Workers’ Compensation on its employees. For example, web developers in business “under the table” would NOT be insured. In most states an “uninsured contractor” or “subcontractor” gets treated as YOUR employee if injured while doing work for you. Think about when they show up at your business for planning, discussing, photographing or whatever for the web project. Should anything happen to them, YOU may be on the hook for way more than you bargained for.

In addition to helping and protecting employees, Workers’ Compensation for our employees offers special protection to our business. It helps protect us and ensures we stay in business to continue to serve our clients over the long haul. Without it, a single mishap could put small web companies out of business.

Workers’ Compensation is yet another piece of being a legitimate, honestly run business protecting its clients as well as its employees and itself.

Charles Tips – Have several or more people?

We started in 1998 as a one man show – just Charles. After some years it became apparent Charles would not be able to keep up with the workload Charles was generating.

A choice had to be made. Charles alone didn’t get some projects because the question often came up: “What happens if Charles is on vacation? Sick? Etc.?”

The only path to growth was building a team. So that’s what we did. We became a team of 8-10 people at any time. We have the owner at this since 1998, the next in charge at it since 2005 and so on. The team grew. We were able to cover all aspects of web development. Team members go on vacation, are out sick, or whatever – but work continues to get done.

We’ve encountered many clients who previously dealt with “one person shows”. These clients spent much time frustrated and having to wait for important web changes to be done until that individual could get to it. With a team everything gets done quickly by whichever technician is available.

Think in terms of having a team behind you. When you need your work done you need it done. Period.

This is what our clients needed and we evolved to meet our clients’ needs.