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Solo's blog provides the resources that microbusinesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and other super-small businesses need to start, operate, and grow.

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In this article:\nBest local resources for Washington, DC businesses\nThe nice thing about starting your own business (besides the obvious benefits of working for yourself and setting your own hours) is that there are numerous resources available to help small business owners and entrepreneurs like you find success.\nIn Washington, DC, several community-based organizations have been built with the premise of helping small businesses get started and grow. We’ll provide a bunch of the best resources within this article. \nYou’ll find these resources broken down into five broad categories:\nComprehensive resources\nBusiness classes and mentors\nFinancial assistance\nChambers of commerce\nHiring and employment resources\nComprehensive resources\nThese comprehensive business resources can help your DC-area business with anything from offering advice to helping you secure the proper funding to get started. \nSmall Business Administration (SBA)\nThe SBA is a national organization that was created to help small businesses access the resources they need to find success and thrive in their local communities. The SBA can help you choose your business name and get it registered, find access to funding, connect you with business mentors, give you more information about contracting and legal compliance, and much more. \nThey are your all-in-one local business resource for anything that you might need as a business owner. \nContact the Washington DC office for more information about local resources:\nWashington Metropolitan Area District Office
409 3rd Street SW, Floor 2
Washington, DC\nPhone: (202) 205-8800
Website: \nsba.gov\nDepartment of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD)\nWhether you are just starting your small business or have a fully operational business, the DSLBD has the resources you need. With trainings, seminars, workshops, one-on-one technical help and more, this organization can help you strengthen and grow your business. \nConnect with the DSLBD:\nDept. of Small & Local Business Development
441 4th Street, NW, Suite 850 
North, Washington, DC 20001\nPhone: (202) 727-3900
Email: dslbd@dc.gov
Website: \ndslbd.dc.gov\nlong exposure image of Washington monument and traffic for small business resources\n\nBusiness classes and mentors\nSometimes all you need to strengthen your business is a little additional knowledge. Through advisors and business courses that are available in your community, you can do just that. Here are a couple of great places to start in Washington, DC. \nSCORE\nSCORE is a national organization that provides free mentoring to small businesses. They have a Washington, DC branch that provides workshops and one-on-one counseling services to help you gain the additional skillsets you need to take your business to the next level. \nVisit their website below to see the workshop schedule or to find a mentor that fits your needs. \nWashington DC SCORE Office
409 3rd Street, SW Suite 100a
Washington, DC, 20024\nPhone: (202) 619-1000
Email: help@score.org
Website: \nwashingtondc.score.org\nWashington DC Women’s Business Center (DCWBC)\nDCWBC proudly provides training and consulting to women entrepreneurs in the DC area. This organization is partially funded by the Small Business Administration in order to provide the best training opportunities to women entrepreneurs, particularly those who are at a social or economic disadvantage. \nContact the DCWBC:\nThe Washington, DC Women’s Business Center
740 15th Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC 20005\nPhone: (202) 393-8307
Email: info@dcwbc.org
Website: \nwww.dcwbc.org\n\nNew Horizons Computer Learning Centers\nNew Horizons offers business education and technical courses to help business owners and individuals in the community, from specific certifications you may need to application courses that to help you learn basic skills. \nAreas that New Horizons focuses their business courses on include:\nBusiness analysis\nBusiness skills\nProject management\nSAP\nSix Sigma\nContact New Horizons for more information about their courses:\nNew Horizons of Washington, D.C.
2010 Corporate Ridge, Suite 200
McLean, Virginia 22102\nPhone: (703) 749-4030
Email: info@newhorizons.com
Website: \nwww.dcnewhorizons.com\nFinancial assistance\nIt can be difficult to secure the funds to get a business going. These resources can help your Washington DC business acquire the capital your business needs. \nWashington, DC GrantWatch\nGrantWatch is a website that keeps track of upcoming business grants in your area. Find public, private, and state grants for specific types of companies and work. \nGo to \nwashingtondc.grantwatch.com\n to see grants that may apply to your business. \nWashington DC view from Georgetown for small business resources\nChambers of commerce\nChambers of commerce are networks of local business owners that seek to help grow their community and further economic development in their area. As a member of a chamber of commerce you’ll have unnumbered networking opportunities, marketing resources, financial assistance, and more. \nLearn more: \nChamber of commerce basics: what they do and why you should join\nTwo main chambers exist in the DC area. \nDC Chamber of Commerce\n1133 21st Street, NW, Suite M200
Washington, DC 20036\nPhone: (202) 347-7201
Email: info@dcchamber.org
Website: \nhttps://dcchamber.org/\n\nU.S. Chamber of Commerce\n1615 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20062-2000\nPhone: (202) 659-6000
Website: \nhttps://www.uschamber.com/\nHiring and employment resources\nWhen you are ready to start growing your business and hire employees, there are several hiring resources and staffing agencies available in Washington DC. \nDepartment of Employment Services (DOES)\nThe Department of Employment Services can help you with everything from making a hire to understanding worker’s comp and foreign labor laws. This department is your go-to resource when you need to know anything about employment laws and what your responsibilities will be as an employer. \nFor more information, contact DOES.\nDepartment of Employment Services
4058 Minnesota Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20019\nPhone: (202) 724-7000
Email: does@dc.gov
Website: \ndoes.dc.gov\n

