Leveraging Your Digital Real Estate

What’s the going rate for an acre of land these days?

You with your fancy background in real estate may chime in, “Well duh Jaquanne, it depends…”  “Are we talking an acre of land in Miami Beach or an acre of land in rural Iowa?”

You’d have a point in that the price-per-acre would vary greatly based on many factors including location, terrain, access to utilities, etc. But let’s say we are talking prime real estate…The opportunity to acquire a piece of land in a highly dense, booming market at a fraction of the cost it will be 10 years from now.

As a business owner looking to expand and reach new customers, how would you value this proposition?

Even without many details, the opportunity / potential upside would pique the interest of most. Just as a point of reference, the residential land value in the US has increased ten-fold over a period of 40 years!

(The Rising Cost of Land, HowMuch.com)

Could you imagine your business occupying a piece of retail space on New York’s Fifth Avenue and only paying pennies on the dollar for it? Because this is one of the worlds most glamorous shopping destinations, customers would immediately be drawn to your business, regardless of what it is.

You’d be neighboring some of the worlds largest retailers, hedge funds and law firms on this high-profile stretch of land. Just think what exposure like this would do for your business operations!

Although you, me and just about any entrepreneur worth their salt would jump at this opportunity, the irony is that about third of small businesses pass up on a chance like this each year.

Of course, I’m not talking about physical land; but instead, claiming your stake on the worlds digital frontier, the internet! You may be thinking, “Well Jaquanne, that example is a bit of a stretch…” But actually it’s not.

Most Americans prefer to shop and gather information about products and services online. On average, millennials now make 54% of purchases online (versus 49% of non-millennials). As a business in 2019, not having a website or online presence is essentially shooting yourself in the foot! You would be missing out on a huge untapped market, growing and replacing traditional brick-and-mortar operations year-over-year.

You may be saying to yourself, “Jaquanne, I’m not a dinosaur… I know how big the internet is to businesses, even my kid has a smartphone.” But you would actually be surprised. Here are some quick stats:

• 35% of small business believe they are too small to have a website
• 26% of small business believe their customers are not online
• 25% of small business lack technical knowledge
• 23% of small business believe it is not relevant to their business or industry
• 22% of small business lack human and/or financial resources
• 19% of small business owners never got around to it
• 11% of small business don’t see value in it

(source: Business2Community.com)

These numbers are quite alarming. They also indicate a larger issue: many businesses are not leveraging their digital real estate effectively. Business owners simply do not have the time to create and cultivate their online presence since they are well…running their business! When your focus is developing new products or improving services, there is little hours left in the day to learn code, develop a website, manage your social media profiles, etc.

Herein lies the value of having a dedicated web developer. The easiest way to put it is that it allows you as the business owner to focus on what you’re good at. In the same way you wouldn’t try to build a physical storefront yourself brick-by-brick, but instead hire a contractor; a web developer works the same way. A talented web developer can asses your business needs, help formulate a strategy for growth, and develop a platform that allows your business to leverage it’s digital real estate.

If your business does not have a website or at least dedicated social media channels, you’re a bit late to the party my friend… However, the great news is late is much, much better than never, in this case. Now is a great time to claim your domain name and build a website that attracts and captures customers online before your competition beats you to the punch!