Guest Expert:

Kena Schuler   (About Kena)

The Program:

Most speakers and consultants today have a Web site, but there are still a lot of questions. Does your site represent you and the quality of services you offer? Does it have the look (e.g., "corporate" or "personal touch") you need to attract business? How can you find and work with a Web designer to give your site a boost?

The trick is knowing the right questions to ask (especially of yourself) and following a well-defined process to get what you need. (Which might not be the same as what you [think you] want!) In this session, Kena will discuss how to get the best Web site for you -- the process, common pitfalls, frequently held misconceptions, and the range of price tags you'll find out there.

What we'll cover:

• How to maintain your site easily
• What you should expect to pay
• How to find a designer or developer, and the right questions to ask
• When you've gone too far (usually involves animations, pet photos, or links to favorite pottery sites)
• Why you need visuals and content appropriate to your audience
• What database functionality is, and why you need it
• Why asking prospective Web designers to give you a proposal might hurt your site's chances for success
• When to tweak your site, and when to start over

Additional resources for this seminar:

• Choosing a Website Developer -- (PDF, 60K)

About our guest expert:

Kena Schuler is principal and director of business development at Atlanta-based Ardis Media Group. Since joining the company in 1999, Kena has helped Ardis to grow its client base and expand its range of services, while maintaining a strong focus on helping small businesses and not-for-profit enterprises. Under her guidance, Ardis Media Group has expanded from a design firm specializing in small websites to a world-class developer of computer-based training, database-driven web applications, content-management systems, and e-commerce applications. Kena's client portfolio includes Fortune 500 companies, one-person consultancies, and just about everything in between.

As a project manager, Kena directed Ardis Media Group efforts that resulted in many high-profile successes. She oversaw the development of CareerZone.com, which was reviewed favorably by the Wall Street Journal, and managed the development of a large database-driven website for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), which fully automated the communications processes of this large international standards body. Recently she oversaw the development of an online logistics maintenance database application for Vanity Fair Corporation (owners of The North Face, Lee, Jansport, Gitano, Wrangler, and many other clothing manufacturers).

Kena also served on the Executive Board of Directors of the Gwinnett Council for the Arts, focusing her energies there on supporting the Jacqueline Casey Hudgens Center for the Arts, which houses one of the best children's art museums in the Southeast. She lives in Gwinnett County, GA, with her husband, daughter, garden, and an ever-growing menagerie of pets (none of whom appear on her Web site!).

www.ardismedia.com   www.growingbiz.com