Blue Star Business Services

Digital marketing and advertising for small businesses, nonprofits and organizations, including SEO, social media advertising, website design, website development, photography, branding, logos, content creation, copywriting and direct mail..

Evelyn Rios Stafford

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Website Project: Northwest Arkansas Pride 2022

Blue Star Business Services is proud to have designed, developed, and managed the Northwest Arkansas Pride 2022 event website. We have worked with Northwest Arkansas Equality on website services for Pride every year since 2018.

As the event has grown each year, our work on the site has grown along with it. Northwest Arkansas Pride is now the state's largest event of its kind, and it's the largest annual event on Dickson Street in Fayetteville. An estimated 35,000 people attended Northwest Arkansas Pride 2022. More than 9,000 users visited NWAPride.org during Pride Month, June 2022.

Since 2018, we have provided affordable mobile-friendly web design and development to this great community nonprofit organization. Coming out of the pandemic, website visitors in 2022 were greeted with a redesigned mobile-first experience and several upgrades from previous years.

New Features for 2022

Real-Time "Events Happening Now"

For the first time, visitors to the Pride homepage during the event were served a real-time "Events Happening Now" section. Happening Now events also included a real-time dynamic Progress Bar, showing how much time was left of the event.

Pride 2022 "Events Happening Now" feature. Note: The dates and times are from a test version of this new features. The real website featured the correct dates and times.

New and Improved Events Navigation

For 2022, we created a color-coded main events page, listing everything happening at the festival in chronological order. Each location or stage also got its own page, which listed just the events for that location. We created a series of dynamic widgets, so that event information only had to be entered once, to appear on multiple pages throughout the site as needed.

We also reconfigured the events calendar so that events no longer expired off the site once they passed. This way, visitors could still see the information about performers and events even after they were over.

Color-coded all events page
Location page
Events Menu

Event SEO Boost

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the biggest considerations with a live event. You want visitors to be able to easily find your website and the information on it in search results, well before the event date.
Each event was given its own calendar entry with metadata. The purpose of this was to give each event a boost in SEO. We also requested Google to re-index the site before the event, so that all the Pride events would appear in Google's "Events" snippet on search results pages.
Single event entry with SEO-optimized metadata

Expanded Mobile-First Experience

While all of our web development projects are mobile-friendly, we also took the extra step to ensure a mobile-first experience. The vast majority of visitors to the NWA Pride website on the day of the event viewed the site on their mobile phones. We designed the homepage to ensure visitors could reach all major sections of the site using friendly buttons and image links, without having to go to the dropdown "hamburger" navigation menu.

Northwest Arkansas Pride 2022 mobile homepage hamburger menu
Northwest Arkansas Pride 2022 mobile homepage events
Northwest Arkansas Pride 2022 mobile homepage info

Additional Info Pages

We also worked with NWA Pride 2022 organizers to add new types of information as the event has grown. This included street closure information, parking and transit routes, and security. In some cases, we monitored social media before the event and made suggestions for adding additional info pages, based on the types of questions potential visitors were asking.

Road Closures and Info Pages

Note: Redesigned Northwest Arkansas Pride logo was created by Jacobs & Co.

We Are Here to Help

Supporting great community events and nonprofits is what we're all about. If your large event, street fair, film festival, or annual parade needs affordable website design, development and website management, contact us at 479-879-2068 or info@bluestarbiz.com.

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What We’ve Been Reading: New Email Scams, WordPress vs Competitors & More

Welcome to the first edition of “What We’ve Been Reading”. A semi-regular roundup of interesting articles, tips and tricks related to digital marketing. Blue Star Business Services is your one-stop-shop for your digital marketing needs and outsourcing, whether you’re a small business, a nonprofit, or an organization of any size.

Email Scams

We’ve been seeing a big increase in email scams lately, which had already started ramping up during the pandemic. Clive Thompson goes into detail over on Medium, in a post entitled, The Email Scam That Nearly Worked on Me. Scammers are most likely taking advantage of the move to remote work and turnovers in staffing due to the labor shortage. Fake invoices, especially involving emails claiming to be “Norton Email Rewewals” are common. Snopes has more on that.

Is WordPress Losing Ground?

Is WordPress losing ground? Probably not. Joost deValk is the developer of Yoast, the most popular WordPress SEO plugin and one of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time. His new post, WordPress’ market share is shrinking, examines why there’s been a 0.4% drop in WordPress’s market share among Content Management Systems over the past few months. It may not sound like much, but deValk says this the first time WordPress’s market share has ever dropped. The likely culprits are the growing popularity of competitors Wix and SquareSpace, especially as they start to improve their SEO, which used to be… not great. Still, if you look at the actual numbers, there’s a massive difference between WordPress and everything else. WordPress is the 800-pound gorilla. WP isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and its ecosystem of tools and developers is impossible to beat… at least for now.

