Checking My Tech Privilege

Whoops.

Checking my Tech Privilege

Oh, man. Some lessons take a while before you actually learn them.My  big pet peeves this year are entrepreneurs and companies who do not have their phone number or direct email address on their websites anywhere. Once you start looking, you'd be amazed how few there.  A few months ago, when I was doing more admin than tech, this was a real problem. Contact forms everywhere, no direct contact info. Argh.Put it on your website, and it increases your chances of being contacted. Some people don't want to fill out a form, they want to reach you directly.  If you don't want to use your home or cell phone, get a free google voice number. Simple, right?So, last week I was talking to another small business entrepreneur, who was using her cell as a business number, which was a problem after hours. We discussed the need  to set boundaries (we've alll been there or currently live there),and I went into my spiel: Cell phone NO, Google voice YES, put it on your website, your cards, and while you're at, get your email address on there, too. She nodded at me, kind of frowning, and I said, "No, really, it's easy." And she kind of frowned again, and changed the subject.

Umm, Why The Frown?

It wasn't until I was driving home and thinking about the conversation that it  hit me. "All" she had to do to get a google voice number was find that area in her google account (assuming she had one or knew how to get into it) and take the time to pick a number, and then go into the back-end of her website (if she knew how to do that, since someone else might have built the site, in which case she would have to ask/pay them to do it, or else take hours to learn how and where to do it herself) replace the number and the email address (hmm, is it personal or branded? Is she okay with however it looks? If not, she has figure out to change it). Changing it on her business cards would mean buying new cards.And then I remembered a client a few months ago, who wasn't using an online calendar she could hook into Calendly. Another who had to update the OS (operating system) on his computer before he could download Skype.Oh. OHHH...

Privilege Check, Aisle One

Something that would take me a few minutes to do would take hours or days for someone else who didn't have  my web and tech experience, and it's hard to find the time to learn something new when you're busy working. Learning something new is a pain in the butt. For example, this lesson sucked! But, it was a reminder to be patient and meet people where THEY are, and to start by finding out where that is.So, when I re-did my Services page, and raised my prices, I kept smaller, more specific and lower-pricedTune-Up Services like editing website content, setting up Calendly, or any individual service that's in the Online Business Management Retainer. Take a look at what's possible and contact me...at elizabethcoopersmith@gmail.com. or 323-592-9318. I'll talk to you soon,     Elizabeth