Top local Washington, DC business resources

In this article: \nTop free website builders for small businesses\nPros and cons of several popular site builders\nExamples of free templates and features for free site builders\nThere are tons of free website builders that can help you get a start to marketing your business online. These are generally pretty simple to set up, too, so you don’t need a professional web developer or any knowledge of how to code. \nPrebuilt templates and drag and drop features make creating your own business website a breeze. But how do know which website builder is right for your business?\nIn this article we’ll walk you through the pros and cons of the top free website builders so that you can choose the one the suits the needs of your business the best. \nYou may also like: \nAre free website hosting and domains really free?\n\nBest free website builders for small businesses—pros and cons\nLet’s dive right in. Check out these website builders to see which one might be best for your business. \nWix\nWeebly\nJimdo\nSite123\nWordPress.com\nWix\nWix is a widely used free website builder among small businesses. However, generally speaking, most business owners that use Wix have upgraded to a paid plan in order to have their own custom domain on the website (like www.yourbusinessname.com) instead of the free subdomain that Wix gives you (accountname.wix.com/customname).\nPros of Wix’s free plan\nWix has tons of great features and reasons that it can be a good free option for your business. \nHundreds of template options to choose from for all business types\nDrag and drop features to make your website look exactly how you want it to\nOver 100 fonts to choose from and the ability to upload your own fonts\nWix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) can custom design a website for you with the input of a few options from you \nSEO customization\n500MB of free webspace\nCons of Wix’s free plan\nWhile Wix offers tons of features on its free plan and gives you the capabilities to create a beautiful business website, there are some limitations of the free plan. \nYou can’t have your own custom domain\nYour website will have ads on it from Wix\nYou can’t have an online store on a free Wix site\nLimited bandwidth and storage\nBy upgrading to Wix’s Combo plan for $13/month, you can remove the ads from the site and connect a custom domain. This is usually enough for informational websites. \nHowever, if you want to have an online store or accept online payments, you’ll want to look at Wix’s \nbusiness and ecommerce plans\n that start at $23/month. \nExamples of templates and demo sites from Wix\nHave a look at the below to get an idea of some of the templates and features Wix offers: \nhttps://www.wix.com/website/templates\n(Image)\n\nDemo site: \nhttps://www.wix.com/website-template/view/html/2651\n(Image)\n\nFeatures: \nhttps://www.wix.com/features/main\n(Image)\n\nWeebly\nWeebly is a free website building solution that partners with Square for its ecommerce capabilities. They do provide the option to have a free online store, however, that does come with the \ntransaction fees\n of using Square for payment processing. \nPros of Weebly’s free plan\nEcommerce capabilities, including the ability to manage inventory, add coupons, and automatically determine taxes\nMarketing features like SEO, lead captures, and the ability to add your Instagram feed to the website are included\nChat and email support are available\nCons of Weebly’s free plan\nYou can’t add your own custom domain to the free website plan (you’ll have to use customname.weebly.com)\nYou have a limited amount of storage for the website, which can become an issue if you have a lot of pages or products\nSquare ads will be on your website\nA slideout “powered by Weebly” ad will be in the footer of your website\nThere’s a cookie notice that you can’t disable on the free plan\nYou don’t get free phone support\nMost of these cons can be bypassed by upgrading to Weebly’s professional plan, which starts at $12/month. \nExamples of templates and features from Weebly\nHave a look at the below to get an idea of some of the templates and features Weebly offers: \nTemplates: \nhttps://www.weebly.com/themes\n(Image)\n\nHere’s a demo site we created using Weebly:\n(Image)\n\nBelow you can look at the breakdown of Weebly’s pricing and features: \nhttps://www.weebly.com/pricing\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nJimdo\nJimdo is another website builder that is easy to use, and it will allow you to create a simple and professional-looking website for your business. However, the free plan is pretty limited compared to some of the other popular free website builders. \nBeyond a website builder, Jimdo offers some other products (for additional cost) that can help you get your business off the ground: online store, custom domain options, and a custom logo builder. \nPros of Jimdo’s free plan\nYou get 500 MB of free storage for your website\nYou can start an online store (the free version is capped at 5 products)\nSeveral free templates to choose from, all you need to do is change the fonts and colors to match your brand\nYou can easily embed videos, contact forms, and Google Maps on your website\nBuilt-in tools for social media are included along with share buttons for your pages, products, or blog posts\nCons of Jimdo’s free plan\nYou can only have 5 web pages\nYou can only have up to 5 products in your store\nYou don’t get a custom domain connected to your site (you’ll have customname.jimdosite.com)\nIf you want unlimited products and pages on your website, you’ll have to use Jimdo’s unlimited plan, which starts at $39/month. If you only need a few pages or products, but you want a custom domain, then you could do just fine with their Start plan, which is $9/month. \nExamples of templates and features from Jimdo\nTemplates: \nhttps://www.jimdo.com/examples/\n(Image)\n\nDemo site: \nhttps://amanda-brennan-creative-producer.jimdosite.com/\n(Image)\n\nBelow you can see the pricing and features breakdown of Jimdo: \nhttps://www.jimdo.com/pricing/creator/\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nSite123\nSite123 claims to be the easiest free website builder “by far.” They help you get a website started in just three steps:\nSelect the type of website you want\nAdd your business name\nCreate your account\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nOf course, there’s more to actually building your website, but this is all you need to do to get started in editing and building your new website. \nPros of Site123’s free plan\nFull use of Site123’s website editor with easy drag and drop features and clickable fields to edit content\nTons of professional templates to start from \nEasily add multiple pages\nCons of Site123’s free plan\nYou can’t have a custom domain\nYou won’t have ecommerce capabilities\nThere’s a small banner ad at the bottom of the free sites. Currently it looks like this:\n(Image)\n\nSite123’s Premium plan starts at $12.80/month and eliminates the cons of the free plan. \nExamples of templates and features from Site123\nTemplates: \nhttps://www.site123.com/website-templates\n(Image)\n\nDemo site: \nhttps://www.site123.com/templates/preview/1278915\n(Image)\n\nFeatures: \nhttps://www.site123.com/features\n(Image)\n\n \nWordPress.com\nIf all you need is an informational platform, then WordPress.com can provide a quick, free solution. WordPress.com, \ndifferent from WordPress.org\n, is primarily a blogging platform, but you can use it to provide information about your business services and products in a beautiful and professional way. \nPros of WordPress.com’s free plan\nDozens of free website templates to choose from\nAny content you write on your WordPress.com website remains your property\nEasy-to-use editor that automatically saves your work every few minutes\nCons of WordPress.com’s free plan\nYou won’t be able to use a custom domain\nCustomer support is limited, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan for good support\nStorage space is capped at 3 GB\nSEO capabilities are limited\nYou won’t have access to install plugins for additional functionality on your site (i.e. contact forms, slideshows, online booking, etc.)\nNo ecommerce capabilities\nFor as little as $4/month, you can have your own custom domain, 6 GB of storage, and basic customer support. For additional features, you can check out their other payment plans at \nWordPress.com\n. If you want to have ecommerce capabilities with a WordPress.com website, you will need to upgrade to their Ecommerce plan for $45/month. \nExamples of templates and features from WordPress\nTemplates: \nhttps://wordpress.com/themes\n(Image)\n\nDemo site: \nhttps://wordpress.com/theme/maywood\n(Image)\n\nFeatures: \nhttps://wordpress.com/features/\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nWhat should you do after your website is published?\nCreating a business website, whether free or not, is only the first step to increasing your online visibility. There are several steps involved, most of which revolve around \nlocal SEO\n and getting reviews to your \nonline business listings\n like Google My Business. 