The Fastest Growing Apps in 2022

Leon Zucchini (yes, that’s his real name) looks at the Ten Fastest-Growing Apps in 2022 (Including Some You Don’t Know) So far, we have a grand total of zero of these apps installed, but they’re worth keeping an eye on. Some of these look great for small businesses and small teams. Notion looks like it might be Google Docs meets Trello. TripActions is an easy way for small businesses to handle business travel, corporate cards, and expense reporting. Miro looks like a virtual whiteboard. Keeper focuses on your company or organization’s IT and data security. Monday handles project management and task coordination. You can see the whole list on Leon’s Medium.

That’s it for this week.

Need a website built, help managing your existing site, social media marketing, SEO or more? Contact us at Blue Star Business Services today.

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Minority-Owned Business of the Year Award

Blue Star Business Services is proud to receive the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Business Award for 2021! 🥇

Blue Star co-owner Evelyn Ríos Stafford was proud to receive the Minority-Owned Business of the Year award. It’s proudly displayed in the office between her two Emmy Awards:

The Chamber also produced this video about our company and its services:

Thank you to the sponsors of this year’s awards: Delta Dental of Arkansas, Cox Business, Clark Law Firm, Black Hills Energy, Washington Regional, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Public Schools, First National Bank of NWA, Ozarks Electric Cooperative/OzarksGo, and B-Unlimited.

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Northwest Arkansas Leadership Pledge

Blue Star Business Services is proud to be a signatory of the Northwest Arkansas Leadership Pledge to address systemic racism and promote a more equitable and inclusive region. Read the pledge and add your organization to the list here.

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS LEADERSHIP PLEDGE

Diversity and inclusion are vital to the well-being and success of our employees, communities, and businesses.  We stand committed to fostering and expanding a more just, equitable and inclusive region for all by purposefully addressing systemic racism in the  communities in which we operate.

In pursuit of the objective of a diverse and inclusive community, we are committed to the following guiding principles:

EDUCATION & TRAINING

Supporting educational initiatives designed to provide a deeper understanding of the historical underpinnings of systemic racism and help identify and eliminate unconscious bias.  We will continue to make our workplaces safe environments for such education by fostering open, frank and respectful discussions about these complex issues.

COMMUNITY & WORKPLACE

Working to ensure that our workplace environments are free of discrimination and that we advance the hiring, development, retention and promotion of diverse talent and invest in initiatives designed to reduce the effects of prejudices in our communities at the local, regional and national level. 

PUBLIC POLICY

Supporting administrative and legislative measures that advance equality and justice and further the acceptance and advancement of all individuals, regardless of personal demographics including race, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs. 

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Engaging thoughtfully on the issues by listening to and learning from each other, promoting transparency by sharing practices that have worked and failed, and helping keep each other accountable by encouraging the continued enhancement and evolution of policies and strategies to help overcome challenges and improve well-being for all.

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Your Small Business or Nonprofit May Qualify for a Forgivable SBA Loan

Does your small business or nonprofit qualify for the new Coronavirus-related forgivable SBA loans? The answer may be yes. And it doesn’t matter how small your organization is. Even sole proprietorships, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals are covered in many cases.

Here at Blue Star Business Services, we’re getting the word out to our clients about the various programs available to help small businesses and nonprofits affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are two main federal SBA loans enacted by Congress: the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). There are some key differences between the two programs. But most small businesses and nonprofits may be eligible to apply for both. 

We also have information below on a variety of other funding sources available through state government, nonprofits, and corporations. We’ve also included info on how to strengthen your digital marketing at a time when millions of people are conducting many more aspects of life online!

SBA Loans

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan

The EIDL was the first of the two programs put in place by Congress to help small businesses and nonprofits weather the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) opened the program to businesses with 500 or fewer employees, private nonprofits with 500 or fewer employees, sole proprietorships, independent contractors, and several other types of businesses.

Importantly, the EIDL includes a grant of up to $10,000 that businesses can apply for, which does not need to be paid back. Make sure you check the box on the form for this option. Businesses that are approved will receive the grant within three days of approval by the SBA (note that this is not the same thing as three days after submitting the application - we're hearing reports that the loans are taking three weeks to process in many cases). This is the fastest way for businesses to obtain relief at this point. Organizations that apply for an EIDL loan can still receive the grant money even if they aren’t approved for the full loan.

