These days, when everyone in the world and their grandparents have their own blog, you might think every young professional (YP) would be savvy enough to have a website for their business.
Well, according to a recent Globe and Mail article, that simply isn’t the case. A shockingly low 41 per cent of small businesses have one, even though they are arguably the ones most likely to profit most from the exposure.
But if savvy is one word we commonly like to attribute to millennial entrepreneurs and business owners, then busy is definitely another. While building an online profile for new companies may seem like a logical step, YPs are often too pre-occupied by wearing too many different hats in their new venture.
So help is soon to be at hand in the form of Digital Main Street. In the interest of getting shops and restaurants to engage online through social media interaction and advertising campaigns, the city of Toronto has set up an online platform to connect Main Street businesses with the digital world.
Businesses can register for free to get a digital assessment that identifies technologies and service providers, and recommends to-do lists to help them meet their goals and enhance their company.
That could mean introducing a Toronto business to vendors who could help them build their first mobile-friendly website, or setting up a social media plan to allow them to connect with their customers and potential clients.
The city of Toronto’s economic development agency is behind it, and it’s being developed with $250,000 worth of private funding from the Yellow Pages and Google in an attempt to pair up new retail technologies with the 81 Business Improvement Areas (BIAs).
In the past, small businesses may have been overlooked, but now those behind the platform are hoping Digital Main Street can make business a much more level playing field – no matter how technologically dense you are.
Google will be offering access to its business listing services as part of the free sign up, and a concerted push to entice both businesses and vendors to the platform will be executed in April.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up now and learn how to evolve your business with their digital tool kit.
n.b. you’ll need that square silver thing called a laptop.
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