Justin's comments

i have been super happy with godaddy.com myself..their Web Site tonight accounts work well for folks like me that know nothing about about html code..

their drag and drop what you see is what you get interface is super friendly!

added bonus? the end product is coded in php which from what i understand is hosted in a Linux enviroment..what's that mean? the doggone thing loads hell fast and is pretty secure against those pirates who would like to hijack your web site and hold it up for cash ransom..

feel free to visit www.bizibeefloral.com to find out what we have come up with using this user friendly technology!

an added plus for us is they offer and easy to configure shopping cart that makes them a true one stop web shop!

Cheerio, Justin Baker BiZi Bee Floral 12304 Lake City Way Ne Seattle, Wa 98125 (across from Dick's Burgers! Yum!)

scot, i think the biggest land mine you could hit is getting hooked up with any solution that takes too much time to implement. the way i see it, you may need to pay for some convenience. i like the way my bills out monthly..about $25 a month. if you have the room on your mastercard or visa you can pay annually, get it over with, write it off, knock down 10-20% of the price, and go play some more golf.

the other problem i don't want you getting tangled up in is surrendering too much control over making changes to your content to a web master (unless of course you can find one that has no life and will always make the changes you want to make within an hour of your requesting them..i update my shopping cart instantly any time i want!)..

but then what happens when you get stuck or don't know what to do? that's where the 24/7 tech support comes in handy..i've never hung up the phone with godaddy.com without a solution (except perhaps when i tried to get help on that open source photo album - coppermine- they tried to give me whatever insights they could but they didn't write the software..they just make it available to the do it yourself web savvy types) that's why i would be concerned about any open source shopping carts unless someone is going to either make the changes to it quickly on demand, or they are willing to invest a WHOLE lot of time training you how to set up and administer the doggone "thang" as us texans say..(remember i do speak the language as i am an Alvin boy..)

bottom line is while you are dinking around not having a shopping cart you could be missing sales! why do that when you could have total control of this situation within like 10 minutes from now? if you do the monthly plan, you could keep looking for a "better" solution while you recieve the benefits i've described from godaddy. feel free to call me if you want..you have the number..incidentally, as i am your good buddy if you wanted to set up an admin account for me to help you get it dialed..(actually i'd sick my wife on it as she does most of our shopping cart updates and admin) i'd be happy to do that..course doing it yourself would give you the experience you probly need..well, we could figure something out.

as far as me having any proper newsletter, or blog...i've kind of been a bad boy in that regard..it is coming soon. been way tied up in implementing this whiz bang pos system that includes this amazing marketing module..but mostly i've been focusing on learning to ring in the walk in sales and handle all the wire orders that are starting to arrive via FTD.

which brings me to my next point..while i could get you a cactus for sure...perhaps you'd like me to run some flowers over to Lara or wire some kind of gift to the CEO of your favorite golf training school..who knows? maybe you get an SBR trust account going and get them to host and teach your school while you do the hard part..write a curriculum that creates massive revenue for both you and them..it's a thought.:)

ciao for now...i hear the tigress growling in the other room..<wild> poor me..gotta go soothe the savage beast.:)

your pal, just justin

i like what lara has to offer: lots of open source tools.

Allow me to share my experience with open source. i currently host through GoDaddy.com with a website tonight account and a Quick Shopping Cart. if one can get past some of the restrictions one has to live with within templates they offer instant results.

i'm sure everyone here has been to bizibeefloral.com (hope we're in your favorites!?)to see what these products did for us. we were up and running for less than $200 within an hour (although if you have an extensive product line like we do you are always making updates, improvements and changes..)countless people have raved over our site..(just wish more would register!:))

these above mentioned solutions are not open source, but are made for those of us who are a bit web stupid. we have been very happy.

however, due to the somewhat restrictive nature of i also acquired a bizibeefloral.net domain and hosted it through GoDaddy.com way before i ever heard about Biznik.

our goal in doing this was to escape the bandwidth and page # (they have a 5 page limit on a standard Web Site Tonite acct)restrictions..that way we could upload whatever we want without having to limit the depth of our content. our plan was to feed content throught the .net to the .com by using the easy button creation tool and hyperlinking them together thereby getting the best of both worlds.

our first application of this concept came about throught the creation of a photo gallery. we wanted to be able to make it possible for the community to witness our product being appreciated by its members. additionally, we wanted to appeal to people's desire to see themselves be happy in connection to the flowers we create. this would both drive traffic to our site and be an excellent pr tool to enhance our image.

this is we attempted to use coppermine. if you look at our site, you'll see we got it to work. we have a photo gallery button and if you click it you will see content. trouble for us was, it was way time consuming on the learning curve.

subsequently, this has caused me to consider the worthiness of open source solutions for us busy retail merchants. it may be a great way to go if you have the time, but as of right now i don't.

there is no one true path that works for every one. i firmly believe that each must find their own way..but if you want to machete a few less branches consider a solution like godaddy that offers 24/7 tech and billing support and avoid open source unless you are prepared to invest time and/or money to get it to work(should you need to hire a consultant).

i'm sure Lara you (i mean you in both the personal and collective sense) don't mind helping, but if the project is intensive you're going to need to get paid even if you are extremely nice and loveable.:)

now, if you were ever going to invest any time into any project just for the cost of hosting..my friend scot would be the guy to do it for as he and his innovative business golf concept rock..

the good new is his shopping cart would only need a few categories/pages and wouldn't be compicated. Lara would you be willing to develop it just for the cost of hosting? i'll "bee" truly impressed if that is the case.

if on the other hand you already have enough on your plate we totally understand!in which case, scot cut and copy godaddy.com into the browser and give them a call! they've been great for me.

au revoir for now, Justin Baker BiZi Bee Floral LLC

when you gonna do another?

to add to what someone else said, scot go take some voice and diction lessons. learn to recognize the rhythm of the words your saying and then experiment which one works best with the logic of dragon..

i suspect this is mostly about diction and clear enunciation of what you are dictating.

andrew, i'm willing to pop by and discuss possibilities..

the name of my brand is bizi bee floral, but the name of my company is synergy marketing llc..

i'd love to hear what you have in mind.

respectfully, justin

hello Norma, i'm new too! isn't this the coolest little biz networking org ever? how exciting! i'm telling all my friends with business about it, and am already considering what type of event to plan.. hope to see you around!

your pal, Justin Baker Founder BiZi Bee Floral www.bizibeefloral.com