Free site builders: Which one is right for your business? Pros and cons

In this 8-minute read:\n24 free listing sites to add your restaurant to\nHow to manage your listings\nThe great thing about owning a restaurant is that everyone loves food, and there’s never going to be a decrease in demand for top-quality places to eat. But how do you make sure that your restaurant is showing up above the tons of other restaurants in your area? \nShowing up in the local search results on Google—and Google Maps results—is crucial to getting your restaurant in front of new customers. One way to help \nimprove your local search engine rankings\n is to add your business information to online directories. This helps Google and other search engines to verify your information and gives your restaurant more credibility. It also puts your restaurant on other websites where customers are searching for new places to eat. Win, win!\nBe sure to add your restaurant to these 24 free listing websites and watch as the calls and reviews start coming in. \n1. Google My Business\nGoogle My Business is how you get your restaurant to show up on Google Maps in the first place. Without this, the other online listings still help you, but they don’t provide as much value for you on Google. \nAlso, research shows that in terms of its correlation to increased sales, Google is the most important of any of the single review sites. Businesses who claim their Google listing average 10% more in annual revenue than the average business, but those who don’t claim theirs average \n24% less\n in annual revenue, so you want to make sure you are showing up here. \nFollow our simple steps and learn \nhow claim your Google Business listing\n. \nGo deeper: read about \nGoogle Maps Advertising\n2. Yelp is essential for restaurants\nYelp is a crucial \nonline review\n platform for restaurants to add their information to. As the third most popular online review site, Yelp provides you great opportunities to grow the reach for your restaurant. You need to have a Yelp listing to get reviews on Yelp, and so many people check these reviews when trying to decide what new restaurant they want to try out on date night. \nGuide: \nHow to claim your business listing on Yelp\n3. GrubHub: the new hotness\nGrubHub is free to list your restaurant, however, if you are capturing orders on their site, that’s when they’ll charge a small fee for their service. A great benefit of GrubHub, besides appealing to the introvert in all of us, is that when you create your GrubHub listing it will feed over to other sites like MenuPages and Seamless (also popular restaurant listing sites). \n4. Zagat: the premier restaurant listing\nZagat is a little more exclusive and won’t just list any restaurant, but they are free and if you can get on their radar, it’s a great opportunity for you. The nice thing too is that they pull directly from Google My Business. \n5. Allmenus is great for restaurants\nAllmenus lists more than 345,000 across the United States, and it is their goal to help restaurant owners like you get more customers. You can join AllMenus by using their \nform here\n. \n6. OpenTable: more than reservations\nOpenTable is the restaurant listing website for tens of thousands of restaurants worldwide. With reviews and online booking capabilities, they can help you get noticed by even more customers. Suggest your restaurant to be on their site for free with \nthis form\n.\n7. 8coupons\nEveryone loves a deal! And 8coupons provides the perfect platform for your restaurant to offer sweet deals and entice more customers to knock on your doors. \n8. TripAdvisor? Yes please!\nWith TripAdvisor’s 390 million unique visitors each month, this is a listing that your restaurant has to have, especially if you live in a tourist town. When friends and family are visiting loved ones in your town or others are on vacation looking for a good place to eat, TripAdvisor is a popular site that people go to. \nGuide: \nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n9. Set up your restaurant’s Facebook page\nYour restaurant should absolutely be on Facebook too! Not only is this a great way to promote brand awareness and get involved in local online communities, but Facebook is another platform that people love to leave reviews and recommendations on. \nFacebook has a great tutorial to help you set up your \nbusiness page\n. \n10. Instagram is great with younger diners\nInstagram is highly popular among, well everyone, but especially the younger demographic. If you’re trying to reach a younger target customer, you definitely want your restaurant to be here. Not only can your Instagram account show up in the search results and direct people to your website, but if you have highly photogenic food (and let’s be real, people love to ‘gram their food) you can gain a huge following that drives even more customers to your restaurant. \n11. Twitter? Use it for announcing deals\nOkay, so Twitter is a little different from the rest of these and may not compel customers into your restaurant, but it does have its benefits. Along with showing up in the search results, it is a super easy way for customers to reach out to you with questions and suggestions for your business. Twitter is also awesome for spreading the news on sweet deals that you’re offering. \nWendy’s\n