Small Business Solutions

I am very excited to announce that we have won a Silver ADDY Award for our work on i3 Strategies website!

ADDY Awards are given out yearly by the Mid-Michigan Creative Alliance as a way to recognize local designers and companies teams that are fueling the creative revolution in Michigan. There are a number of award categories for print, interactive, and audio/visual media, as well as a category for student work. This was GreenLite's very first ADDY - not bad for our second year in business!

This year's event was held at the Old Town Temple Club in Lansing, which is a really cool venue where IgniteLansing 2.0 was recently held. Jeff and Steve were in attendance along with our client, Julielyn Gibbons of i3 Strategies. We would like to extend a special thanks to Julielyn for allowing us to experiment creatively with her original vision. And let's not forget Chris, our lead developer who transformed the design into a live website at http://i3strategies.com.

We hope to see you at next year's event!

Ag-Co, a company that specializes in selling horse stalls, recently launched their new and improved e-commerce site. Instead of pushing their products, Ag-Co was interested in capturing their customers' love and enjoyment of riding. To accomplish this, we used a large image to give the site a friendly, personal feel. By using browns and a touch of autumn orange, the site appears warm and inviting. We also simplified their navigation and concentrated on giving the site a clean, fresh look thereby elevating this St. John's-based company above their competition--both state- and nation-wide. Check out a before and after shot to see what a website redesign can do for your business. Which site is more likely to make customers feel confident that they are buying a high-quality product?

NuWave Technology Partners, one of Michigan’s leading IT providers, expanded their services to include the residential market with the launch of NuWave Home Services--Nuwavehome.com. NuWave was interested in continuing their branding but also wanted their new site to have a distinct feel. Steve, the designer, understood what they were looking for and nailed this design on his first attempt (not an unusual feat, but this design didn't require even a single tweak, which is why it's particularly noteworthy). His use of shadows, repeating elements, and lines adds a great deal of interest to this simple, streamlined site.

Next time you need some computer help or want DirecTV installed, be sure to call this Michigan-based business.

With the passing of a law that requires all new schools and government buildings to be Green buildings, our client, Mike Bone, saw an opportunity. Mike, who's been involved in the building industry for the past 25 years, wanted to start a business that would teach professionals the nuts and bolts of LEED Certification, the standard that defines the Green Building Industry. In particular he saw a real need for LEED Exam Prep classes to be taught in the MIdwest--and thus Green Built Services, LLC was created. Mike's business lends itself perfectly to a well-designed and functional website. We took particular care with making his calendar and bookstore user-friendly. The end-product is a website that not only looks great but that also meets all of Mike's business needs.

In today’s age it’s extremely important to have a website for your business, for growth and communication purposes. We have had many prospective clients that don’t have a budget for GreenLite Pro packages, but still need some something to get their web-presence "on-its-feet".  We have finally developed a solution to fit this need… GreenLite Express.

GreenLite Express is our latest service providing a customizable “turn-key” website, within
every business’s price range; just $25 per month. This subscription gives clients a 5 page website, content management system, hosting, and unlimited email support.  We also offer the ability go beyond a traditional brochure site by adding optional features to your site. Features such as a blog, photo gallery, basic e-commerce solution, and more are available for just $25 each.

The greatest feature is GreenLite Express Websites are fully compatible with GreenLite Pro products. As our clients grow, so can their website’s design and functionality. Clients will enjoy continuously building their website rather than staging overhauls every time redesign or additional functionality is necessary. Our easy to use content management system makes this possible. Clients can easily create, edit and remove content as necessary. They can even customize the template colors and add a logo to match their current branding.

For a live demo of a GreenLite Express Website head to http://express.greenliteweb.com.  With GreenLite Express we can get anyone on the web!

We are pleased to announce that the Michigan Primary Care Consortium (MPCC) has been awarded a free GreenLite website for winning our "Win a Free Website" contest.

Of our three contest finalists, we believe that the MPCC has the potential to provide the greatest positive benefit to Michigan's economy with their clear and focused mission of helping Michigan residents and small businesses get affordable health care. The MPCC indicated in their contest entry that their mix of volunteer and paid staff will be cut short later this year when their state funding will be reduced due to Michigan's poor economic climate. They need thier website to encourage volunteers and showcase achievements while quickly delivering information - something that their current website "falls short of what is needed in this challenging time."

We're looking forward to working with the MPCC to improve their web presence, allowing them to carry their mission through troubled economic times to a better future for Michigan.

Thank you to everyone who voted and commented during our "Win a Free Website" contest. You can view the MPCC's original contest entry here: Michigan Primary Care Consortium contest entry.

