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dr.com Member (Business) Directory - Would You Do It?


DonRocks

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A colleague of mine really, really likes it, but she also really, really likes chocolate wine, so take that for what it's worth. Personally, I haven't tried SBJ, although if I saw a bottle for a dollar I would. Otherwise, I'd love a sip or three if someone else has a glass.

Why is this not in the Professionals and Businesses Forum?

I know, I know, you don't want to write about yourself, but come on, my friends - let's get with the program here.

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Why is this not in the Professionals and Businesses Forum?

I know, I know, you don't want to write about yourself, but come on, my friends - let's get with the program here.

I thought one wasn't allowed to write about themselves?  Personally I would love to know what Dr.com members had what businesses, I would try to use them.

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I thought one wasn't allowed to write about themselves?  Personally I would love to know what Dr.com members had what businesses, I would try to use them.  

I would love to know, too. I was half-kidding about DrXmus - of course we can't write "a 100-word positive review" about ourselves in this forum, but it sure would be nice to have a directory of (forgive the upcoming pun ...) member services.

So how do we do it? If I go shopping at a hardware store, I'd prefer to shop at one owned by a dr.com member.

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I would love to know, too. I was half-kidding about DrXmus - of course we can't write "a 100-word positive review" about ourselves in this forum, but it sure would be nice to have a directory of (forgive the upcoming pun ...) member services.

So how do we do it? If I go shopping at a hardware store, I'd prefer to shop at one owned by a dr.com member.

Maybe we could make in the business directory a separate list (directory of member services) where people could give their real name, occupation, company, contact information.  Any review of their services could then go into the other directory so they are on the broader one.  OR we could create a topic in that forum just called DR.com Member business and Services, list yourself here, and people could provide their info there, so it's really clear there isn't a review, it's just what people do?

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Maybe we could make in the business directory a separate list (directory of member services) where people could give their real name, occupation, company, contact information.  Any review of their services could then go into the other directory so they are on the broader one.  OR we could create a topic in that forum just called DR.com Member business and Services, list yourself here, and people could provide their info there, so it's really clear there isn't a review, it's just what people do?

I can just put an asterisk in the directory for dr.com members, but where do we put their information? There's nothing wrong with people listing their occupation and contact information, and I'll be glad to organize and index it. Maybe we can do a thread like the "Oldest Restaurants In The Area" with the index as the first post, and people can chime in with their information in subsequent posts?

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I would assume the professional and business forum?  We could either do a separate index or just fold them into the index with a way to indicate the difference?

Yes, but where do people post their actual information? The index is no problem.

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I would assume people would start a new topic in the business and professionals??  But trying to think of what would be logical, maybe all new topics from members promoting their own business could put something in the title like DR Member Business:  XXXXXXXX  That way there is a clear indication the post is not a recommendation from someone else?

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I would assume people would start a new topic in the business and professionals??  But trying to think of what would be logical, maybe all new topics from members promoting their own business could put something in the title like DR Member Business:  XXXXXXXX  That way there is a clear indication the post is not a recommendation from someone else?

Do you really think people are going to write 100 words about themselves? I mean, that would be great! But we're not all Dean Gold B):ph34r::lol:, and I just don't think it's going to happen; my guess is that people would tend to write something more like:

John Smith, Immigration Attorney in Alexandria, 703-681-4256 smithandsmith.com

which is why I'm thinking one big, long thread with a bunch of little posts in it like the above line.

I'd like nothing more than to keep imposing the same 100-word minimum - that way, we could use the same forum, and clearly mark the dr.com members introducing their businesses, but I just don't think people will do it.

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Do you really think people are going to write 100 words about themselves? I mean, that would be great! But we're not all Dean Gold B):ph34r::lol:, and I just don't think it's going to happen; my guess is that people would tend to write something more like:

John Smith, Immigration Attorney in Alexandria, 703-681-4256 smithandsmith.com

which is why I'm thinking one big, long thread with a bunch of little posts in it like the above line.

I'd like nothing more than to keep imposing the same 100-word minimum - that way, we could use the same forum, and clearly mark the dr.com members introducing their businesses, but I just don't think people will do it.

That makes sense too, but would be harder to find one type of person potentially.  I would write a paragraph about what I do, but I am wordy.  I think either way it's a nice resource to have. Maybe move this discussion into a new thread and see what people think?

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That makes sense too, but would be harder to find one type of person potentially.  I would write a paragraph about what I do, but I am wordy.  I think either way it's a nice resource to have. Maybe move this discussion into a new thread and see what people think?

Done.

Folks, would you do it?

Would you be willing to write a 100-word summary of what you do for a living, and put it in a directory?

Or, would you be willing to write something less than that?

