Google helps military small business owners get online

WASHINGTON -- Nine a.m. is considered pretty early in the tech world, even in the nation's capital, but on June 9, the large event room in Google's Washington D.C. office was already teeming with activity. Employees in bright red T-shirts were lining up name tags in neat rows at the front entrance, hanging goodie bags behind every seat, and setting up computers at the long tables that lined the room. A technician performed sound checks and adjusted the stage lights, which matched the company's signature blue, red, yellow and green.

By 9:30 a.m. guests started to arrive, simultaneously grabbing coffee and pastries while cheerily performing introductions. An outside observer could be forgiven for assuming the attendees already knew one another. They spoke with a familiarity and comfort borne from shared experiences, regardless of the fact that most were meeting for the first time. Each attendee was a veteran or military spouse with a small business, and they had all come to Google to attend a workshop specifically designed for entrepreneurs in the military community. They also shared the same goals; they wanted to learn how to stand out online, reach customers and differentiate themselves from their competition.

"People don't know you're there," said Stefanie Woods-Weakley, owner of Abby Maddy designs (www.abbymaddy.com), explaining her challenges as a small-business owner. "How do you stand out? How do you say you're different?"

Woods-Weakley was just one of the small-business owners who had come to Google to learn industry best practices to help accelerate their businesses online.

Crystal C. Wellman, owner of Ladyburg Bath and Body Apothecary (www.ladyburg.com), was another. Wellman said she felt overwhelmed by the volume of conflicting information she found online when she tried to learn about e-commerce.

"My online presence needs serious help, and I mean serious," Wellman said. "If Google says something is going to work, that's who you want to listen to."

Providing solutions to these challenges is exactly what motivated Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Graham, Google's Army Fellow, to organize this workshop. Graham began a fellowship with Google a year ago 'on loan' from the Army, as part of the Army's broader Training with Industry program. The program aims to help members of the military learn private sector best practices and bring them back. This event, a military-specific version of Google's small-business workshops, is his baby. After spending a year immersed in Google, Graham developed the program to fulfill his goal of creating a meaningful connection between Google and the military community—something he hopes will continue after his tenure ends.

As the group settled into their seats, Graham took the stage to address the audience. His efforts on the program became especially poignant after he mentions that his wife, Sonia Graham, a Realtor, was among the attendees at the workshop.

"I know firsthand how challenging it can be for spouses to find employment," he told the audience, explaining his inspiration for the program.

Graham handed the stage over to Stasia Kudrez, a trainer and technology evangelist who puts the science of Google's products into plain language. Kudrez is an energetic redhead who connects with her audience so naturally it seems almost as though the stage disappears when she talks with them.

While Kudrez discussed products, search engine results and ads, she also took questions from the audience. She called them by name and remembered details about their businesses they ran in order to provide real-world examples of how to use the lessons she was teaching. She jumped quickly into her focus; 97 percent of consumers start their shopping online, often by initiating one of 5 billion searches completed with Google every day. This was one of the main points of the workshop—teaching small-business owners how to convert a search into a sale.

Kudrez rattled out facts and metrics that illustrated the importance of e-commerce, and then paused for a moment so the audience was fully focused on her next question.

"How do I search for you if I don't know you exist?"

Kudrez ran her own search engine optimization company for years before she started working for Google. She knows all the tricks of the trade, as well as all the conflicting advice that might be offered when small-business owners try to navigate e-commerce. She spoke openly about some of the promises made by SEO professionals, and reassured the attendees that they don't have to pay for these services to get good results.

"Google is wicked smart," Kudrez said, using a bit of her Boston background to accentuate her point. "The best website gets to the top, not just who can pay for the best SEO."

Google partnered with The Institute for Veterans & Military Families (www.vets.syr.edu), and the Department of Defense to identify attendees for the pilot workshop. Tina Kapral, the Senior Director of Education and Training for Syracuse, and Eddy Mentzer, the Associate Director for the DOD Family Readiness Policy, were both on hand to talk to the group about what services they offer to the community.

Kapral said that IVMF, which is part of Syracuse University, aims to support veterans and military families by offering educational programs such as their Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans, and Veteran Women Inspiring the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE). All their programs are free or very low cost, and cover topics a small-business owner needs to know, including government contracting, legal and HR concerns, and basic technology considerations. Kaplan said IVMF was excited to partner with Google.

"The more opportunities to reach military spouses, the better," Kaplan said. "What they learn today will enhance what we teach, and who better to teach it but Google?"

Mentzer also emphasized the importance of outreach to military spouses. As a military spouse who has spent 25 years working in family support, he understands the unique challenges facing military families and the weight placed on military spouses to help keep the family together during moves, deployments and transitions. Although 85 percent of spouses want or need to work, their unemployment rate is four times higher than the national average. With spouses serving as the backbone for military families, he said, supporting them is necessary to ensure the health of the military.

"It's a retention issue," Kaplan said. "If spouses have issues with their careers, it might not be worth it to stay in the military. It's retention and quality of life."

By the time the session paused for a mid-morning break, the attendees were already animatedly planning and making to-do lists. Despite being excited for the rest of the workshop, some were already anticipating the end of the session so they could get to work. Navy veteran Bonnie Russell Gorum, a V-WISE graduate and owner of C.L. Russell Group (www.clrussellgroup.com), a training and instructional design firm, could barely contain her enthusiasm.

"I can't wait to get back to my desk," Gorum said, laughing. "I would do it in my car if I could!"

Wellman agreed. Her goal for the day had been to create a strategy for how to move her business forward. Only halfway through the session, she said she'd already outlined a growth roadmap and created a list of tips to improve her online presence. While her business already conducts a decent amount of business online, she said she is really excited about what she will be able do now that she is armed with lessons from the workshop.

"I'm about to take the train home, and I hope they have wi-fi, because I have a lot of work to do," Wellman said. "I want to spend a whole week, close the door and go through every page."

As the workshop wound down, Kudrez handed the stage to another trainer, Marvin Augustin, who started talking to the group about building websites. Kudrez said that this class was the most engaged group she had ever presented to, and spoke admiringly about the businesses they were running and the challenges they had overcome. Kudrez said she had one main lesson she hoped each guest would take with them.

"It's not just important to be online," she said. "It's important to be findable online."

By 2 p.m. the speakers had wrapped up and most of the attendees had left, anxious to put their new skills into practice. A few still lingered, getting last minute tips and talking with members of the Google team who stayed to make sure every last question was answered.

Graham said he was excited about how well the workshop was received, and that he is working to create a template so the program could go on the road across the country. Ideally, he'd like to see the program offered at military installations, but he also hopes the lessons the attendees learn get disseminated organically throughout the military community. Most of the information presented in the workshops is also available online through Google's Get Your Business Online program (www.gybo.com), so business-owners don't need to attend a workshop in order to take advantage of the content.

For Graham, the pilot program he created is just one element of an effort to help create opportunities and build bridges between the military and private sector. Both Kapral and Mentzer agreed, and were excited to find additional ways to continue working with Google. They want to grow their programs, reach out to more veterans and military families, and connect them with the kind of products and services Google offers. This is something Google wants, too.

"It's important that the veteran and spouse small-business owners know that Google has their back," said Graham.

Mentzer said he hopes the program can expand, because he's seen a real need for this kind of training, and the demand keeps growing.

"It doesn't matter what we are doing in the world," Mentzer said. "The need to support our military members and their families will never go away."