Happy Birthday Dunwoody

Posted to YouTube by Danny Ross.

 


Every day I see an argument or a conflict, or someone just acting like a tool in real life or on social media, I still thank God every day that we can work out our problems OURSELVES, without being at the mercy of a committee in another city that doesn't care.

Cyber Monday

Post by SDOC Publishing Internet Solutions.

Countdown to Small Business Saturday

The final edits have been made and our e-commerce installs are humming along. If you're a local business you're gearing up to do battle with the larger stores for the holiday season.

 SDOC has been an early supporter of Small Business Saturday and Independent We Stand. I'm not against large industries, per se, because they all started out as mom-and-pop operations. But those current mom-and-pops deserve some attention too. That goes for your cafes and other dining establishments you may need when it's time to take a break from shopping!

 80% of Dunwoody's business licenses are issued to companies with fewer than 10 employees. It's easy to support your neighbors and your quality of life this season so see what treasures you can find right in your own backyard.

Business owners - I received a package of materials from American Express to help promote your participation this weekend.  Visit the SDOC Facebook page below and let me set you up with some cool stuff for your customers!

Post by SDOC Publishing Internet Solutions.

Roll With the Changes

Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, November 18.

It's OK for there to be change.  In some ways, it's its own constant.

I'm used to it with this group.  Starting from the back room of the Crier, to the old Rail Hand House, to Bill Grant's office, to - [censored pending official announcement].

Every year brought a new website theme.  With new features.  Sometimes an all-new back end.  And a branding initiative that landed in my lap with the directive to make this look good without offending anybody and by the way, it's not being received well by the public, so do the best you can.  Joy.

I'm always excited by the new challenges, parameters, personnel, and even frustrations.  There are some Negative Nellies out there who won't be satisfied until Dunwoody is as unhappy as they are.  I'm all for the positive, forward motion from last night and the quality of life we can all enjoy in the future!

Veterans Day 2014

I saw this post from Independent We Stand and immediately thought of Dunwoody's own Picayune Toys. Get a jump on your holiday shopping right here in town!

Celebrate Neighborhood Toy Store Day on November 8

A Woman For All Seasons

In midterm elections like this, especially in local races, every vote counts.

EVERY.    VOTE.  

Every vote can make a difference in an election.  That means yes, it does matter whether or not you go to the polls today.  No one is predicting a landslide in any of the races, so the decisions are not already made.  God knows no one wants a runoff and another month-and-a-half of robocalls and political ads that intrude on the holidays.

There don't have to be runoffs if everyone registered takes ten minutes to cast their ballots.

I'm heading to the poll myself as soon as I get my last child on the school bus.

That's the general PSA part of the post.

VOTE NANCY JESTER FOR DEKALB DISTRICT 1

There aren't too many people for whom I lend support 100% - not even some friends who I respect in day to day life.  Nancy has earned that support from me and my family for two simple reasons:

1)  She tells the truth.

2)  She's willing to tell the truth even if she has to stand alone and take the slings and arrows while others scurry for cover.

There are too few of these public officials left.  We need every one that we can get.  North DeKalb does not need a representative whose experience was gained via the favor of a now convicted felon.  North DeKalb does not need a representative who can't decide what party he is allied with.  North DeKalb does not need a representative who cannot control his behaviour and spends more time dealing with lawsuits and restraining orders than issues in office.  North DeKalb does not need a representative whose world view is 50 years out of date.

That leaves one option.  If everyone votes for the best candidate, there doesn't have to be a runoff.

What are you doing on Halloween?

Here's the latest info on Briers North Halloween.

Updates:  Parking WILL be available at Crossroads Church of Dunwoody (formerly North Peachtree Baptist) at the intersection of Tilly Mill and Peeler.  Please contribute a donation for the opportunity, they're raising funds for their Academy.

UPDATE:  A sign appeared yesterday on the parking lot indicating they are open for Briers North parking and they are charging $3 per car.  Still a pretty huge bargain!  Pay it forward with a 5-spot.

While on the subject of parking, some residents near Briers North set out barriers or traffic cones.  Please respect them and don't park there if they ask you not to.  With that said, get your space early.  Some of our visitors start scoping out spaces as early as 3 PM.

If you enjoy the festivities, donations will be gratefully accepted by the halloween organizers.  These donations do NOT go to the homeowners:  they are designated specifically for the cost of Dunwoody PD officers and safety equipment (lights, signage, etc) for the entrance.

