Reader’s Digest Article

WebVixxen is currently featured in Reader’s Digest article “Room To Grow” written by Jeff Garigliano.  I want to personally thank Jeff for giving me such a great opportunity and including WV in this article.  I have has such a tremendous response to the article.  And have possibly found the investor I was looking for for my expansion.  Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“It’s a frustrating situation for entrepreneurs, like Lana Antonova, who are putting expansion plans on hold and watching opportunities pass them by. Antonova founded a Los Angeles-based Web-design firm called WebVixxen in 2003 and has local clients like restaurants and interior designers, plus big companies like Electronic Arts and Ford Motor. Last year, Antonova was ready to take her business to the next level with a marketing campaign. But she needed $25,000 to do it. She tried four banks. A few places recommended taking a personal loan, but each application she filed put a tiny dent in her credit, and those dents added up. “It gets tagged onto your personal file, even though it’s a business loan,” she says. “It’s a catch-22.” One place finally approved her for just $3,500, but the 14 percent interest rate was too high.

WebVixxen Design in Reader's Digest

Web Design costs

My marketing manager sometimes goes through Craigslist to develop new leads.  I have to say, very few people know what it takes to design a website.  And how much it is.  Sometimes I read some of the post my mm sends me and I laugh when people say: “Need a great state of the art website, nothing too complex, we need to be able to edit it, need a blog, need a picture galleries…$100 flat fee.”  Come on people, are you serious?  This is like a slap on the face.  I’m sure they get responses from the companies in India, who say they can do your site for $50.  If you’re looking to throw your money away, please call us, at least we’ll donate it to the charities of our choice.  But if you’re seriously looking to create a quality site, I would suggest to hire a local company.

Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail from the most recent client of ours: “I am debating on 2 other developers and the only reason I am even considering them is that they are $1,000 less than you. I
really don’t understand how I am getting so many different quote
ranges.  I seriously have got everything from $800 – $18,000. All of them are basically saying the same thing and all of them are guaranteeing that I will get a kick ass FLASH website.”

Now, I always tell my clients, don’t try to get the cheapest site.  I’m all for a bargain, so negotiate.  But at the end of the day, your decision should be made not because someone promised you a “kick ass” website, but because their portfolio is a great example of the quality of the work you’re after.  And always take a meeting.

More on this subject later…

Ways to Promote your Local Business for Free

Many local businesses struggle to find ways to promote themselves, get links, rank in search engines, and ultimately drive traffic to their websites. Most small businesses also have limited budgets making the task more difficult. For those businesses here are 13 ways you can promote your business online for free.

Why Do Web Startups Die? Lack of Alphalpha

By Dave Goldenberg

Published on June 10, 2008

Internet startups are generally as successful as a nerd in a singles bar. Ventures that get off the ground rarely get knee-high. Why?

My introduction to the web world

I’m somewhat new to WordPress, even thought I have created blogs for some of my clients. I started designing websites in 1998. My first site looked like something out of a web nightmare, I wish I kept it.

How it started

It’s a tough decision to start your own business, with no money in the pocket and no one to help you. I did a lot of researched before I started, and that just scared me more and more. If someone told me 4 years ago that my business would become so successful today, I would simply laugh.