Hire Me

“Phil’s previous tenure as VP of Operations at BBOnline
and his experience designing, re-designing and maintaining
B&B and small business websites has uniquely prepared
him to be a resource you can use to help your business.”

On any given week, innkeepers need help and assistance with all kinds of tasks and projects. Some don’t have the time or expertise or physical ability or experience to get those things done. Some items are seasonal, or there’s a crunch, or there may be a specific plan but no one to help.

Does this sound like you? You have a lot to do and no one to help.

What Can I Do For You?

Here’s a fairly comprehensive list. Click one of the “more” links to see more specific information.

• Website Design – more
• Website Maintenance – more
• Internet Strategy – more
• Strategic Planning – more
• Search Engine Optimization – more
• Email Setup/Administration – more
• B&B Directory Help – more
• Photography – more
• PhotoShop image editing – more
• Writing/Editing – more
• Software Installation – more
• Accounting – more
• Marketing – more
• Business Management/Operations – more
• Budgeting – more

Some of the other work I can do includes landscaping, painting, caulking, light carpentry, drywall, various other maintenance.

Why Hire Me?

For on-site engagements, I can be your extra eyes and ears and hands, and a sounding board – in person, so that we can brainstorm and work together not only on physical property issues, but on business/marketing/internet types of issues that would be beneficial to your business. I love to brainstorm and try to help find better, more efficient, more profitable ways of doing things related to a business.

For projects that I can do from my home, we’ll lay out specifically what you need and when you need it done, to make sure that your needs are taken care of.

I have worked for large and very small businesses, have reviewed literally thousands of B&B websites, have started and managed my own small businesses, worked for several types of bosses, and have done many of my own home and yard projects using lots of tools and implements.

What could having a person like this in your corner do for your business right now?

What Are My Rates?

• Minimum Daily Rate for on-site work
• Charges above the Minimum Daily Rate depend on the services/work I do
• Innkeeper covers travel expenses
  • Willing to drive basically anywhere as long as paid for, but will fly if makes sense
  • Best option is to book several days of work to do
  • Preference to stay at the B&B

What Is My Availability?

• Available for on-site work on Monday through Thursday
• I have commitments on Friday and Sunday that require me to be in Nashville most weekends. I could be available some weekends, but this would need to be planned well in advance.

A Win-Win

• Both sides can provide references and testimonials for each other.
• You get the jobs/tasks done that need to get done.
• I get some practical, hands-on experience at an actual B&B.

Contact Me

I look forward to hearing from you. There’s no charge for us to talk or email. I would prefer that you initially contact me via email with the best time(s) to reach you and I will be glad to call you. We can discuss what you need and your timing and see how we can work together to get things done to improve your situation.

More Details

Website Design – If you need an entirely new site or a redesign of your existing site, I can help. My specialty is small- to mid-size B&B’s and other businesses that need a more professional, functional, easy-to-navigate, search-engine-friendly site. This can be just a few pages or as many as you need. It can be a traditional website or a blog-based site (like PassionateInnkeepers.com) or a combination of the two.

Website Maintenance – I cut my teeth in this area with my years of experience at Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE (www.bbonline.com). As the VP of Operations of a small business, part of my daily and/or weekly routine was to answer phone calls and emails from innkeepers who needed changes or updates made to their pages. Oftentimes, I/we made the changes for the customer before they got off the phone call. As I have moved into doing individual and small-business websites, this same appreciation for personal service has carried forward into my own businesses. Whether changing rates, text or manipulating new images on your existing website, I can take care of your needs.

Internet Strategy – I am the first to admit I am not an internet expert. Things change so quickly and I can barely keep up. I do have a good bit of experience with the very successful BBOnline website, have developed my own websites as well as the other sites I have either created from scratch or re-designed. This work is what I do on a daily basis and I believe I have some valuable, real-world experience that I can offer. At the very least, let’s talk about it and see if what I can do for you will be beneficial.

Strategic Planning – Having spent a considerable amount of my career experience in entrepreneurial and leadership roles, I have taken part in strategy sessions to brainstorm new ideas and refine existing businesses. I believe I work best in those situations where the business owner and I can bounce ideas off one another, hash and re-hashing ideas, in order to reach some solid business decisions for moving forward. Creating a plan for the owner and team to implement is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience for me.

