I know it probably looks like FindSoKy hasn’t had any new upgrades or features lately, and there hasn’t been a blog post in over 3 months. I want to take a moment and fill you in on what’s been going on.
First off, I’ve had my hands full with my second child! My wife gave birth to our daughter Hannah on October 30th. She’s nearly 3 months old now, and life is starting to get back to normal. Our son Thomas is 3, and he’s a wonderful big brother so far. We’ll see if that changes when she’s old enough to play with his toys.
I haven’t been ignoring FindSoKy during all this time. There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes.
Before now, our focus was on getting as many Bowling Green businesses listed on the site as we possibly could. With roughly 3,500 Bowling Green businesses now listed, we have started efforts of adding businesses from those counties that immediately surround Warren County.
FindSoKy now includes 2,500 more businesses from Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Logan, and Simpson Counties!
We’re also in the midst of a major upgrade of the site and a site redesign. Let us know how you’re using FindSoKy.com in the comments.
The Economy, maybe you have heard about it lately. No matter if you are tightening the purse strings due to the economy or because you download Dave Ramsey’s daily podcast, The Simple Dollar has a plan for you. Take a look at this list of 100 Things to Do During a Money Free Weekend. Always looking for new ways to enjoy the weekend, my wife and I are making our way through this list, although I have to say number 100 is my personal favorite (number 8 is a close second, but man, I have terrible hand eye coordination)
8: Learn how to juggle. All you really need is three balls and a video showing you how to do it. Not only is it a fun activity to learn, it’s something that’s fun to bust out as a party trick on occasion (trust me, you can always get people to smile if you juggle three fruits in the kitchen while preparing something). 100: Go on a bike ride. If you’ve got a bicycle and a helmet in your garage or closet, you already have everything you need for some good exercise and some good fun. Head outside and bike away. Almost every town and every state park around here has an extensive array of bike trails, so you can almost always find somewhere new and interesting to ride, plus it’ll help get you into shape really quick.
This list has inspired me to find 100 things to do in Bowling Green during a money free weekend. Of course, I have to pass that information along, so sit back and enjoy. Over the next few weeks I will provide you with my personal list of 100 things to do, Bowling Green style. Of course, I will have to give this extensive thought and research, and seeing that it took me close to a year to provide my first post, this list will come to you in installments.
To celebrate the end of our first year, we are slashing prices on our Preferred and Premium upgraded profiles! List your business with us, or upgrade your existing basic listing to the Premium level for only $10 a month or $100 per year (previously $30/month or $300/year). The Preferred profile is now $150 per year (previously $500). Take advantage of these prices now.
If your business is not at the Premium or Preferred level, you’re missing out on these great benefits:
Higher placement in search results
Display your company logo on your listing
Banner ads that will be displayed throughout FindSoKy.com
Add your office hours and acceptable forms of payment
Add photos, video, brochures, menus and other file attachments — to showcase your work
Add a full marketing description — to tell your story
Thanks to all of you for helping FindSoKy.com grow to where it is today, one year later. We wouldn’t be here without you! If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or suggestions, leave us a comment.
FindSoKy.com was launched last September with the goal of helping Bowling Green residents find a great local business. We’ve come a long way towards achieving that goal in our first year. Here’s a rundown on what we’ve accomplished so far:
Over 100 businesses from the Bowling Green area have been added, in addition to the 3,300 that were added at the very beginning.
Nearly 100 reviews have been submitted from local Bowling Green residents.
Met with the mayor of Bowling Green, Elaine Walker, to introduce her to the website.
We were the WKU Small Business Development Center’s “Client of the Month” for the month of May.
Featured on WBKO’s Midday Live show.
Feature article in Allen County’s local newspaper, the Citizen Times.
Mentioned in the nationally published magazine “Entrepreneur”.
Mentioned in the Bowling Green “Networking Women” newsletter.
Launched the SoKyBlog where we have been posting site announcements and other various articles, such as the one you’re reading right now.