There's been a big push over the last year for people and companies "going Green" and doing their part to help protect our environment. Along with being more Earth-friendly, there have been more and more people looking for healthy alternatives such as organic food, biking to work, and buying locally-made products.

MI Smart Commute is looking to promote these trends and help them carry Michigan's future. As part of the Michigan Fitness Foundation, MI Smart Commute promotes alternate forms of transportation including walking, biking, carpooling, and taking mass transit as a way to improve the health Michigan's people and environment.

Our clients at the Michigan Fitness Foundation wanted a design that was clean and modern, but also fun and motivating. Presented with these challenges, our designer Steve created one of his most unique designs to date.

We expect that there will be a lot of activity around MI Smart Commute in the coming years. Go Michigan!

We recently launched a new website for the Association of Medical Marijuana Caregivers (AoMMC) that is built to help authorized patients find the resources they need to obtain medical marijuana.

The AoMMC's mission is to help patients with chronic pain and illnesses find marijuana, which has been legalized in some states as a medicinal option for certain medical conditions. In order to get medical marijuana, a patient needs a physician who is willing to provide a medical marijuana recommendation (it can't be legally prescribed yet) and a caregiver who will provide the marijuana to them (since it can't be legally purchased from a pharmacy).

According to our client, the problem is that many medical marijuana-eligible patients face is that they can't get a recommendation. Even with a recommendation, where can a patient - often someone who is sick, elderly, or both - find a trusted local caregiver to get marijuana from?

When AoMMC first approached us about building a website to help connect medical marijuana patients with physicians and caregivers, we were understandably hesitant - after all, this is a pretty hot issue! We had something of a debate in the office: would it be legal? Ethical? Would we end up with ardent supporters or sign-bearing protestors?

In the end, we decided to help the AoMMC build the website. We believe that everybody has the right to free speech, and that's what the website is really all about. In keeping with that belief, we're inviting you to tell us your opinion about medical marijuana and the various issues surrounding it.

After months of conception, the GreenLite "Win a Free Website" contest is finally up and available.  With Michigan really hitting hard times because of the economy GreenLite wants to offer our own "economic stimulus" package to small businesses. The contest is not only for business' but also for non-profits, or any organizations that could use a website.  However, to be eligible for the contest one must be an small business or organization within Michigan. If you meet these requires you are encouraged to submit an entry at http://www.greenliteweb.com/contest/enter.

Having a professionally designed website is key for any new business.Traditional marketing efforts just wont cut it anymore, the key for viability and sustainability means that a business must have a website. Not just any old website, that is thrown together and ill designed, but rather a beautifully designed website. A website that just makes your consumers feel like they could be at a five star restaurant instead of a fast food joint. You want the same comfort and design in your website that you would want in your brick and mortar store. This is a part of GreenLite's philosophy and goals for designing any of our websites. 

With most people it is the first contact they will ever have to your business or organization, and not only having a website but having a well designed one could make or break that initial relationship. Sometimes during hard times business owners believe that they can cut corners and not offer a well designed website. This ideology could cut them off from many costumers, the same costumers that could take their business to a whole new level. This is why GreenLite feels that offering this contest, is a great way to help out Michigan. 

To enter the contest, all one has to do is upload a one minute, submit a 4000 character story, or both. We are really looking for entries to not only be creative but also explain why they are a small business in Michigan who is in need of website, or a redesigned website. Once the entry has been submitted anyone can vote for it, and then GreenLite will choose a winner from the three websites with the most votes. Good luck, to anyone who submits their entry and we hope that one Michigan business will be launched to new level with their website provided by us.

Something we've been hearing a lot during these difficult economic times is small business owners saying that they can't afford to create or improve their website.

I beg to differ - you can't afford to NOT have a well-designed professional website. It should be the cornerstone of all your small business marketing efforts! There are a plethora of online marketing tools - many of them free - that can be utilized to direct customers to your website, but getting customers to you is only half the battle. The other half is convincing them that you are legitimate, experienced, and professional, which is where your website needs to accel.

Your website is a representation of your business much like an actual physical storefront. Sloppy presentation, out-of-date information, and confusing placement of information will cause your potential customers to leave your site and find a better-looking business. This is especially true if you are trying to sell your products or services online.

A common misconception among small business owners is that it's difficult to find customers online when their target market is local. Let's face it: Google is the new Yellow Pages. And the old Yellow Pages, well, they've moved online too. If you provide a specific type of product or service to a specific area, you actually have an excellent opportunity to be listed for free in search engines!

So make your website the absolute best it can be - it might just be the investment that carries your small business through to the next economic boom.