Search Engine Optimization – While I am not a guru in this area (like the Internet Strategy area), I have had a lot of experience with multiple websites where one of our goals is to help the site obtain better ranking and results in search engines. One of my main tenets is that content is king – that’s the camp I find myself in. My efforts are directed to supporting that goal. Many (Very Many) of the B&B websites that I see need this type of help. Much of it is fairly simple and straightforward, and I am confident I can do much to help many sites out there.

Email Setup/Administration – I know this is a need for many website owners due to my experience with many, many innkeepers who have had issues that have frustrated them for years. If you have a personal email account that you use for your business, and you don’t want everyone and their brother on the internet to know your personal email address, there is a solution. Or, if your email address is being spammed with tons of emails (appropriate or inappropriate ones), there are things that can be done.

B&B Directory Assistance – Since I worked for one of the top bed and breakfast directories in the industry, it is pretty safe to say that I have some knowledge of how directories work. Obviously, each one is different and each has its own peculiarities. If you need help, though, in getting your directory page(s) updated, I should be able to help you with about any situation you may have. Most of the work can probably be done via email, signing in to your account to make changes, or having a conversation with one of the customer support persons at a particular directory. I’ve noticed that many pages are outdated on sites I have reviewed, and I know that this can have a negative effect on potential guests that may be looking at your directory page(s). I can help you with this.

Photography – I don’t claim to be a world-class photographer, but I do have a good eye for composition and have a very nice camera. If you don’t have to use a “brand-name” photographer, but want some great photos that you can use on your website, why not give me a try? If you are going to have me come in and do other work with you on your physical property or your website or business operations, show me what you want photographed and I will do my best to make you proud.

PhotoShop image editing – Do you have original digital photographs that look pretty nice, but don’t look too great on your website? And, maybe they take forever to download on your website. Maybe you don’t have the skills or the software to work on the photos yourself. I know how to make the photos look better, and make them fit better on your pages, and download much quicker. I’ve done hundreds (probably thousands) of these during and since my BBOnline days.

Writing/Editing – I never thought this would be something I would enjoy, back when I was in school. However, the more I did it in college, the more I derived pleasure from the task. Once I began working with BBOnline, I reviewed and edited thousands of websites that were created by the designers that worked with us. Since that time, I have edited the content of several websites, authored blog articles for another directory, and edited articles submitted by site members of several other websites. If you have content that needs to be reviewed and edited, or re-written to achieve better results, I will be more than happy to help you.

Software Installation – Given my experience working with many innkeepers and small business owners, there is a segment of the population that is just not comfortable installing their own software products and are unsure about the best/right ways to do so. This area may not set the woods on fire, but I think there is some need for it. If I can help you, let me know.

Accounting – In a former life, I was a bean counter. After getting a degree in accounting, I counted lots of beans … for about twelve years. That wasn’t my thing. I am grateful for the background, but not what I wanted to do the rest of my life. I can help you set up your books and work with accounting software packages. However, I am not a tax guy. Hey, don’t even bring it up!!!

Marketing – is a funny thing. It works in mysterious ways. I’ve done a lot of reading in this area, and have experimented with any number of strategies. It’s not an area that I like doing on my own. I’d rather collaborate with another person or persons, brainstorming ideas, and seeing what we can come up with to get people in the door. I love it and I hate it. So, let’s just talk it through and see what ideas we have for making something happen. Administratively, I can do email campaigns, letters and postcards, and help you with a project. With my headhunting/recruiting experience, I can even get on the phone and personally call all your former customers to invite them back, and record the results in your contact management software. Whatever we can do to get heads in beds, I am willing to help you with.

Business Management/Operations – This is probably the part I love most about business, especially smaller and medium sized businesses. Because it involves much variety, it piques my interest and keeps me in touch with all of the business. It’s not physically possible nor really feasible in most cases with B&Bs, but I love the challenge of the day-to-day operations of making a business succeed, and working with a team to get things done. The stint with Randy at BBOnline was just this sort of thing, and was probably the most gratifying period of my work life so far. Anybody feeling me on this one?

Budgeting – Goes without saying … this was a large part of my life back in the accounting days. These days, any small business owner with a computer and Excel can likely create their own budget. However, if this is not your thing, and you need some help, get in touch with me. Especially if you are having challenges managing your cash flow from month to month and year to year, a budget on paper that you can review every week/month/year will help you. I have no doubt of that.

Thank You

I appreciate you for taking the time to review my information. I look forward to working with you.

Remember, if you desire to work with someone who has had day-to-day experience managing and operating one of the top Bed & Breakfast Internet Directories in the world, I am one of those people. Contact me at your first convenience and we can look at the options. I appreciate the opportunity to be of service!