I was reading Genesis 19 this morning and in case you are not familiar with this chapter in the bible, it is when God has sent 2 Angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God has mercy on Lot and his family and the Angels took them out of the City before hand and warns them to ’ ...don’t look back but flee to the mountains”.

Well, as they are moving forward to the next closest City, Lot’s wife looks back and turns to a pillar of salt. Wrong move.

What is the significance of this story and how does it relate to us today? In the case of Lot’s wife, they were fleeing immoral society that God had decided to judge. Looking back, maybe she was curious but I believe she was looking back at her old lifestyle and couldn’t move forward to where she was told to go.

In our lives, we are meant to move forward at all times and while I am not saying we will turn to salt if we look back, it is imperative that where you have been does not dictate where you are going.

Sometimes there is actual danger in focusing on your past.  If you accumulated some bad habits in the past life or in business and have moved ahead, it is really easy when times get tough to fall back on those “comfort” zones. Whether it is financial, work ethic, or something else you said “you would never do again and have learned your lesson from”... have you noticed how easy it is to think back and think those weren’t as bad after all? YES THEY WERE! Who wants to backward again to try and go forward? Not me!

I know there are daily lessons in life and today’s was for me to share what I was reminded of. Looking back with longing cost Lot’s wife her life. Don’t allow yourself to caught “looking back” when there is so much to be gained in moving forward.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

I had been playing phone tag with Raymond from Courtyard Landscape and Lawn Maintenance in Calgary for about 4 weeks now. Ray is a busy guy and we finally met on Friday.

Courtyard Landscaping is a well established business in Calgary and specializes in lawn care and maintenance, landscape design, landscape construction, tree planting and removal, paving stones, patio’s and snow removal. Like I said Ray and his team are bust guys!

We had been discussing how we can optimize his websites and get a better presence for his Company. I was impressed with his willingness to learn how Websmart can improve his online presence as well as connect more with his existing clients and gain a new following online.

By the look of Raymond’s own home and yard, this guy truly is a craftsman and wouldn’t hesitate to get Courtyard do some work on my yard.

You can contact Ray at raymond@courtyardlandscape.ca or by phone, 403-617-2273

Here’s to your next Landscape project,

Larry J Clark

Had the honor of meeting Allen and Shelly Girletz last week to discuss their Rodeo Ranch and Events Center. They are looking at updating the existing website and develop a new site as well to promote their great facility.

Located just 15 minutes north of Calgary in Balzac, the Ranch has inside and outside facilities for up to 1200 people and hosts Corporate events, Stampede BBQ’s, Weddings, Corporate parties, picnics and X-treme Sport – Bull Riding!

With the phasing out and sale of the Simmons Valley BBQ Ranch, this could be the next best kept secret in the Calgary area!

If you are interested in booking an event or just hearing more about the Girletz Ranch, call Shelly at 403 226-0757

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

I am developing a new program for attracting new clients for Websmart…video. Have a look at this example I have uploaded to YouTube on my Channel.

Calgary Social Media and Video Marketing- WebSmart Solutions

To your marketing future.

Larry J Clark

Did my second visit to DaDe Art and Design Gallery today but this time it was to sit down with the owners, Darcy and Greg, and discuss their marketing and online presence.

If you have not had the pleasure yet of stepping into the Gallery, you are missing out on a Calgary treasure. DaDe ( pronounced DADE like Dade County) is located in the heart of Inglewood in a converted auto garage that has been updated with new glass roll doors and sleek loft appeal finish. The real visual is the art and furniture. Everything from antique to modern including the ‘hip’ bullfrog brand furniture which is an exclusive of DaDe. I also appreciated that Darcy and Greg feature select Calgary artists and their works in the Gallery and host receptions for them as well. Address is 1327 9 Ave. S.E.

I will be helping them with their online presence as well as expanding their marketing reach within Calgary and beyond. DaDe is much a well kept secret and now need to be exposed to the world. Look forward to working with them both.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

There are really only 2 competitors out there when it comes to free online classified ad’s for the most exposure. I have been using both for quite awhile now and I will explain the what the benefits of each is as well as the downfalls. Here we go…

Craigslist is the most established of the two and is is independently owned, so is not overly ad driven or does not have the annoying ‘feature ad’s’ that are on Kijiji. Craigslist also has more categories in which to target your ad’s to your prospective clients. Both Craigslist and Kijiji are Geographical meaning they are set up for specific regions and Cities so ad’s can be added to your specific area or Region. Great for the garage sale items! The downfall of Craigslist is the erotic section still available in Canada, you cannot pay for a better position, you cannot renew your ad for 48 hours (depending on how many people post in your category, your ad could be on page 4-5 in no time), and that they allow people to ‘flag’ your ad if they feel it has been mis-categorized. This just happened to me where I had actually posted business products for sale in the Business category and someone flagged them ALL! Yup, gone within minutes. Craigslist will not respond if you complain that your legitimate ads are flagged, so you have to deal with the people who have nothing else to do but flag ads. More about this when I conclude.