Or, would you not be willing at all? (This is more of a rhetorical question - plenty of people won't share their identities; I'm more interested in hearing from folks who would describe their businesses so we can make a directory of trusted dr.com members - if my dog was sick, I'd take him to DrXmus).

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Would you be willing to write a 100-word summary of what you do for a living, and put it in a directory?

I probably would not list my day job, for various reasons, but I'd be happy to put my "second job" (which is probably more useful to folks on here).

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I probably would not list my day job, for various reasons, but I'd be happy to put my "second job" (which is probably more useful to folks on here).

Thing is, though, if you *did* list your day job, people here could trust you not to screw them over (and therein lies the point of the whole exercise). I believe this directory would be most useful (on the supply side) to small business owners, or people in the service industry, who thrive on volumes of customers - not dissimilar to our Professionals and Businesses Forum.

Would if be of use if I said I was a database specialist with 25+ years of government contracting experience? Probably not, but you never know. Maybe a company out there has a system that's running too slowly, and I could fix their problem in an hour. I remember when I was in my early 20s, I was consulting with Michelin, and our company had begun a consulting contract there the week before I arrived, with Michelin complaining of a program that was running all night long and not finishing. A guy in our company arrived the first day, and doubled the speed of their program - Michelin threw a little office party for him the next day. The next week, I arrived - the hot-shot kid fresh out of graduate school with an M.S. in Computer Science - and the first day, I took a look, and sped up the already-sped-up version by an order of magnitude, i.e., I made it run 10 times faster by eliminating an extraneous nested DO loop. You know what I got? A lecture from my boss about making them look bad. Needless to say, I worked at that company (Arthur Andersen) for less than one year, then went out on my own. That day was my first real-world lesson in "company politics" which I still detest.

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Don:

I've occasionally referenced one of our businesses, which is also in my signature.  It is a business that services food and beverage in a tangential manner.  We train people to be beginning bartenders.  (We don't create advanced mixologists).   We provide an active job placement program.  It doesn't guarantee jobs.  Yet we do a huge job in assisting grads getting work.  We literally have thousands of grads bartending, and some are at least fairly accomplished mixologists.  We provide free placement on behalf of employers (restaurants/caterers/etc).  We can direct blast to a huge number of grads looking for bartending work or alternatively filter leads to established and experienced grads.   I repeat.  It is a free service to employers.

We also directly connect catering staff/bartenders to events/parties/ you name it.  This can range from a single bartender to groups of 50 to 100 for major events.  Actually the staffing companies make great use of this service.

Now, having referenced the service in dr.com and occasionally having contacted an employer about our services, and having received at least one request for the placement services....I can say that we have had middling results.

But we love and appreciate the middling results.   They are the result of a free service provided by dr.com.  IT IS FREE.

In one regard or another I've done marketing/sales for about 30 years.  I was a commercial real estate broker for about 2 decades.  My first manager was a wise wonderful leader who described us as business consultants on real estate matters.   And we were.   But we were also/ and even more so marketers.  We had to network, market, direct sell, cold call, etc. to obtain business.  In my first office (the then largest office of commercial RE in the area)  we learned sales techniques before we learned anything about real estate.

As to the DC barschool's references at dr.com:   I'm aware of at least one student taking the course accompanied by a nice reference.  Thank you.  I saw the internal review by that student.  She liked it.   Maybe there are more.

We've assisted one employer that I'm aware of by direct request.  I know that employer got a very healthy large number of applicants.  I've contacted a few employers.  We don't advertise opportunities unless somebody specifically tells us to do so.

If something didn't work out correctly we would work to solve the issues.  We have maintained an impeccable reputation in this location for about 3 decades.  Its probably how we look at every issue all the time over the last couple of decades.  It saves a lot of time and eliminates a lot of aggravation.

I appreciate dr.com.  Its an absolutely free opportunity to network, among many other things.  I would do it with at least one other business in this area excepting I keep my involvement under the radar screen for a variety of reasons.

There is a huge benefit to networking.  Thanks for the opportunity.

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Don:

I've occasionally referenced one of our businesses, which is also in my signature.  It is a business that services food and beverage in a tangential manner.  We train people to be beginning bartenders.  (We don't create advanced mixologists).   We provide an active job placement program.  It doesn't guarantee jobs.  Yet we do a huge job in assisting grads getting work.  We literally have thousands of grads bartending, and some are at least fairly accomplished mixologists.  We provide free placement on behalf of employers (restaurants/caterers/etc).  We can direct blast to a huge number of grads looking for bartending work or alternatively filter leads to established and experienced grads.   I repeat.  It is a free service to employers.

We also directly connect catering staff/bartenders to events/parties/ you name it.  This can range from a single bartender to groups of 50 to 100 for major events.  Actually the staffing companies make great use of this service.

Now, having referenced the service in dr.com and occasionally having contacted an employer about our services, and having received at least one request for the placement services....I can say that we have had middling results.