If you REALLY like what you see, keep in mind this community is around 364 other days of the year.  There will be one home coming on the market soon so keep your eyes peeled and jump at the chance.  Another house is under contract right now and homes don't become available very frequently.

Finally, be prepared to meet some regional neighbors you don't see every day.  These last words I posted a couple of years ago but they've become fresh as I come off the costume parade at Coralwood last week:

With Halloween upon us, please keep in mind, a lot of little people will be visiting your home.

Be accepting. 

The child who is grabbing more than one piece of candy may have poor fine motor skills. 

 The child who takes forever to pick out one piece of candy may have motor planning issues. 

 The child who does not say "trick-or-treat" or "thank you" may be non-verbal. 

 The child who looks disappointed when they see your bowl may have an allergy. 

 The child who isn't wearing a costume at all might have a sensory issue (SPD) or autism.

Be nice. Be patient. It's EVERYONE'S Halloween.

Welcome, Business Radio X Listeners!

Hi everyone and I hope you enjoyed the show this morning.  Don't forget to visit SDOC's main website at www.sdocpublishing.com.

If you weren't able to listen live, you can hear the recap any time here.

I talked a lot about the best practices in creating and using your business website and the Dunwoody Chamber website.

Dunwoody Chamber Members:  your first step in leveraging your Chamber membership to your advantage is to complete your member profile so customers can find you in the business directory.  The directory and the rest of the website are optimized for the best search engine results possible, so the more information you have, the better your search ranking, and the more likely you are to have customers come visit you!

You can create a detailed "about" section (think of this as your "elevator pitch"), link to your social media and website, generate a Google map to your business and post directions, and even add photos or video.

Chamber Member Login  or hit the red "open lock" icon on the front page at www.dunwoodycommerce.org.

Don't forget, the Dunwoody Chamber website is mobile and makes a great smartphone/tablet app if you're searching for Dunwoody services on the go!
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I also got a lot of questions from friends and followers on social media about Search Engine Optimization.

Google, Yahoo, and Bing will not tell you the details of their algorithms.  Those are trade secrets.  But they will tell you how to make the most of their search engine standards so your website will get as much visibility as possible.

First things first:  Google's Official SEO Best Practices Guide (PDF)  The principles here apply to all search engines, great and small, so settle in and build your foundation here.  This guide includes some of the most fundamental basics of SEO - meta tags in the header of your pages, "alt" tags that embed text with your images, and descriptive titles for each page.

Next, remember to get your business listed in local search engine-based directories.  Search engines try to customize search results that are physically close to the visitor.  Your website is more likely to appear if it is categorized as a local or regional resource.

Google Local (requires free creation of a Google+ page, also helpful for search engine rankings)

Yahoo Small Business for local listings.  (Customizing your listing for search engine rankings is free, but a paid directory submission service is available.)

Bing Places for Business (Same idea as Google and Yahoo but owned by Microsoft.  Requires a free Microsoft account)

Finally, MOBILE MATTERS!  Your website has to be comfortable to read on even smaller smartphones.  Websites that are not easily usable on smartphones or tablets will be penalized in their search engine rankings.  Talk with your webmaster about the best way to accomplish this for your website.

If you are using an open source content management system, there are some add-on functions that can help guide you in your optimization

WordPress - Yoast SEO

Joomla - iJoomla SEO

Drupal - MetaTag, Drupal SEO Checklist

Many thanks to everyone at Business Radio X for having me as a guest.  I hope the information I gave helped my fellow Dunwoody and regional business owners out there.

SDOC is on the air at Business Radio X

Listen in online tomorrow, Monday, October 13 at 10 AM EST.  I'll be a guest on the Dunwoody Chamber Special Edition of High Velocity Radio on Business Radio X.

Listen live here at 10 AM on October 13.

Dunwoody High School Celebrates Everyone - Again!

From Channel 11.


 Dunwoody High School celebrated their homecoming with the crowning of the King and Queen.
You may recognize the Queen from her appearance in Channel 11's coverage of the Wildcat'fe story about the business run by the special needs class out of Dunwoody High.

Teenagers in high school have their priorities straight:  there's a place for everyone in their school and they all need each other.

Where else in Dunwoody can we apply this ideal?