SBA NEWS REL: Google and SBA Launch “Tools for Online Success” Partnership to Boost Small Businesses

SBA NEWS RELEASE
Press Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     
Release Date: May 5, 2010    Contact:  Hayley Matz  (202) 205-6948
Release Number: 10-20    Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

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Google and SBA Launch “Tools for Online Success” Partnership to Boost Small Businesses
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See Below for Success Stories and Helpful Tips for Small Businesses
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WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and
Google announced a new partnership and unveiled “Tools for Online Success,”
an array of online resources and training designed to help small business
owners harness technology to grow their businesses.  The “Tools for Online
Success” site (http://www.google.com/help/sba) features tutorials, video
testimonials, and tips from savvy small business people who have leveraged
the web to become more efficient, more cost-effective, and more successful.

“The SBA is pleased to partner with Google to put these important tools in the
hands of small businesses across the country,” said SBA Administrator Karen
Mills.  “As the web evolves and consumers adapt accordingly, we know that
more customers are finding traditional ‘Main Street’ businesses online.  With
these tools for online success, we can ensure these small businesses reach
new markets and customers so they can continue to create jobs.”

“One fifth of searches on Google are related to location, which shows that
people are looking to the Internet to make decisions about where to go and
what to do in their daily lives,” said John Hanke, Vice President of Product
Management, Google. “We want to connect our users with the businesses that
provide the goods and services they need, but the first step is for those
businesses to have an online presence. We're excited to team up with the SBA
to make that process easier for business owners across the country.”

Google and the SBA unveiled the partnership during a forum held today at the
SBA’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and broadcast live online to
press and small business owners across the country.  Susan Holt, Principal and
Owner of CulinAerie, a recreational cooking school in downtown D.C., shared
her experiences working with the SBA and explained how she has used online
tools like Google Places and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to attract more
aspiring cooks.

Holt is just one of the many small business owners from across the country
who are sharing how they've used online tools to reach new customers. Many
are featured in the video testimonials found at the “Tools for Online Success”
site.  Each video documents the unique success stories that these small
businesses have created using online technology:

• Masha Hleap-Hershkovitz, Owner of Fuego Mundo in Sandy Springs, Georgia,
uses social media to request feedback from restaurant customers for
improvement. Ms. Hleap-Hershkovitz even used social media to name her
restaurant.  “We bounced back and forth with a potential name for months,
and we were kind of bottle-necked,” she says.  “We put it out there [on social
media], and it came back 70 percent ‘Fuego Mundo.’”  Visit
http://www.fuegomundo.com.

• Sean Vahey, Owner of Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream in San Francisco
launches new menu items and cultivates a worldwide following for his
company’s unique ice cream flavors using social media and Google Places.  “I
don’t have a lot of time do marketing,” Mr. Vahey says.  “I don’t have a lot of
time to sit down and reach out to people.  I’m able to get on the computer
and two minutes later, I’ve gotten the word out…Our Google Places page is
important, because it’s got all of our information in one spot - our website, our
phone number, you can see where we are on a map, and you can even get
directions.” Visit http://www.humphryslocombe.com.

• Sumul Shah, Owner of Lumus Construction in Woburn, Massachusetts, uses
its website and online maps to research projects all over the United States
and show potential customers examples of its past work.  According to Mr.
Shah, “Customers can see and visualize the types of projects and the
complexity of the work we do…In the future, our website will not only talk
about how much renewable energy we’re building, but we’ll actually quantify
it.  We’ll be able to take live data coming from all the wind turbines and solar
panels that we’ve installed, simulate it, and be able to report not only how
much energy we’re producing, but also what the environmental benefits are.” 
Visit http://www.lumusinc.com.

• Aliyyah Baylor, Owner of Make My Cake in Harlem, New York City, redesigned
her website to display vivid imagery of its baked goods.  Make My Cake is
family-owned and operated, and Ms. Baylor says, “Our website is an extension
of our business when it’s too busy for someone to answer the phone.  It’s our
virtual salesperson, and that is very key.”  Visit http://www.makemycake.com.

• Mandy Scott, Owner of Mandy Scott Flowers in San Francisco uses highly
targeted online advertising to help her premium flower boutique compete with
national brands on a small marketing budget.  She says, “We are tiny
compared to the big players.  I can’t hope to compete with them on any kind
of national scale, but I feel locally we do very well.  Showing up in both
natural and paid search results is important for us because we want to be on a
level playing field with the big guns.”  Visit
http://www.mandyscottflowers.com.

• Jessica Soler, Owner of Salon Red in Decatur, Georgia, uses a website and
local online listings to help her customers find salon locations and book
appointments.  She says, “A great example of how the web helps Salon Red is
we were nominated with one of the local papers to be a ‘Best Of’ salon in
Atlanta, and tons of people went online to vote for all of our locations.  We
just were flooded with business, and it all came from online.”  Visit
http://www.salonred.com.

• Christopher Bartlett, Owner of Skaters Landing in West Hartford,
Connecticut, uses online videos to teach customers from all over the world
how to properly shop for and use ice skating products.  “We really were able
to reach out to new markets,” says Mr. Bartlett.  “I don’t look at [our online
efforts] as a place to go to and hard sell, but to really talk with people and
answer some of the questions that people might have.”  Visit
http://www.skaterslanding.com.

• Louis Rossetto, CEO of TCHO in San Francisco brings a start-up mentality to
his company’s premium chocolate production.  TCHO uses web analytics to
constantly improve its website's layout, ensuring consumers are engaging with
its products in the most effective way possible.  “You can’t be a modern
company without using modern tools, and online is just fundamental to being in
business today,” says Rossetto.  “Our website represents our direct link to our
customers.  We use it to explain who we are, engage our community, and it’s
certainly a storefront for us.  You’re inviting the whole world into your store if
you do that online.”  Visit http://www.tcho.com.

Continued success stories like these are the goal of the Google/SBA
partnership.  Visit the “Tools for Online Success” website for a full run-down,
but here are a few easy tips all small business owners should be using:

• Establish your online presence. One out of five searches on Google are
related to location.  Most local online listings such as Google Places are free,
and if your business doesn’t have a website, there are ready-made site
templates and free hosting services that make establishing an online presence
easy.

• Use free marketing to reach customers. You can build a fan base with free
services like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter that keep your customers in-the-
know about new products or specials and aware of promotions. These services
are great "word of mouth" platforms - where a customer following you might
tell their friends about your business.

• Know your customers.  Easy to use web analytics tools can tell you a lot
about your customers by analyzing what search term brought them to your
website or what they look at while they are there. This information can help
you make smart decisions about what you feature and what search terms you
should run search ads on.

• Keep an eye on the latest trends.  The growing popularity of smartphones
means that more and more customers are searching for local information on
the go.  This makes it all the more important that a business’s online presence
be accurate and up-to-date. You can link to your menu, give users driving
directions, and even post digital coupons.

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Lynn M. Miller, LMA, LLC
Business Development & Consultation
*The Professional with a Flair!*
Phone: 718.506.2329
Fax: 718.228.7331
lynnmiller@lmallc.com
www.lmallc.com

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