But we love and appreciate the middling results.   They are the result of a free service provided by dr.com.  IT IS FREE.

In one regard or another I've done marketing/sales for about 30 years.  I was a commercial real estate broker for about 2 decades.  My first manager was a wise wonderful leader who described us as business consultants on real estate matters.   And we were.   But we were also/ and even more so marketers.  We had to network, market, direct sell, cold call, etc. to obtain business.  In my first office (the then largest office of commercial RE in the area)  we learned sales techniques before we learned anything about real estate.

As to the DC barschool's references at dr.com:   I'm aware of at least one student taking the course accompanied by a nice reference.  Thank you.  I saw the internal review by that student.  She liked it.   Maybe there are more.

We've assisted one employer that I'm aware of by direct request.  I know that employer got a very healthy large number of applicants.  I've contacted a few employers.  We don't advertise opportunities unless somebody specifically tells us to do so.

If something didn't work out correctly we would work to solve the issues.  We have maintained an impeccable reputation in this location for about 3 decades.  Its probably how we look at every issue all the time over the last couple of decades.  It saves a lot of time and eliminates a lot of aggravation.

I appreciate dr.com.  Its an absolutely free opportunity to network, among many other things.  I would do it with at least one other business in this area excepting I keep my involvement under the radar screen for a variety of reasons.

There is a huge benefit to networking.  Thanks for the opportunity.

Thanks for your input. These directories are like so many other start-ups: they rely on a critical mass, and until/unless that mass occurs, results will continue to be non-existent or middling at best. I have no doubt the format is in place; we need volume. This is why we're running, for example,

THIS CONTEST !!!!!

As much as I cherish our members, the sad truth is that even with this group, it takes some tooth-pulling, and people do indeed respond to incentives, even if those incentives are largely symbolic (I don't think of this cookbook as "symbolic" - it's a big, expensive book - but some of the things we've offered in the past have largely been without a whole lot of material value, yet have gotten results all the same). It's more a matter of being reminded - people are busy with their own lives, and simply forget that WITHOUT THEIR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION, DR.COM HAS NO REAL FUTURE! :)

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Just to state again, I would love to post about what I do.  Because I am a family law attorney, it's generally hard for me to get clients to endorse me anywhere because many don't want to have to talk about what they had to go through, and I really don't blame them for that.  And the quick and easy divorces aren't really a great example of who is an exemplary attorney because it's the clients and the opposing parties that generally dictate how easy or hard something is to resolve. I do some other types of law too, as I work for a firm in Alexandria that is general practice in a way, we have 14 attorneys and we all specialize in different areas, but collaborate on certain projects, for instance we do a huge amount of zoning, real estate, employment, condominium and trust and estate work too, just to name a few areas. Anyway I would love to be able to use other DR members businesses, just as I like visiting member's restaurants or doing other things with them.  

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Just to state again, I would love to post about what I do.  Because I am a family law attorney, it's generally hard for me to get clients to endorse me anywhere because many don't want to have to talk about what they had to go through, and I really don't blame them for that.  And the quick and easy divorces aren't really a great example of who is an exemplary attorney because it's the clients and the opposing parties that generally dictate how easy or hard something is to resolve. I do some other types of law too, as I work for a firm in Alexandria that is general practice in a way, we have 14 attorneys and we all specialize in different areas, but collaborate on certain projects, for instance we do a huge amount of zoning, real estate, employment, condominium and trust and estate work too, just to name a few areas. Anyway I would love to be able to use other DR members businesses, just as I like visiting member's restaurants or doing other things with them.  

I'm perfectly content doing a directory with 5 people to start with.

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I'll add something from the perspective of local search and higher rankings for whatever one does.

Any business that provides local services should add the essence of what is described as NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) or NAP + Url.

The google search ranking for a local business specifically in the maps section, is ranked in part on aggregate mentions of this NAP information.  In certain categories high rankings in organic search are daunting and difficult as some very powerful websites will dominate the organic rankings.

BUT...the maps section is weighted and evaluated on very different bases.  With a little effort most entities can compete and shoot for high rankings.

So for our bartending school this information will assist us in search rankings (albeit in a minor way).  But the aggregate volume of these help in a large way:

Professional Bartending School

2440 Wilson Boulevard

Arlington, VA  22201

703 841 9700

http://bartending-school.com

Google and possibly bing will ultimately scan through this page and it will pick up that info, recognize it in a data format, and send that info to the google maps index.  That will aggregate with other similar info.  That data, dependent on both quality of source, and quantity of references will be weighed in calculating the Maps ranking and presence of that business.

If somebody was searching for a bartending school somewhere in the greater region and the google visibility of maps was important, and we were roughly equidistant from that searcher with a competitor, our effort at securing more and more of these NAP "citations" might push the site above the competitor and gain better visibility.