is an awesome example of a restaurant that excels on Twitter. \n12. Apple Maps\nWhile Android dominates the market with an 87% market share, iOS holds around 13% of that market share which is still over a billion users. The primary map app on iOS devices is Apple Maps, another free directory in which you can and should make sure your restaurant is listed. You will need an Apple ID to create or edit your Apple Maps listing, but that’s free to create too if you don’t already have one. Get started at \nmapsconnect.apple.com\n. \n13. MapQuest: Yes, it’s still a thing\nAnother site that travelers tend to use a lot, you’ll want to make sure you’re included in their searches. MapQuest support is awesome and can get your restaurant added to its platform within days. Here’s their guide to \nadd a listing on MapQuest\n. \n14. YouTube? “FoodTube”\nYes, even restaurants can win at YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world, so if you can produce some awesome videos that people fall in love with, that’s a great way to promote your restaurant! \n15. Don’t forget Bing\nPeople do use Bing as a search engine, so it’s important to make sure that you have a Bing Places listing too. You can get started \nhere\n, or sign in with your Google account and import your Google My Business listing. \n16. \nSolo profile\nWith a free Solo profile, even the smallest local restaurant, pop-up, food cart, or hole-in-the-wall can have a helpful, functional SEO-friendly online presence for free. Building and maintaining a traditional website is simply too much for many restaurant owners to deal with. This is one reason a Solo profile can be such an amazing benefit. \nYour customizable Solo profile can list your business’s location, relevant contact information, links to your social pages, and any business details you want included. Sign up at \nSolo.co\n.\n17. MerchantCircle\nWith more than 2 million merchants and over 100 million visits each month, this is a good one to end our list. MerchantCircle sorts its businesses by category, and restaurants is a big one. Go \nhere\n to claim your listing on MerchantCircle. \n18. YP.com\nYP.com, or YellowPages, is a large directory listing site that 60 million people still use. You can set up and claim your free YellowPages listing \nhere\n. \n19. Old school listing: Better Business Bureau (BBB)\nThe Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a trusted resource for reporting scams. With your restaurant rated by the BBB, your customers or potential employees will feel a lot more confident in placing their trust in you. Follow \nthese steps\n to get your restaurant added. \n20. Manta helps consistency across listings\nManta is, you guessed it, another online directory listing. But they have some cool features to take advantage of. Once you put your business information into Manta’s platform, they will scan their database and check if your restaurant’s information matches up with other listing sites across the web. This helps you to make sure your information is consistent across multiple listing sites, which is an important ranking factor on Google. \n21. CitySearch: locally focused\nCitySearch is your friendly neighborhood listing site. They help consumers find businesses near them. With fun features like voting, award badges, and special deals, CitySearch has your best interest in mind as it drives customers toward you. Add your restaurant to CitySearch through the \nCityGrid database\n. \n22. Local.com\nLocal.com is all about showing users the best places in their cities. Make sure your restaurant is one of those places! Sign your business up on local.com \nhere\n. \n23. Foursquare\nWith its 55 million monthly viewers, it’s safe to say Foursquare is a biggie. Customers can check into your restaurant and leave tips about it for others—like what they should order the next time they visit!\n24. Whitepages/Yext\nWith over \n5 billion records\n, Whitepages is an enormous database of global people and businesses. One unique feature of Whitepages is its \nAPIs\n, which allow businesses to buy and use the company’s extensive data to build their own software. This means a WP listing shows up not only on whitepages.com but also across all of their API customers’ sites as well. \nWhitepages uses Yext to create listings, meaning the two can go hand-in-hand. Yext is a pretty cool platform that allows you to see how you show up across a bunch of listing sites. While they do cost money to update all of your listings from one place (convenient, right?), they do let you check your restaurant listings for free on their site. \nYou’ve claimed your restaurant listings. What’s next?\nNow that you’ve claimed your restaurant’s listings across multiple websites, you’ll want to make sure you keep track of them and be in the loop when someone asks you a question or posts a review to that listing. Set up alerts via the platforms if available, or consider using reputation management software to help you stay on top of it all.\nAlso, when you get a review on any of these platforms, be sure to respond if the feature is available. Replying to reviews (both positive and negative) goes a long way to show your current and potential customers that you take their feedback seriously, and are committed to resolving any problems that may arise.

