Back in the fall of 2024, I made some quick revisions to my website and never circled back to it. Notable updates are far overdue! After all, I do build and manage websites for a living. I gotta represent! HaHa!
While business has slowed from several busy months of building a brand-new Shopify website for one client, redesigning another client's website on Squarespace, and assisting all of my clients during the Valentine's and Mother's Day holidays, it was finally time to work on mine.
Last year, Shopify rolled out some really big platform updates, which I've finally gotten to experience firsthand. Yet again, in my opinion, Shopify is superior. There have been several enhancements with the onset of AI, and a favorite new feature, page customizations. For years without expert coding, the homepage was the most versatile and custom-looking page. Now, Shopify allows any page on a website to have unique customizations and features. It takes a few extra steps to set up, but it's absolutely worth it. This new Shopify feature has transformed my website's capabilities! It's taken a couple of weeks, but I'm finally ready to talk about my new redesigned site.
While refreshing the Lora Bloom Consulting site was important, there was also another really big reason why I've held off on pressing hard with my own marketing. I'm still new to the consulting space. Observation and listening to a variety of other businesses has helped me to more precisely define what small business clients need and the solutions I can offer them. Each of my clients has unique projects. It's important for me to customize what their business really needs.
One of my clients, a local florist, who I've known for years, enjoys testing new products and opportunities. She is very busy with networking in the floral and garden community. She not only grows her own flowers and foliage, but she delivers custom designed florals, a regular speaker at garden clubs and floral industry events, designs wedding florals, and recently launched an outdoor planter collection. She is busy to say the least! Not only did I build her a custom Shopify ecommerce site a year ago, she also wants assistance building Canva presentations and social media posts for marketing her products and services throughout the year. She recognizes her strengths, which is designing, networking, educating and advocating for sustainably sourced florals. Simply put, she could manage a website, but she doesn't want to because her greatest opportunities are to be out in the public and not sitting at the computer. This is where I come in to help.
Observing similar scenarios with other clients, I now have a better idea of what they need on a regular basis.
Another client, a flower grower, who I've also known for years, wants to meet for monthly coaching sessions. I definitely help with managing her Squarespace website, but she likes to ask questions, get feedback, and gain insights on how to tackle upcoming events like a recent plant sale she participated in, which resulted in doubling sales from last year! She calls our time therapy sessions. ;)
This is what I truly love about consulting. Each client is different and has different needs.
To capture the unique demands small business owners, I've created two major categories as part of my services:
-
Lora Bloom now offers a page dedicated to Website Redesigns and Builds. One client might need a brand-new site built from scratch and another might just want to refresh an existing site. Each project takes a different amount of time and complexity. Additionally, one site might be static, meaning it's just informational and not selling online. Another might require ecommerce, which involves taxes and unique check-out pages. Each of these packages are custom and take more time. Pricing ranges from $750 - $2500+ --> See More
-
Lora Bloom also has a newly launched À la carte Business Solutions Collection for everyday business needs. Here, clients can pay for small marketing bundles for upcoming holiday or new product launches. This usually requires a couple hours of work, but often a small business owner doesn't even have time for that. This helps my clients do more with less time. Pricing ranges from $150 - $400. --> See More
Another addition to Lorabloom.com, is making the À la carte – Lora Bloom Collection, purchasable directly on my website. While, I know most of my existing clients are more comfortable with contacting me directly to secure work, I wanted to demonstrate a storefront on my site. Different clients will have different comfort levels, which I want to accommodate.
I look forward to these offerings growing and evolving in the everchanging business marketplace we work in.
Want to discuss your business needs? Send me an email. I'd love to connect!