If I were with an agency, law firm, medical office with more than one location in the area I'd create a directory styled description of each location.

If I were a founding partner of the Dewey Cheatum and Howe Law Firm, with offices in Bethesda, Alexandria, and downtown DC near the courthouse;  I'd list all three addresses and locations.

The above suggestion is a small but invaluable aide to helping in getting higher rankings in google.

AND ITS FREE.

seriously....what could be better??

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I think this is a great idea. I'd love to know some people outside of my personal "network" to refer people to. Also, I'm a former "big firm" attorney and, though I still generally represent fairly large corporate clients, one of the best parts of being with my new firm is an increased ability to take on referrals. I've gotten a few matters involving small businesses and individuals that way, which are typically some of my more interesting cases. In the past, I've been referred matters involving contract disputes, executive compensation issues, and enforcement (or avoidance) of noncompetition clauses, though I'd be comfortable with most commercial disputes. I'm admitted in DC, Virginia, and New York. My contact information is:

Richard W. Boone Jr.
Loss, Judge & Ward, LLP
Two Lafayette Centre
1133 21st Street, NW, Suite 450
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 778-4085
Email: rboone@ljwllp.com

My firm bio is here.
 
NOTE: This post may constitute ADVERTISING MATERIAL in some jurisdictions and is not meant to be interpreted as consent to any representation or as providing legal advice.

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Don's Proposed DR.com Business Directory--Its a Gift

I wouldn't know if Don is aware of this or not, but the offer of a free small business directory is a gift to any business, service, professional that provides local services and sees any value to having a high or higher ranked website in google;  specifically the part of the google first page that lists local businesses in coordination with pins on a map (the google local/google maps/google + local (whatever it is currently called) part.   That goes for restaurants and for every local/regional service from a to z.

Adding your businesses's name, address phone number and a url (a website address if your business has a website) is called a citation in google maps lingo.  Citations are one of the most critical elements in obtaining higher google maps rankings.

I've worked on this for about 6 years.  The value of citations comes right out of google patents on how google maps works and establishes higher rankings.   Its extraordinarily valuable in getting higher rankings for appropriate searches for your type of service.   I could go on about this in detail but its not worth my wordiness.....;)

I'd suggest, if you do have or are part of a local business providing local services I'd add that information as follows:

Business Name

Street Address

City, State

Zip Code

Phone Number

URL

There are a number of details connected to this, but at the least its a starting point.   and frankly I thank Don for making it available.

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Don's Proposed DR.com Business Directory--Its a Gift

I wouldn't know if Don is aware of this or not, but the offer of a free small business directory is a gift to any business, service, professional that provides local services and sees any value to having a high or higher ranked website in google;  specifically the part of the google first page that lists local businesses in coordination with pins on a map (the google local/google maps/google + local (whatever it is currently called) part.   That goes for restaurants and for every local/regional service from a to z.

Thanks for your feedback, Dave. No, I wasn't sure of this, but figured as much. If you Google most people in our Professionals and Businesses forum, they come up on page 1. The example I often cite is Peggy Newhall.

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Thing is, though, if you *did* list your day job, people here could trust you not to screw them over (and therein lies the point of the whole exercise).

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA no, I couldn't promise them that.

But my other gig, I can!

Scofflaws Den, LLC.

315 N. Quebec St. #1

Arlington VA 22203

Website: http://scofflawsden.com/

Phone: 434-825-3958

Email: seanmike@scofflawsden.com

We provide cocktail and alcohol related consulting, including bartending and classes about alcohol and home bartending, menu reviews, cocktail creation, interview assistance, writing, and pairing advice. Marshall Fawley and I founded Scofflaws Den in 2007 as our interest in cocktails surged, and we added Ashley Schmidt, formerly of Jack Rose, and Anthony Rivera, formerly of Last Exit/Tonic and now at Beuchert's Saloon, as partners in 2012. We've done classes at Jack Rose, Last Exit, and Green Pig Bistro amongst other places and our writing has been featured in Mutineer magazine, Cigar Advisor, AARP's newsletter, and other publications. AskMen.com listed Marshall's cocktail classes as one of their "Top 10 things to do in DC beyond bar hopping".

(is that what you're looking for?)

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Anna Phor, Consulting Linguist.

Reasonable rates. No job too small.

Lexicography, grammatical analysis, IPA transcription.

Contact through PM for details.

You should be hearing from Dean and RJ shortly. ;)

In all seriousness, what is a linguist? A language expert that does ... ?

(I'll go ahead and do this directory - it doesn't matter if it's small. Just give me some time (a few weeks) to get it done.)

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Linguists do a bunch of different things--from writing dictionaries to studying language structures to working with communities to revive dying languages.

I work primarily on language learning, especially ESL learning in US schools and the needs of kids who are working on learning English.

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