Many of these same clients had previously been using expensive custom-built websites made with either Dreamweaver or the old Microsoft Front Page. Many of them were struggling with making even simple updates to their site. All of them wanted a simple, easy to manage alternative to their existing website frustrations. So, I installed Wordpress as their CMS.

It’s easy to set-up. Easy to use. Easy to learn. This makes it perfect for people who don’t want to be tied to a webmaster to make changes. Wordpress is ideal for small businesses and non-profits needing a web presence but don’t have the budget for something more complex or custom-built.

I also love Wordpress because of all the great plugins than enhance functionality and search engine optimization (SEO). Literally with a couple of click, I can install plugins and themes that allow me to give each site a customized look and feel, improve the visitor experience and more.

Once the client site is set-up and customized then it’s up to the client to maintain the content freshness. I also offer my services to help in this area by training them on how to make posts, pages, add photos, embed video, use tags and categories, etc. I also recommend that they follow my Content Publishing Plan that makes the job of posting fresh content a LOT easier.

When these clients out-grow their Wordpress CMS then I recommend they look at Joomla, which is another open-source CMS for more sophisticated ecommerce websites with greater requirements. But then… it also takes longer to learn how to use than Wordpress.

This weekend was amazing. Signed on two new clients for joint venture projects in Friday. Sunday after church we took the kids kayaking on the James River at Balcony Falls. Then we had a wonderful dinner together.

Saturday was spent doing some house and yard work followed by an evening of playing a family board game called Carcassone. We just got the deluxe edition with the expansion packs. Pretty cool. Kind of like Settlers of Katan but without all of the negotiating and arguing.

On Sunday I got to sleep in til 9:00 am, have peaches and bananas for a light breakfast and then went for a morning horseback ride around the neighboring farms with my beautiful wife. It was a perfect day. Low humidity, cool temperatures. Perfect for playing outside.

I am truly blessed to live here in southwest Virginia. It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth… right here at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains just south of Roanoke, Virginia.

I give thanks everyday for the multitude of blessing in my life… great kids, great wife, love my business helping others… it’s all good. Even my bad days are usually pretty good.

After church, we hurried home to get lunch ready for my Mom and Dad, who came over to my house to celebrate. I grilled steaks and chicken on the “barby” while my wife fixed varoius side dishes like sweet corn on the cob, Vidalia onions, brocolli, and spinach. We also had lemonade and iced tea sweetened with Stevia.

After a wonderful meal with my parents and my kids, we went outside to play… which inlcuded video recording my foster son attempting back flips in the front yard. Most amusing.

Then we all went berry picking up on Wade’s Gap. The Logan berries aren’t quite ready yet but the raspberries are abundant. We stopped by the local orchard to pick “pie” cherries. Yep… they taste just like the cherries you get in pie filling.

After we got home, my son Scott and I worked on my cousin’s website graphics. While we were working on graphics, my 12 year old daughter and my 14 year old foster daughter made cherry pie… from scratch… including the crust.

They also made chicken quesadillas and enchilladas for dinner. For dessert, we enjoyed warm cherry pie with vanilla ice cream. It was beautiful and delicious.

The kids all gave me hand-made cards and presented me with the “The Lost Boys – Tribe”  DVD that we’re getting ready to watch as I write this.

As you can tell… I have a house full of kids. Three of my own aged 19, 16 and 12. One newly adopted son (as of last week) age 12 and three foster kids aged 15, 14 and 12. They are all great kids.

I’m very blessed. Happy Father’s Day… indeed.

In their workshops they explain how your personal brand is shaped in large part by your web presence, whether you realize it or not. Once it’s on the web, it’s there forever (even if you delete it) and will follow you for the rest of your life. Don’t believe me? Then just take a look at the Wayback Machine and see for yourself.

John and Patsy advise that you can shape your personal brand to your advantage or you can let it ruin your career… depending on what gets onto the web. They also advise that you should be doing more to monitor and create content that enhances your personal brand.

“Ditch the Resume” is about how more and more businesses are turning to the web to research prospective employees. Already, many companies have online application processes to reduce the paperwork involved with new hires. It probably won’t be long before paper resumes are no longer used.

Your personal website can be a wonderful replacement for your paper resume.

It allows you to expand on your skills, talents, experience, and personal style. You can post videos and photos of yourself on your site to demonstrate your abilities and professionalism. Make it easy for recruiters, employers, and contacts to find you, learn about you, and hire you.

That is what inspired the content on this site… developing my personal brand to promote ME… Brian Duvall.