WASHINGTON – Senator Mary Landrieu, Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, today announced that Google will bring its “Get Your Business Online” (GYBO) workshop back to Louisiana. The event will be held on Monday, March 25, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Turner Gallery in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette Street, Baton Rouge, La., 70801. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to register at www.LouisianaGetOnline.com or call 1-800-986-6958.
Google’s GYBO initiative gives small businesses free online tools to create their own website and provides training to entrepreneurs about the process. Participants also receive a unique domain name without a charge for one year. Last August, Senator Landrieu partnered with Google to host a GYBO event in Acadiana, which drew the participation of 150 local businesses. One of these business owners was Lauri Wallace, who developed an online presence for her Shreveport-based jewelry design company Just Ask Creations, after attending the GYBO event. In addition to the GYBO events, countless businesses have benefitted from the GYBO Louisiana website.
Creating a small business website is critical for small businesses when 97 percent of people go online to find a local product or service. In Louisiana, approximately 64 percent of small businesses in the state do not have their own website.
“In the past, the success of a Louisiana business could often be determined by its proximity to major roads such as I-10 or I-20,” said Senator Landrieu. “The Internet has now changed these traditional business models that small businesses once relied on. Now it is no longer a luxury to have an online presence, it is a necessity. This event will help entrepreneurs both in the Capital Region and around the state jumpstart their businesses by getting online.
“Google’s ‘Get Your Business Online’ initiative is helping these small business owners create an online presence and compete in an ever growing global market. That is why I am excited to partner with them to bring this event to Baton Rouge, and I look forward to continuing to help bring these educational tools and resources to the more than 380,000 small businesses in Louisiana.”
“The perception that getting online is complex, costly and time-consuming has prevented many Louisiana small businesses from taking the first step,” said Scott Levitan, Director of Small Business Engagement at Google. “This program makes it fast, easy and free for businesses to get online."
To date, Google has held GYBO events in all 50 States and Washington, DC; in doing so, they have helped more than 100,000 businesses shape an online existence with 200 plus seminars.
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