Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Having just gone through the process of investigating, and then moving to Greenville, I thought I'd post a comment about Greenville and the web. I have noticed that a lot of the local business here are either not on the web at all, or their presence on the web is not easily found through search engines. It really makes it difficult for those of us who are used to finding everything through Google. In the DC area (where we came from), every Tom, Dick and Harry had a website that was easily found. Not so here. I only post this to encourage those of you who are looking into Greenville, but not finding what you need, to do some more traditional-style research. Make some phone calls. Come and visit and talk to people that can help you in the specific areas you need to know about.
The most useful web tools for this area might just be online phone books. Call people here. They really are very friendly and helpful and will most-likely help you find what you need, if they can't help you themselves.
This was probably an obvious thing to most people, but was just a random realization I've come to here (having come from a large metropolitan area).
Very interesting information. I have a small service oriented business I was considering relocating...when I search, I can't find anyone really who is doing what I do down there and it's a service people everywhere pretty much need.
I've been scratching my head trying to figure it out.
So having said that and also that I get a lot of business via Google sponsored adds, am I going to find getting new business down there difficult without spending a fortune on yellowpage adds? Around here, people have gone online in a big way and small companies like us find it revolutionary to be free from $1000 a month static adds in the phone book.
Or, is it "who you know" down there?
I'd hate to relocate a business and then find I can't get off the ground because I can't attract customers aside from phone book adds and church meetings.
Any insight to how you all find carpet cleaners, landscapers, plumbers etc down there?
I probably wasn't super precise with my post. You can definitely find local businesses through google, but very few of the places you find have an actual website. If you google "landscapers greenville, sc" you get 903 businesses, but the info you get is largely the same as you find in the phone book. The amount of info you can get about actual services, reviews, rates, etc. is not as easy to get when compared to the DC area.
And there is a lot of "who you know" type of stuff going on here. Someone (Skyliner, maybe?) posted that a house near downtown got an offer on it the day a sign went up. A Real Estate agent I met here mentioned that a lot of the houses in that neighborhood sell w/o a sign ever going up. Sales are made through churches, long-time associations, etc. This real estate agent had a connection to some of those home sales that never really get listed, but she's been here a long time. Our landlord is a born-and-raised Greenvillian and has been invaluable.
Again, thanks for the info. It's a little disheartening but at the same time without knowing how much these folks are willing to let a "new guy" in it's hard to say.
I'm a very honest worker and do very good work at moderate costs. My concern is starving to death for the first few years out of prejudice of being "an outsider". Right now, I do work for the "who's who" people of my area (I.E. A VERY large Hartford and national developer hired me to do work in his [$4.8m] home purely based on my advertising and past results...not sure if that would happen in a "closed network") not just based on relationships but on a solid business image and results.
Anyhow, I guess I"m just thinking out loud a bit. Sorry for rambling.
I don't really think its astounding that you can't find a zillion local businesses on the web here, its still a fairly small city, I think we have a few more years before we can be compared to DC LOL. I kind of like it sometimes, its like a treasure hunt! lol
Very True! There are endless little finds around here. One of our first finds (and favorites) was a restaurant supply on pleasantburg where I got my ultimate saute pan. And there are small, privately-owned music stores where you can buy cassette tapes if you like. We've really enjoyed going into a lot of the little business here. I keep expecting we will run across some great historical find that no one noticed and be featured on the antiques road show or something...
And I didn't mean to insinuate that this was astounding about the web, just that Greenville is a little behind, even compared to other cities of its size. It is similar to what Fort Collins, CO ( a city smaller than Greenville) was like 5,6,7 years ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoodlesKnowles
I don't really think its astounding that you can't find a zillion local businesses on the web here, its still a fairly small city, I think we have a few more years before we can be compared to DC LOL. I kind of like it sometimes, its like a treasure hunt! lol
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
