Hey, you. It's Thursday at 10 am. Do you know what time it is? It's Coffee Chats with Candice. So grab your cup of coffee or beverage of your choice, no judgment here, and that includes your business. Let's chat “Do you need a website?”

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Candice Montgomery, I am the founder of Beginner's Guide to Budgeting and Monetize Your Dream – a course to master business basics. I help new and aspiring a women entrepreneurs master business basics so that they can achieve personal and financial freedom.

If you're new to me, I own three businesses. The first one, my husband, and I started in 1996, and is now in its 27th year. We've paid off over $450,000 in 7 years. And since 2022, we have been completely debt-free in our personal and business lives. I'm passionate about business and budgeting and sharing that with you.

So, do you need a website? A lot of people have different opinions. My opinion is, yes, you definitely need a website, even when you're first starting out. Because when I started out, I couldn't afford to advertise. So I had my website do that for me, because once you purchased the domain, then you just have an annual fee that you have to renew for. Your website is there every day, 365 days a year, and it's just continuing to put your name out there for you. For the longest time in my tanning business, I only had my website and word of mouth and my car wrapped. In fact, I have done very little advertising over the last, almost 23 years in my tanning business and 27 years for our HVAC business. And I'm testing out advertising with the online business because with online business you need it as you don't have a brick and mortar. You have to do some things to find your your ideal customer – your “person” who you need.

A website is easy to do and it's easy to get even for the “graphically challenged” like me. I am not good at graphics, it's just not something that I've spent time learning or anything like that. It doesn't cost a lot to purchase a domain. A domain is your street address for your website. And then you can get started immediately. Once you have your domain, you can also have your own branded email address like your [email protected]. For example, mine is “[email protected].” Then I have each one for my spray tanning business and for air-conditioning business. I have multiple domains for multiple different purposes. I have some that I use for my affiliate links, where I just share those with with people and there's not a website there, but it just has my links so that it's easy to go to.

My first website I had someone build it for me. My current website, I use the template and I did it myself. In the beginning, I was like, “I cannot do this!” I was so stressed out about it, I said, “I'm going to jump off a bridge.” But you know what? I did it. And it took me a bit, and it wasn't perfect, but I got it done. So many people have complimented me on it and how informative and easy to use and make a reservation for their spray tanning appointment for their spray tanning reservation.

Currently, my VA Savannah is building out a new website that we're going to launch in the new year. So new year, new you new website, new everything! So excited for this new year. So, so excited.

Is this the year that you're going to start your business or grow your business? Would you like to see training on how to use a template to build your website? If you do, then shoot me a message, leave it in the comments, send a DM, and let’s see what you're interested in and what you need help with, because we're here to do that.

I also have an affiliate link for “NameCheap,” which is where I purchase my domains for my online business, so we'll post that in the description when we're done. If you're interested in looking at that, but if you have any questions about purchasing, or what to purchase, or what to do, then reach out I'll be more than happy to answer any questions for you and make it so easy, and you'll be ready to go. Let's chat and let's discuss your goals and intentions for 2024. You can book a free discovery call with me. And I'll also post that link in the description as well.

You can do this! I know you can. I believe in you. And I want you to believe in you. So, is this the year that you're going to start or grow your business? Even if you've had a business for a year, or two or three, and you need help, let me know I can help you with that. I help women who are new to the business and who want to start a business and they have no idea how to do it, or what the next step is, so I help you with the next steps. I also am here to help women or some men if they're interested in their business to grow it, to do the things that they need to do like their next steps.

When you're at the beginning of the business, it's hard to know everything that you need to do, and honestly, I'm 27 years into it,  and I still don't know everything, and I need help as well. I enquire with people who can help me in the areas where I don't know what to do, what my next step is, or if they can see my blind spots, and help me with that. So that's also what I'm here to do – to help you with your blind spots, to give you a different perspective on things that you might not have thought of.

I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to be here with me or catching the replay. I hope you have a fabulous Thursday and a fabulous weekend, and I will see you next week. Same time, same place for Coffee Chats with Candice. I'm excited for this new year. I'm excited for you in this new year, so let's do this! Let's make it happen for you this year! All right. So I want you to have a great weekend. And I look forward to seeing you in the comments and also in the DMs and let's get started. All right. See you later.