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Our Philosophy
We Saw A Need
justBurbank.com sprang from a clearly perceived need. The founders are a mother and daughter team. Kate Higgins has lived in Burbank since 1970 and Libby Higgins was born and raised here. They each have their own area of internet expertise. Kate designs and develops websites (since 1995) and Libby is an online advertising specialist (since 2003).
Understanding that the direction of marketing is very much online, they both saw a need for improvement in the area of local searches for products and services. A year of research later, justBurbank, a truly local online business directory, is the answer they arrived at to make local searches complete, available and user friendly.
justBurbank.com - 1st Rule, Local Only
A local directory that was truly local and complete had to have free listings for all local businesses. This was the first rule. It had to be strictly local...no Glendale ads sneaking in... no paid listings from Sherman Oaks or Santa Clarita or elsewhere. This is what you often see in other ‘local’ directories. It also had to offer lots of perks to draw customers, to connect with the community, to give something back and still be reasonable in cost for small businesses and professionals. Even the big guys who have been in the business for years are just not doing it right. We intend to do it right.
Next Rule - Going Local is good for business, for the community and for the planet.
justBurbank.com fills needs in many ways that are productive to both business and the community.
- Supporting local business is good for the Planet because it is “greener”(ie:saves gas).
- Time-saving feature for customers and leads for businesses with our “Get-A-Quote” feature.
- Targeted advertising for businesses and professionals. We spend the lion’s share of our income on advertising in Google, via email, direct mail and by networking. If a customer is looking for a Burbank business or professional, they are going to find it much faster now.
- Businesses support their community charities when they advertise with us, through our Direct Donation program. A contribution of $3.00 from every paid business listing is sent to a local non-profit. The subscriber selects from a list of local non-profits.
Do the math, if 30% of Burbank businesses join up that is approximately 2000 businesses. 2000 x $3.00/month =$6,000, sent monthly and over $72,000 contributed annually. That can make a real dent in local funding needs.
One More Reason - We can make the internet work for small businesses.
Another important factor in starting this site, was to have a venue to help Burbank small businesses learn about getting online, getting found online and getting more business by being online. We know the internet, how it works and how to use it effectively. We have seen many websites fail due to lack of internet know-how. Without some basic knowledge of how to become visible online and generate traffic, many websites are not worth the investment.
We want Burbank businesses to be internet savvy and use it to their full advantage. Our tips and articles are not written in “geek” and offer easy to apply advice to getting an effective presence online.
Mission Statement
Our mission is simple and clear:
“Business Supporting Community,
Community Supporting Business”
Please send us your feedback about the site...click here>>
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