Did you know that January is National Hobby Month?  Do you have a hobby?  My hobby is photography and videography.  My hobby actually turned into a service that we offer via my company. 

Many people don't realize that a hobby can transfer into a marketable skill that can be monetized.

Of course, not all hobbies need to become money makers, but in today's world, it never hurts to have additional skills that you can use to earn income.

​I've included some of my favorite shots I've taken over the years in the post.

If you have a hobby share it in the comments and let the world know your passion.

Stephen

We are proud to help Country Lake HOA use their website to keep their residents informed and connected during Georgia's shelter in place order for COVID-19.  Today we created a video for one of their latest initiatives.  

​The Country Lake Social Distancing Front Yard Social is an event created by the HOA's board.  During the event, they are asking that residents come out on their front lawns and set up tables, chairs, grills, music, and more.  Their goals was to have a community event while still practicing social distancing as a neighborhood.

In addition to creating a video commercial for the event, we updated sections of their website that we designed and maintain for them.  The commercial airs on "Country Lake TV."  This is an online TV channel that we created for their community.  The channel keeps their residents informed about different news and events concerning their neighborhood.

It's forward thinking like this that will keep our society moving forward in spite of the challenges that present themselves.

We are proud to call them clients.  

Congrats Country Lake!

Stephen
​Stephen Wicks Internet Development Company

Here is the online channel that we created for Country Lake HOA.

Learn more about Country Lake:
www.countrylakehoa.com

Our photography department had a photo shoot at the AEI Startup Factory today.  We provided some photos for their marketing.  We also provided headshots for their members.  Here are some of the before and after shots.

We can provide headshots and corporate marketing images for your next project.  Just send us an email at stephen@stephenwicks.com

We are very proud to announce that we are starting an un-paid apprenticeship program where we will train select individuals how they can begin earning money designing websites and by offering digital marketing services to small to medium sized businesses.

Select candidates will work closely with our staff learning web design / development technologies and marketing platforms.  The goal of the program is to teach individuals how they can create their own opportunities working in technology.

Our owner, Stephen Wicks, has a desire to give back to the community through this program.  "The technology industry has been good to me and I want to share my knowledge with people who want to create their own opportunities."

The program will allow participants to learn and work with technologies such as:

• HMTL
• CSS
• Javascript
• Knack (Database)
• Weebly for Designers
• Duda Development Platform
• and various social media and marketing automation platforms.

The average salary for the job title "Web Designer" as reported by Salary.com, is $48,600 to $74,500 annually.  There are also tremendous opportunities for freelancing and entrepreneurship.

We are looking for people who want to learn how to earn money making websites and offering digital marketing.  We will teach you what we know and test your knowledge with real world projects that you can use on your resume. 

There is no cost to join this program.  The apprenticeship is also un-paid, however, participants may be offered an opportunity to work with our company after completion of the 3 month program.

Apprentices who satisfactorily completes the 3 month program will receive a Certified Web Designer certificate from our company.

Completion Includes:

1. At least 10 hours per week of learning/design work.
2. At least two (2)  completed projects showcasing skills learned during the program.
3. Completion of exam on technologies learned during the program.

We were proud to be selected as the official photographer / videographer for the YALI 2019 experience at the Allen Entrepreneurial Institute.  The weekend of events were held July 19-21, 2019. 

The program brings in the top young business leaders from the continent of Africa to learn from American business leaders.  We loved covering the weekend and have tons of content for the Institute.  Here are a few photos.

We are very proud to announce that our client, The Brian Jordan Foundation, has announced it's 2019 scholarship awardees.

The announcement was made by Mr. Jordan himself at a recent Atlanta Braves baseball game.

We are super proud to have them as a client.

Learn more by visiting their website at :  https://www.brianjordanfoundation.com

We had a blast shooting this video for Denise Powell of DP Global Media.  She was promoting her event called, The Unity Day Pre-Launch Celebration. 

We shot a video under our BlackBusinessList.Com brand that will be used to help promote her book, "Welcome To The A!" as well as the event.

Blog Post - I just wanted to share a digital flyer that we did for a new powerhouse client, The Salon Milan Suites at Stonecrest.

Working with these ladies is so much fun.  We're designing a new website and handling their social media accounts.

That's all for now.  I hope you're all crushing 2019!

Stephen

We had a blast capturing photos and video for a few marketing projects that we're launching for Salon Milan.  The full service salon is located at Stonecrest Mall in Stonecrest, GA.

We will be producing social media, a new website, commercials, and display marketing for the salon. 

Here are some images taken.  More to come!

Blog Post: Stephen Wicks

Have you ever heard of someone who lost control of their website?  Maybe you have or maybe it was even you who had this happen.  It is a very common phenomenon that happens to business owners every day.   Even though it happens a lot, this tragedy can actually be avoided if you know a few things upfront before getting your website designed.  In this blog post, we will give you 3 tips to prevent this from happening to you.

Usually, a person who decides to get a website designed does one of two things.  1. Try to design it themselves or 2. Hire someone else to design it for them. 

There is nothing wrong with either option however; many people don't know the difference between having a "domain name" and a "website."  You can have a website and not have a domain name and you can have a domain name and not have a website.  It sounds confusing but let me break down the differences.

What Is A Domain?
A domain name is the set of letters or numbers that come after http://www  in your browser... such as www.StephenWicks.com . It is the address that directs people to where your website is being hosted. 

In actuality, the website StephenWicks.com is located on the internet at an address that consists of a set of numbers that's recognized by your computer. 

Most people will not be able to remember all of those numbers that represent our website's address.
​
So instead of having to remember and type in many numbers, you can simply type StephenWicks.com and you'll find my website.  That's why domain names are so important.

What Is A Website?
A website is everything that you see when you go to a domain name.  This can be pictures, text, video, audio, documents, or whatever digital files the site's owner wants you to see.

The "website" is what people will "see" when they go to the "domain name address."

Do You See The Difference?
A domain name is seperate from the website.  I could own StephenWicks.com and NOT have a website.  StephenWicks.com is only the address of the website.

You Need Both A Domain Name AND A Website
So I hope you now understand that you need both a domain name AND a website in order to have a website that can hold the information that you may want clients or customers to see.

Most people don't understand the difference and when they let someone develop a website for them, they don't make sure that they "own" or have control of the domain or the hosted website files.

This means that the designer can theoretically register the domain in their own name and leave you out of the registration process.  You will not actually have control of the domain address at all.  This means that you can not truly make any changes with your website without your designer's permission.

The bottom line is that it's a common problem that people fall out of love with their designers and often lose control of their domain names and their websites.  This is terrible because if you lose control, many times you will have to start all over with a different domain name and / or website.  This may confuse your customers and be costly for you.

If you have any questions about this process you can contact us at Stephen Wicks Internet Development Company and we can give you a free initial consultation.

Building a website is a great experience when you know what common pitfalls to avoid.  So don't fret, get busy building your dream project!

Stephen Wicks
Email: stephen@stephenwicks.com 
Phone: ​(678) 999-7945