24 free listing sites every restaurant should be on

In this article:\nWhy you need professional photos\nDefine your goals\nIdentify your audience\nDIY options\nStock photos\nProfessional photographers\nExpected costs\nGood photography is important in our increasingly digital, “connected” marketspace. With everything you do online for your business—website, social media, online review profiles, business listings, selling products—compelling visuals are a crucial part of the conversion process. \nYou can obtain high-quality, professional-looking photos a few different ways: learn how to take them yourself, exploit any of the various stock photography resources, or hire a professional photographer. We’ll walk you through each of these options and provide you with some tips and tricks along the way. \nWhy your business needs professional photos\nProfessional photos for your business’s online presence and in more traditional marketing methods (billboards, magazine ads, brochures, etc.) isn’t a unique selling point anymore. It’s something that consumers expect. And if your business doesn’t look like you have your stuff together, you could be losing out on some valuable opportunities. \nSome additional reasons you need professional-looking photos for your small business:\nPhotos help your customers get to know you better. With on-the-job candids, employee headshots, and photos of your building, your potential customers can learn more about your business and feel connected. \nYour media represents your brand, so high-quality photos will help potential customers view your brand how you want them to. \nImages (with proper tags and alt text—read our tutorial on \noptimizing local SEO\n for more details) can help improve your business’s online visibility through image search and improving user engagement on your website. \nGood photos are versatile assets that you can use across all of your marketing efforts. \nContinue on to learn what you need to know before you dive into getting your professional photos and discover a few different ways that you can get your photos. \nDefine your goals for business photography\nBefore investing in professional photography for your business, you need to nail down your purpose for the photos. \nWhy are you taking photos? What are you hoping to achieve with these professional photos?\nMaybe you’re looking to get professional product images to help increase sales or you want good images for your blog articles to increase online engagement with your website. Determine what your goals are for these photos so you can keep that in mind as you gather them. \nIdentify your audience\nLike all things in marketing, you must know your audience. You can’t take good photos for your business or website if you don’t know who will primarily be seeing them. Once you know your audience, you can take pictures that will attract them and better appeal to their interests. \nThe DIY photography option\nYou don’t have to spend a ton of money to get professional-looking photos for your business. If you have an eye for design and good aesthetics, then you may be able to take quality photos yourself. \nYou don’t even need to have a professional camera (although this can help if you know how to use it). Most of us have phones with cameras, and if you know how to use it right, you can get some great photos with just that.  \nCosts to expect when taking your own photos\nIt doesn’t matter which option you choose to get your professional photos, you’re going to be looking at some expense here. To take your own photos could range from just the cost of your time and a couple apps on your phone to the cost of a new camera and your time to learn how to use it. \nLet’s break this down. \nA new professional camera typically costs anywhere from $500 to tens of thousands of dollars. Unless your business is in photography or a closely related field, then you’ll probably be fine investing in one of the less expensive options here. From there, you’re just going to need to take the time to learn how to use your camera to take high-quality, well-composed photos. \nIf you choose to use your phone to take images, then you could be looking at just the cost of your time, depending on the capabilities of your phone’s camera. You may want to look into acquiring some lenses for your phone to enhance your photos. The cost of those can range from $10-$50. \nAnother feature you should look into for taking your own phone photos is professional photo editing applications, which can range from free to $20 (more on these shortly). \nBest practices for taking your own photos\nIf you are going to take your own photos, whether with your phone or a new camera, there are some things you should keep in mind to take the best professional-looking photos for your business. \nNatural light\nNatural light is the light that exists around us. When you’re outdoors enjoying the sun or open your windows up to let in some light, that’s natural light. And the same feeling that is associated with natural light when you walk outside or open your windows can be reflected in your images. \nUse natural light sources to keep your images feeling natural and pure. Take photos outside or create a little studio for products in a room with large windows. \nTest different lighting scenarios to find what works best for your images. \nCandid shots\nWhen taking photos of your staff or customers, you can’t beat the impact of candid shots. Take images of your employees on the job when they aren’t posing for a photo. This will help show your customers what your team is like and helps them get to know your company better. \nProfessional camera (or at least a good app)\nThe best way to get professional photos for your business is with a professional camera, lightbox, diffusers, etc. So if you can manage to get your hands on the gear and learn how to use it, that will take your photo game farthest. \nBut sometimes that doesn’t realistically fit into your budget, time constraints, or skillset, so you use the next best thing: your phone. There are some great photo editing apps out there that can help you organize and enhance images for your business. \nHere are a few that you should look at:\nAdobe Lightroom for mobile: free with in-app purchases\nAdobe Photoshop Express: free\nPixlr: free\nCamera+: $2.99 (iOS devices only)\nTouchRetouch: $1.99\nTons of photo editing apps exist, so play around with a couple and see what works best for you. You can read photography blogs or forums, and there are some great photography tutorials on YouTube.