The rest of the EIDL loan, which caps out at $2 million, is not forgivable but can be more flexible than PPP in the types of expenses it covers. It can be used for rent and mortgage payments, salaries (or net income if you are self-employed), workers’ paid leave, and the business’s operational needs.

You can apply for the EIDL directly on the SBA website at this link. You will need two main numbers from your bookkeeping - your gross revenue, and your costs of goods sold (or cost of services, if you are a service provider).

The Paycheck Protection Program

You can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program through a bank or other participating financial institution, but not through the SBA directly. The PPP provides SBA loans of up to $10 million to small businesses, nonprofits, sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals. Most importantly, these loans may be forgiven if you maintain your payroll during the Coronavirus crisis or restore your payrolls afterward. For sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals, our understanding at this time is that you determine your payroll based on your net profit using Line 31 on your Schedule C form.  For more on that, read this guide to Self-Employment and the PPP, and consult with your CPA and financial institution.

The PPP provides funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs (or net profit for the self-employed) including benefits. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. This is a narrower set of uses than the EIDL. The funds are provided in the form of loans that will be fully forgiven when used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. But at least 75% of the forgiven amount must be used for payroll. For any amount that is not forgiven, the loan repayments will be deferred for six months.

There are some other important stipulations to have the loan be completely forgiven: the business must not lay off workers or must rehire already laid-off workers by June 30, 2020. If a business lays off workers and does not rehire them, a portion of the loan will not be forgiven. If a business reduces the wages it pays out to a worker by more than 25 percent during the time that it is using the loan, part of the loan will not be forgiven.

Small businesses and sole proprietors were allowed to begin applying for the PPP on Friday, April 3. Independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply beginning on Friday, April 10. No collateral or personal guarantees are required. There are no fees associated with the loans. The program is open until June 30, 2020, but the government is advising borrowers to apply as soon as possible before the program’s funding runs out.

The SBA has a search tool to help you find a bank that offers PPP loans. Or contact the bank where you do business - many financial institutions are giving priority to their existing customers.

For more information, the US Chamber of Commerce has a guide to the PPP.

Can I Apply for Both the EIDL and the PPP?

Yes, you can apply for both programs. But you are not allowed to “double-dip” - you cannot claim the same expenses for both loans. However, you can use them together - for example, using one source for 6 weeks of payroll, and the other source for the remaining 2 weeks of payroll.

What If I Have More Than One Business?

You can apply for relief separately for each business you own, as long as the businesses have different EIN numbers and independent bookkeeping. If you are self-employed and use your social security number, you may want to check with the SBA or a financial institution for expert guidance.

Other Sources of Help

There are a variety of other state and federal programs that offer help, in some cases for specific types of businesses. 

For our Arkansas clients, there are two additional programs:

Arkansas Quick Action Loan Program – Funds from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund have been earmarked for loans to small and medium-sized companies that are in the supply chain of essential goods and services. This includes healthcare, food manufacturing, and logistics. Eligible companies may apply for a loan or loan guaranty of up to $250,000. For more information, contact the Arkansas Economic Development Commission by email, COVID19.businessinfo@arkansasedc.com, or phone, 501.682.1121 or 1.800.ARKANSAS (toll-free).

Women-Owned Businesses - the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas has established a fund to provide grants up to $5,000 to women-owned small businesses experiencing hardship due to COVID-19. Apply by April 13 to be considered for the first round of funding.

You can find out more about state programs in Arkansas at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission website.

Facebook Grants

As the pandemic has forced people into social distancing, more people than ever are shopping and spending time online. As a result, Digital Marketing is more important than ever.

Facebook is offering a Small Business Grant Program in certain areas, including for our San Francisco Bay Area clients. The program includes cash grants and ad credits. The grants can be used to connect with customers, keep your workforce going strong, help with your rent costs, and cover operational costs.

To qualify, you must:

  • have between 2 and 50 employees
  • have been in business for over a year
  • Have experienced challenges from COVID-19
  • Be in or near a location where Facebook operates

You can find a list of all eligible locations on Facebook’s website.

Blue Star Logo

Strengthen Your Digital Marketing!

We’re pleased to provide you with this list of resources to help you and your organization navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital marketing is more important than ever in this changing environment. Please reach out to us here at Blue Star Business Services if you need assistance with:

  • taking parts of your business online
  • ramping up your presence in Google Search (SEO), or social media marketing
  • bringing your events and fundraisers to a live-streaming online audience
  • email marketing, direct mail, and more!

We’re here to help you grow and succeed!

All the best,
Evelyn Rios Stafford and Bob Stafford
Blue Star Business Services
479-879-2068