Copyright 2000, www.times-standard.com

Raising the "Redwood Curtain"
By Jim Nelson and Ren? Agredano
Principals, Agreda Communications

Nelson and Agredano serve on the Redwood Technology Consortium Board of Directors(www.redwoodtech.org). The RTC is a professional trade organization promoting technology-based economic development on the North Coast.

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"The Redwood Curtain": This is a term we've heard repeatedly in the two years since we moved to the North Coast to establish our full service marketing communications firm. Many use this term as a way to describe the barrier of redwood forests that physically divides us from greater metropolitan areas. Yet, this well-worn phrase projects a negative image about Humboldt to our colleagues, neighbors, and visitors alike. Whenever someone says Humboldt is "Behind the Redwood Curtain," it conjures up images of the Iron Curtain, a roadblock to progress and self-sufficiency.

Granted, we are distanced from greater metropolitan areas in every direction. This is the very reason many entrepreneurs are attracted to the area and why existing businesses stay. We choose to live and work here for lots of reasons, which often revolve around the isolation of our region and the small town atmosphere this isolation creates. And while this "Redwood Curtain" does create significant challenges to our businesses, they can easily be offset through utilization of modern technologies, and a little bit of ingenuity. We must view this "curtain" not as a barrier to our success, but rather a stage on which we can perform our greatest feats. With modern telecommunications, anything is possible! Whether you're selling widgets or saving the whales, effective usage of technology is your best tool for success. With a telephone, modem, fax machine and FedEx, you can communicate with the rest of the world just as effectively as "big city" businesses.

Before you start grumbling about the state of our regional economy, ask yourself this: "Am I doing all I can to maximize the technology I have to market my business?" Often, the people who gripe about slow sales or insufficient business in Humboldt, are the same ones who don't have a dedicated fax line, rarely check their email, have homemade looking marketing materials, and don't market their goods and services beyond their front door.

One way to maximize technology in any business is through the Internet. On the Internet, nobody knows how small you are-as long as you have a professional online presence. Open your doors to millions of potential customers, rather than the few hundred you probably already know by name.

It starts with a functional, dynamic, properly marketed website. If you don't have a presence on the web, get one. But keep in mind that there is more to a site than pretty pictures, and it's easy to pay too much for too little. Some companies pay thousands of dollars for a pretty web page with no real functionality. Don't get me wrong, a successful web-based marketing and commerce solution isn't cheap. You get what you pay for. Just about anyone can put up a web page. But unless it is thoughtfully designed, functional, and marketed appropriately, it can be like hanging your shiny new signpost in the middle of the desert. If you don't know where to begin, there is plenty of reading material about marketing your business on the web, in magazines and of course, on the Internet. Research your needs thoroughly before contacting anyone who wants to design your website.

When it comes to marketing your business online, don't stop at search engines and local directories. Be sure to include detailed META information in your HTML code. Translating your site into different languages is almost mandatory now. Also, don't forget to participate in online newsgroups and forum discussions. Make sure you present a professional appearance in your communications with professional looking desktop published documents, rapid e-correspondence, and attentive customer service. Form strategic alliances. Actively promote your wares to the world.

In future articles we will address the nuts and bolts of web programming, digital graphic design, e-commerce, and the like. For now, it's important to begin with the satellite view: Most of us are here on the North Coast because we want to be. Let's make the most of it. To do so we must utilize modern technologies and think globally. Only then may we compete and prosper in the new economy without sacrificing our quality of life.