\nThe rule of thirds\nThe rule of thirds helps make your images more interesting from a composition standpoint. Basically, this rule tells you to break your image up into a grid of thirds and then focus your subject on one of the sides instead of in the center. \nThis rule is a general guideline but it helps enhance your images to make them more appealing to your customers. \nClear subject\nYour business photos should tell a story, which means they need to have a clear subject. It’s hard to follow a story that jumps all over the place and you aren’t quite sure who the story is about. \nFor each photo you take, make sure there is a clear focus on the subject so your customers and visitors aren’t confused by chaotic and hard-to-follow imagery. \nAvoid over-editing\nIt’s easy to get wrapped up in the photo editing process. Try not to overdo it. Some light editing can take you far—enhancing the brightness or contrast a little, cropping the photo for better composition, or bringing out your colors. \nWhen you are done editing, take a look at your original photo and the finished product. If it looks drastically different, you may have taken it a little too far. Most people can tell when an image has been heavily edited, so work to keep it “real” and natural-looking. \nBetter yet, try to capture your photos in a way that doesn’t require a lot of editing in the first place. \nUsing stock photos for your business\nIf you don’t have the means to take your own photos but can’t justify the expense of a professional photographer for your blog or website, then stock photography might be a great option for you. \nA warning about stock photography: Stock photos can make your site feel less personal and even tacky (depending on the types of photos you use). \nAnyone who works with stock photos will likely recognize many of the commonly used images you might use. Be sure to choose high-quality images with a unique look and feel that help enhance your online presence and build your brand.\nThere are several free and low-cost options out there that you can use to get copyright or royalty-free images.\nFree\nFree stock photo sites are a great option when you don’t have the budget for professional photography or don’t use photos very often. If you look around you can find some surprisingly good stock photos on free sites.\nA couple options that you can try:\nPixabay\nUnsplash\nPexels\nLow-cost\nIf you are going to be using stock photos on a regular basis (for blogs or regular ads and marketing campaigns) then it could be worth it to pick up a subscription to a stock photography site. \nHere are some low-cost options that you can look at:\nDeposit Photos: $29/month for 30 images each month and rollover downloads\nLifetime Stock: $9.99/month with an annual purchase and 33 images per day\nShutterstock: $29/month for 10 images per month\nHire a professional photographer\nSometimes what you really need is a professional. Whether you don’t have the time to learn to take your own photos or have some products that just need a professional eye for a good photo, a professional photographer is always a good option. \nEven if you do most of your photography yourself, consider hiring a pro for special projects, a new run of product photography for your online store or \nInstagram business account\n, etc.\nBenefits of using a professional photographer for your business photos:\nHigh-quality, beautiful, well-composed photos\nThe knowhow and experience to create or enhance your business vision through photos\nTheir creativity and suggestions for better photos and campaigns\nConfidence that you’ll get great photos\nStaff and customers may feel more comfortable working with a professional for staff and customer photos\nProfessional equipment\nMany photographers are also skilled photo editors\nCosts to expect with a professional photographer\nDepending on where you are and what the commercial photography market is like in your area, the cost of a professional photographer can vary a lot. Generally speaking, you’ll probably be looking anywhere between $100 and $400 per hour. Travel time and the number of photos you want edited can raise that cost. \nTo keep the costs down with your professional photographer, keep these things in mind:\nConsult beforehand and get a detailed price quote for all costs\nBe prepared by knowing the exact shots that you want taken ahead of time\nSchedule a time when all relevant staff will be in the store so you only need the photographer to come out once (for staff or product photos)\nFind a photographer who is in your area to keep travel costs down\nTest out a college student who is still building up their portfolio \nEnhance your small business marketing efforts\nQuality photography, no matter which option you go with, is going to enhance your business’s marketing efforts and give you more credibility and visibility with your customers. \nBuild on that momentum and continue to build customer trust by optimizing your online presence and online reviews. 

