Why I’ll be helping local micro and small businesses for free.

June 2013

I'm Graham Green and I’ve been advising, setting up ecommerce sites and developing online businesses since 2004. I mainly work with small or micro businesses because the truth is I find it immensely satisfying. But there is an issue that I see more than any other, an issue that is often fatal to the micro business and one that really does “get to me”.

I call it “Fancy Website Syndrome”

In my experience, the problem is caused by two things:

• First, the small business (or new start up) simply doesn’t know enough about the online world.

• Second, some web developers are more interested in creating the most amazingly clever / beautiful / gimmicky site than ensuring it is fit for purpose.

These two factors are a dangerous cocktail.

Heres the thing. Most web developers don’t sell stuff on websites, so as my blog of 2010 pointed out “asking a web developer how to sell online is like asking a bricklayer how to sell a house”. Its just not what they do. Its problematic when their focus tends to become not on making the site sell, but making the site pretty. (And the two are not necessarily linked - when was the last time you gasped at the beauty of Amazon’s website?)
Even when the website is done, there seems to be little practical support once the cheque has changed hands.

I meet the unhappy small business owner who has parted with hard earned money for a website that took three times longer to develop than originally agreed, hasn’t made a single sale and is unsurprisingly disillusioned with the whole “online thing”. In desperation, they have sometimes also thrown good money after bad by spending a small fortune on Adwords (or some other ‘marketing’ activity sold to them on a cold call). Sadly, with their pockets empty and enthusiasm drained, there is often little I can do.

This is not good for anyone.

I want to change that and the only way is to try and catch it before it starts.

I am not just an advisor who read this in a book. I have successful online businesses of my own. I have multiple eBay and Amazon accounts. My ecommerce business - sellthemoon - specialises in creating successful ecommerce sites. I do this stuff every day.

Starting in July, every Thursday morning I want to offer my time absolutely free to local (Hexham / Tyne Valley / Newcastle) micro and small businesses who need advice about their online presence. Sort of Pro Bono work for ecommerce. And not just about websites - all aspects of online activity. My experience is that there are common problems like getting noticed online and whether (or how) to engage in Social Media (i.e.Twitter).
No catch, not a sales trick. I really do want people to take advantage of this. I genuinely want to try and help so that I might see less scenarios like the one outlined above.

And thats good for everyone.

I can be contacted on the numbers below