Kijiji on the other hand has some great features. One, it is very popular and I have had great results for selling domains. Kijiji also has a ‘hit’ count on the bottom of your ad so you can see how many people have clicked on your ad. Great for research as well as you can look at other ads or products and see what people are interested in based in ‘hits’ to the ad. Kijiji is owned by Google so it is ad driven. The good news is that it offers the poster a free ad, or the the opportunity to purchase a “position” in a category. For as little as $1.99, you can ‘bump up’ your ad on the page so it doesn’t disappear down the pages. With ad’s being a revenue stream for Google, allot of ads on one page is annoying. Kijiji allows you to delete and re-post your add at any time but the downside is you will spend time doing this frequently as it has a tenancy to drop your ad quickly due to the amount of people posting. I guess this is good for Google as they get more people to buy positions. I have been testing this lately and will post my results in a subsequent post.

Let me conclude with my personal opinion…I am loosing patience with Craigslist for their lack of concern for over zealous ‘flaggers’ who are bored and flag ads for removal, even of they are legitimate. Not sure how to fix this but it makes me not want to spend time posting ads. If Craigslist allowed paid ad’s like Kijiji, this could be eliminated. Spam is an issue with Craigslist as well and they will check your ad to make sure you do not have a live email address in your post as spammers will get you! Not an issue with Kijiji so much. So, I will lean more to Kijiji and it’s features as it is all about getting results for your efforts and so far, Kijiji win hands down

To your selling success,
Larry J Clark

I took the time to drive out to Bragg Creek yesterday to meet with Shana Kirton, owner of the Mr. Buho Sportswear and Active wear store. What a great little store! Located right at the four corners of Bragg Creek, it is a great spot. Stocked full of affordable leisure and warm weather clothing, the selection was outstanding. Quality pre-washed cotton this stuff rivaled what I was paying over a $100.00 for at half the cost!!  The Mr. Buho line was developed in Mexico and is very popular in the Riviera Maya Region.

Was I there to shop…nope. I was there to meet with Shana and discuss their online presence on their new website www.mrbuhostore.com

I wanted to discuss where they are now with their website and goals and where they wanted to go. There is huge potential for them not only selling the clothing online but also in Franchising their model. I have some great ideas that I will share with them next week and I know I can help them get to the next level of success.

Take the time to take the drive out to Bragg Creek…you won’t be disappointed.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

I heard a friend say once…”If if’s and but’s were candy and nuts, we all would have a Merry Christmas. His point was that we often say we would do something BUT…or IF only this was different, we would do this.

How many times in your life have you looked back and said IF only I had taken that position, started that business, or had only invested in that project I would not be where I am today. I find myself at that stage right now that I have been procrastinating when it comes to writing goals and taking initiative to develop business ideas I have.

I have been looking back at the last 8 months since I turned 50 and all the goals I set back then to start in order to accomplish by now, and I see no real progress. Does that mean I give up and say “oh well…I guess too much time has gone by”...nope. Now more than ever, I am steadfast in my resolve to accelerate those goals and catch back the time I have missed and even surpass the next goals with this new momentum.

I have heard all of those cliches ” It is a marathon not a sprint” but I am reminded of the great Olympic triathlete from Canada, Simon Whitfield, who in the Beijing Olympics was running the marathon portion and used a last 500 meters or so to sprint to a silver medal! Can you imagine having the stamina to sprint the last half of a kilometer or so after running 26 + miles. Outstanding. This is how I want to finish my business and life goals. Sprinting to the end.

May you be encouraged by this post to pick up those dreams and goals from the shelf, dust them off and get them done. No more if’s and but’s excuses my friend.

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark

Finished a great meeting on Tuesday with Craig Stokke and Tony Kereluke from Seller Direct Real Estate.

Seller Direct is a new, innovative way for clients to sell their homes in the Calgary area utilizing a ‘al a carte ’ system of services from just having your home listed on MLS right up to and including full Realtor Services. The response, from reading their testimonials online, has been quite favorable and positive.

I can see this model of Real Estate Services taking off rapidly across Canada, thus the franchise model in place and growth plan. I know I can assist them with their online marketing presence and look for forward to watching their future growth.

Craig is the President of Seller Direct and Tony is the Franchise Director. They can be contacted at (403) 571-5400

Check out their website at www.sellerdirect.com

Regards,

Larry J Clark

Just worked on a new site for a Calgary client helping them get a higher ranking in their field. I did this over the last couple of days with a new program and wanted to test it.

You will notice that it gets to the point and is keyword optimized and has contact information on all but 2 pages. I always suggest a ‘call to action’ on every site to guide your potential client to what you would like them to do.

Posting here on my blog will also get them indexed faster in Google. ( a little marketing tip for you)

Kind Regards,

Larry J Clark