Top 3 ways to get (and use) professional photos for your small business

In this article:\nBenefits of DIY business photography\nHow to get started\nTaking awesome photos\nEditing your photos\nA picture is worth a thousand words\n…or so the old adage goes. But this can really ring true for your business. Photos are an important aspect of creating a brand and attracting new customers, especially with the visual nature of modern advertising methods on \nsocial media\n.\nProfessional business photography\n can get expensive though, so it doesn’t always make sense to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a professional photo shoot (even if it may be worth it in the end).\nThat’s why you should know how to take your own business photos. Whatever type of business you own, you can benefit from DIY photos skills. We’ll walk you through some of these benefits and how to produce your own quality photos. \nBenefits of taking your own business photos\nThere are three main benefits of DIY business photography:\nIt’s cost-effective. Sure, it might cost a little bit initially to get the equipment you need to take the photos, but then you have it for life and can always rely on yourself moving forward. \nYou can work on your own time. You don’t have to work with a photographer’s schedule to take your business photos. You pick the time and determine when you want the photos to be done. You just have to hold yourself accountable. \nYou can make your photos look exactly how you want them to. You’ll have the ability to edit your own photos and pick the exact shots that you love. There won’t be any back-and-forth review process between you and a third party. \nIf all that sounds great to you, then read on to learn how to take your own photos and what you’ll need to get started. \nNot sure about taking your own photos? Check this out: \nTop 3 ways to get (and use) professional photos for your small business\nHow to get started in taking your own business photos\nThere’s a little bit more to taking a good business photo than just snapping a quick pic and being done with it (although sometimes it can be that simple). \nDetermine what kind of photos you want/need\nFirst, you’ll want to come up with a plan and determine the type of photos you need and what your goals are. What do you want customers to feel when looking at your photos? What message are you trying to get across?\nThese are some of the types of photos you might want to take for your business:\nBrand photos like your storefront, owners, and candids of products or services with customers\nProducts\nEmployees\nOffice or building photos to show off your space\nDepending on the types of photos you want to gather for your business, you might need different supplies to get started. \nGather the essentials\nAt the very least, you’re going to need the equipment to take the photos. This can be as simple as using your smartphone (many offer high-quality cameras built-in), or you can go out and purchase a nice digital SLR camera. \nHaving your own camera will allow you to get a little more creative with the style of photos that you can take. Different lenses and camera settings can help you find that perfect shot that you are imagining. \nIf you do want to purchase your own camera, one of the top-recommended professional cameras for creative photography is the Fujifilm X-T100, which you can currently get for under $400 at Walmart. \nIf you have a little more cash on hand, then you might want to consider getting a Nikon DLSR. These can run up to $3,000 or more when you add in different lenses, lighting, and other equipment. \nDon’t be intimidated by any technical camera talk though. You can still take professional quality photos with your phone if you’re on a tight budget. \nBeyond the camera, there may be a few other items you’ll want to make your photos stand out:\nLighting options (spotlights, umbrella lights)\nTripod for stabilization and creative angles\nBackdrops (solid white for product photos and employee headshots)\nTaking good photos\nWhen you’re ready to take your photos, keep these best practices in mind. \nSet the stage. Take the time to set up your “studio.” Set up your lighting, backdrop, camera angle, or any other props you need for the photos. \nUse the rule of thirds. This will always be applicable in photography. It draws the viewers’ eyes to the focal point of the image. This will help you to keep a clear subject.\nTake several photos testing different options. When you go back to look through your photos, you’ll want several different options to choose from. Testing different lighting setups, angles, and subjects. \nPost-production and editing your photos\nAfter you have taken your photos, you can take the final step in your DIY photo journey: editing. \nWe have one main rule when you reach this step: keep it simple. Most of the work of taking your business photos should be done in the photo-taking process. Editing should really only be done for minor touchups like brightening the photo and adjusting colors if necessary. \nIf you are creating an edgy piece of marketing material, you can get a little more creative with the style of your photos and effects. But as you are taking product, employee, brand, and office photos for your website and other media, simple is better. \nHere are a few free editing tools that you can use on your desktop to bring your photos to perfection:\nPhotoScape\nPicMonkey (this does have premium options as well)\nPixlr X Online Photo Editor\nAnd, if you’re taking photos with your phone, you might want to try some of these editing apps:\nAdobe Lightroom\nAdobe Photoshop Express\nPixlr\nNow you have the perfect photos to take your marketing to the next level. 

