How to Build Business via Old Sacramento, Horse and Buggy and Social Media

Stepping back in time in Old Sacramento

Do you know how to build business using social media and a blog? Neither did I; but, I learned how and so can you. To help you gain more of an insight into how to build social media and a blog, you may be interested in a social media manager to increase instagram followers or followers on a different social media platform such as twitter, snapchat, or youtube etc. Professionals will help build your platform and give you the power to reach your purpose for building your social media such as influencing others for business purposes (if that is your main purpose). It is a great idea to get help from a professional to make your life much easier, for example, you could use a company similar to Socialfollow. There are so many ways for you to get Instagram followers, likes on Facebook, followers on Twitter and expand your online reach for your business.

This past weekend my husband, Rich and I traveled to Sacramento, California for three days of fellowship, learning, and fun. Being with friends and sharing interests makes learning all the more fun and rewarding.

Our hotel was centralized to our convention, the shopping mall, great restaurants and the historic and famous Old Sacramento. Our favorite Mexican restaurant is located on the main street and is our first stop.

My business coach, once told me that once you learn how to build business and market it correctly, you will see it all around you. Boy, she was right. Signage took you back to the day when everything was simpler. Employees of the shops were promoting the wares by handing out discount coupons or free samples. They were everywhere hoping to get a piece of the tourist action and dollars.

Then it hit me, how different advertising and marketing were back in the day of Old Sacramento and the Delta Queen Riverboat. There are still signs promoting each small store, yet no newspaper ad, television commercial or Facebook page.

As we walked on the wooden planked walkways, browsing and window-shopping the ambiance of the historic district drew us in. Selling things is as old as the hills located around Sacramento, known for its gold rush in 1849. Back then, word got around by mainly the “grapevine”, this person told that person and so on.

As you can imagine, when people in 1849 said word spread like a raging fire, it was quite different from today's raging fire. Think about our mail system today, it too is quite different from back in the day of the gold rush. The Pony Express and Wells Fargo stagecoaches delivered news across the country taking months at a time. Yet, today postal service can deliver a letter within days. Social media delivers messages to build business with the click of a button.

As we turned the corner to return to our hotel, we saw a most amazing sight. Visitors to Old Sacramento can enjoy the streets via a ride in a horse drawn carriage. This was one more confirmation for me that everyone should think about why we need to use all forms of marketing when taking our product and services to our prospects, family, and friends, including social media.

That is exactly what I asked my business coach the first class I attended last year, why social media?

Social media was a completely new world for me. I had been building my auto transport business for four years, and my part-time business the traditional way. I did not see why I needed to start using this method to promote and build business.

Heck, I had to call my daughter to ask her what a blog was. With no idea how to build one, use it nor maintain it I was digging my heels in. We had a web designer build our nationwide auto transport website and it seemed to be working just fine. Our part time business provided us with a company replicated website, too. Why would I need something else, new and simpler? I was afraid and did not want my coach to know that I was that wet behind the ears!

Business 101 was not something I knew much about, so everything I was learning was new to me. New words, definitions, and methods of doing things were overwhelming at times. It was intimidating to learn something that seemed to be so big.

It was like waking up one morning from a deep sleep and finding myself in the middle of New York City. Being a country girl and still living next door to where I grew up that was a frightening thought. My hometown population is about 28,000. That does not come close to the New York City population of some 8.2 million people!

No kidding, that is how afraid of the internet, social media and the big world of building business I was. However, what I was learning from a trusted friend and coach was convincing me that I should not be afraid. If I wanted my business to succeed I had better learn how to promote my business and myself using social media or else.

How do I tie social media and building business together?

Once I started learning how to use social media the picture became clearer. This would become my free source of advertising and lead generation for my part time business. Now the question became but how do I do that. Of course, I wanted to learn it all like yesterday. My intent in starting any of the classes was to increase my income. What I was to learn was that as with any type of education it takes time.

It was going to take time, effort and practice to develop this skill. What I did not think it through, even when you go to college there is a learning curve and time period to learn. Jumping into business without training the time between starting and earning was shorter than normal. I had never gone to college, but I earned while I learned on the job. Why I thought this would be different is beyond me.

My first lesson was that someone like me, a successful business owner could join social media and the twenty-first century free. Building my personal and business profile was going to tie our business into the network of social media. Next would come getting to know people and asking them to join me.

It did not take long and developing relationships with other business owners seemed fun. However, I wondered if this was really going to work.

Increased traffic and profits come from social media

Although it has been a year, the time has flown by. Now we are regularly posting articles about our business in nationwide auto transport twice a week. Working very closely with my online business coach has allowed me to rise up to be the leader I have always been. My true strengths are coming out in ways I never dreamed.

You can see right here on this website. Using the tools available I started my education in using Word Press. Step by step, I was able to build what you are seeing right now before your eyes! Impressive, eh? It is exciting to see how far you can go given the right tools, teacher and time.

With increased sales and skills, we are now turning our attention to building our part-time business online, too. With all these developments going on, it can be difficult to oversee all of the essential business operations that keep the business running. For example, one of my friends suggested that I look into outsourced bookkeeping for startups to ensure that the financial side of my company carries on whilst we continue building the brand. Increased sales does mean more financial work, which is where some outsourced bookkeeping could be helpful.

Therefore, I hope that you can see how beneficial it is for you to use social media to build your business, too. Do not wait as I did until it almost passes you by. If my dad can learn the internet and social media at 70+, I know women over 50 can too!

Partner with us, won't you? We cannot do this alone. Share this article on Face Book; help us get the word out to your friends. These are just two ways to use social media to promote your offline and online business to bigger profits today.

Confronting Life's Changes After 50,
Carla J Gardiner
Would you like to use this article on your website, blog or ezine? You have my permission to share it in it's entirety with the following attribution and a link back to our home page.
Carla J Gardiner is an ex-banker turned entrepreneur who built an auto transport brokerage and dispatch center from the ground up. With half a day's training and little else, Carla learned the business inside and out the hard way…by doing it. Her passion and purpose lie with the people she works with daily; the client, dispatcher, broker and truck driver. Her frustration within the industry has led this anti-aging, fiery grandma of four to share, encourage and mentor other professionals in how to regain their health, turn back the clock and stay on the road. With the utmost honesty and integrity, Carla brings a high-stress industry some much-needed leadership in living a retirement lifestyle while working at home.
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