The site has received over 20,000 unique visitors within the last year leading to over 60,000 page views.
As you can see, we’ve been busy! It’s been an exciting first year. If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or suggestions, leave us a comment.
The Small Business Development Center at Western Kentucky University featured FindSoKy.com as the “Client of the Month” for the month of May. This really generated a lot of publicity and buzz for our site. In an effort to give back, we will start publishing the press release that announces the SBDC’s Client of the Month each month.
In the future, look for more articles on our Featured Listings. If you’re a business owner and would like to learn more about how you can become a Featured Listing, see here. And now, the SBDC’s client of the month for August, which is the Glasgow Family Eye Care Center.
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The Small Business Development Center at Western Kentucky University is proud to announce the August 2008 client of the month is the Glasgow Family Eye Care Center.
Dr. Whitney Thompson has returned home to provide quality eye care for the people of Glasgow, Kentucky. Whitney was the valedictorian of her 1999 graduating class of Caverna Independent High School. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Western Kentucky University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science with majors in Biology and Chemistry. Dr. Thompson received her Doctor of Optometry from Indiana University School of Optometry in 2007. MORE »
FindSoKy.com made it’s world television debut today on WBKO’s Midday Live program. This was our first opportunity to introduce the site to the local community. Adam and I were interviewed by Laura Rogers. Video posted, courtesy of WBKO.
FindSoKy keeps improving! We’ve just rolled out a new feature that should make it a bit easier to help you find a great Southern Kentucky business.
When browsing categories or when searching, you now have several sorting options. The default sort is still by membership. But you can now sort by:
Alphabetically: A – Z, or Z – A
Newest businesses, in decending order
Rating, in decending order
Listing views, in decending order
and, Random
So if you’re looking for the hot new business everybody is talking about, you can sort and have it go to the top of the list. If you’re looking for the highest rated business, or the most popular, you can have it go to the top as well. Let us know in the comments if you like the new sorting options.
Is there anything else you’d like to see on FindSoKy? Let us know in the comments.
Things are starting to get really exciting at FindSoKy.com!
During the month of May, Adam and I met with the Bowling Green Small Business Development Center to get ideas on how to market the site more effectively. They named us the “Client of the Month” for May, which led to a press release that went to the local media. My hometown Allen County newspaper, The Citizen Times, interviewed us and published a fantastic article that tells the entire story behind FindSoKy.com.
I have been given permission by the newspaper to republish the article here. Click here to read it.
Also, the site has been expanded and is now accepting new business listings for Allen County! If you have a business in Allen County, feel free to submit it to our listings. We will be adding the remaining counties that surround Warren County in the coming weeks.
With more than 70% of households now using the internet to search for local products and services, business owners are migrating away from more traditional phone book directory advertising. Instead, they are focusing more attention on internet based directories, such as our very own FindSoKy.com.
The Entrepreneur magazine recently featured an article explaining the benefits of listing your business online:
Free tools offered by [FindSoKy.com] offer powerful local business listings. They evolve and improve regularly, so keep reviewing their new offerings. Some require a verification process for the business owner, but completion of that process lets you write additional information and correct mistakes. It’s important to check your listings for accuracy on a regular basis.
Is your laundry piled high? Do you pick up a shirt in the morning and smell it to see if it’s clean or dirty? Declaring “laundry bankruptcy” might be something to consider. The Unclutterer website describes the idea:
If you’re someone with a mountain of laundry who is having a problem getting your laundry situation under control, I think that the laundromat bankruptcy plan is a good plan to follow. Go once to the laundromat, get all of your clothes washed, and then get started on your new laundry routine at home with a clean slate.
It’s a bit overwhelming to stare at a pile of laundry that can only shrink one load at a time. Taking everything to the laundromat allows you to load up multiple washers at once. Once you dry, fold, and stack everything neatly before going home, your laundry will be done much sooner than if you had tried to do it all at home.