Do-it-yourself photography guide for small business owners

In this article:\nBest restaurant blogs to keep up with\nGreat podcasts restaurant owners should listen to\nFree online courses and webinars for restaurant owners\nOwning a business isn’t for the faint of heart, especially if that business is a restaurant. Taking your restaurant to the online world creates a new realm of challenges, from online reviews to managing a social media account for each of your locations. And this digital world is only getting busier with new technologies and methods that you’re being told you need to start using.\nBut in the midst of all the online ads being thrown at you and peers telling you just how you need to run your business online, how do you sort out what you should really be doing for your restaurant? Listen to the experts! With tons of \nfree ways to grow your business\n, we’ve gathered a list of 10 free online resources that every restaurant owner should be using.\n1. Restaurant Engine blog\nRestaurant Engine is a company that has built their knowledge on creating phenomenal restaurant websites, but it’s their blog that we really want to direct your attention to. They are continuously learning and updating their knowledge base of how restaurant owners can market and grow their business. From how to market your bar to how to design the layout of your restaurant, they can offer any restaurant owner great insights. \n3 must-reads from Restaurant Engine:\nThe Best Bar Marketing Ideas—Game Changers\nTop 3 Technology Trends for Restaurants\nHow To Integrate Online Ordering into Your Facebook and Email Campaigns\n2. Constant Contact—a simple recipe for social media success\nSocial media is ever-growing, and frankly, it’s an important place for every business to be. Social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram are awesome places to be to help enhance your brand and create awareness in your local community—especially if your business is new. Constant Contact put together \nthis hour-long (free!) webinar\n on how to get started with social media, from what content to post and how to figure out the best social media channels to use for your business. \n3. RestaurantOwner.com\nRestaurantOwner.com is another blog site that is complete with hundreds of resources for restaurant owners to use in their businesses. Their resource library is full of webinars, online training courses, helpful articles, downloads, workshops, surveys, and much more. \n3 must-reads from RestaurantOwner.com:\n15 Ideas to Make Your Restaurant More Family Friendly\nHow to Tap into the Magic of Social Media Marketing\nDelivering Your Ultimate Guest Experience (Free Online Training Course!)\n4. Alison\nAlison.com has 1,000 free online courses, several of which are extremely beneficial to restaurant owners and their employees. From hospitality and food safety courses to marketing and social media, you can find hours of great training material for you and your staff members of all levels. This resource does require a user login, but it’s easy and free to set up.\nTop 3 recommended courses:\nDiploma in Food Safety\nSocial Media Strategy for Small Businesses\nFundamentals of Marketing Your Business Online\n5. Open For Business\nOpen For Business, created by Open Table, compiles hundreds of articles from top industry experts. This site covers restaurateurs, behind the scenes of successful restaurants, Q&A’s with famous chefs, and other insider information from Open Table’s own data collection. This comprehensive library has helpful resources for every restaurant owner. \n3 must-reads on Open For Business:\n\nUnpacking Social Media: What Restaurants Need to Know in 2019\n\n\nHospitality, Reviews & Repeat Guests: Why Personalized Experiences Matter\n\n\nREPORT: What Guests Want in a Dining Experience – and What Restaurants Are Getting Wrong\n\n6. Upserve’s Restaurant Insider\nUpserve’s Restaurant Insider is a must-have in your list of free resources to keep up with industry news, marketing tips, and the latest insights into the world of the restaurateur. With case studies, media tips, and their own free online resource library, this is a site you won’t want to miss. \n3 must-reads on Restaurant Insider:\n8 Restaurant Grand Opening Ideas That Will Bring A Crowd\nAdapting Your Restaurant to the Needs of Disabled Customers and Employees\nEasy and Inexpensive Restaurant Video Marketing Ideas\n7. Restaurant Unstoppable\nRestaurant Unstoppable is a podcast produced by Eric Cacciatore, a devout student in the hospitality and management industry, and it is his mission to help and inspire restaurant owners around the globe. With over 600 podcasts surrounding the world of restaurants and interviews with the most successful restaurant owners around, you’ll quickly be hooked and learn something new every time you listen. \n3 must-listen podcasts on Restaurant Unstoppable:\nBruce Irving On Restaurant Email Marketing Dos, Do Nots, & Tools\nDamian Mandola On Attention To Detail\nDavid Scott Peters On 7 Steps For Creating Great Managers\n8. National Restaurant Association\nThe National Restaurant Association is always putting out new webinars and commenting on issues in the industry. They are continuously expanding their content and gathering new information to help restaurant owners everywhere. \n3 must-reads from National Restaurant Association:\n \nDigital change is driving the future of the restaurant industry\nReady for Gen Z? 5 ways to capture this influential market\nBig data and the restaurant industry: The only way to compete\n9. Modern Restaurant Management\nModern Restaurant Management (MRM) is an online magazine created to tell the stories of restaurant owners around the world, specifically so you can learn from others just like you! With everything you need to know from the ground up of starting up a restaurant, MRM posts new articles or videos every day. \n3 must-reads on MRM:\n\nThe Three Best Social Media Tips for Restaurants\n\n\nEight Video Marketing Tips for Restaurants\n\n\nHow to Make the Media Fall In Love With You and Your Restaurant\n\n10. TouchBistro blog\nTouchBistro is a solution for POS systems for restaurants, and they offer a multitude of helpful insights on their blog. With customer stories about POS systems, a video library full of tips and tricks, and a continuous flow of new articles, you’ll want to add them to your list of restaurant owner reads. \n3 must-reads on TouchBistro blog\n5 Restaurant Technologies That Can Help You Cope with Rising Minimum Wage\nThe Total Guide to Writing a Marketing Plan for Fast Casual Restaurants\n\nHow to Style Your Restaurant’s Food for Instagram\n\nThere you go! 10 free online resources to help your restaurant be the best it can be.


87 articles found in “Resources”

Top local Washington, DC business resources

Free site builders: Which one is right for your business? Pros and cons

24 free listing sites every restaurant should be on

Top 3 ways to get (and use) professional photos for your small business

Do-it-yourself photography guide for small business owners

10 free online resources for restaurant owners

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