Scarsdale, NY – September 25, 2010 -Creative Playtime would like to welcome parents and children to come visit their official re-designed website, launched just in time for the start of the new school year.  Creative Playtime is a community program based out of Grace Lutheran Church, located in Scarsdale, NY.  Their school year runs from mid-September until early June.  The website’s innovative layout, developed with the assistance of Black Rhino Solutions, Inc., displays the different programs and activities that Creative Playtime offers to the community.

Established in 1980 as a community outreach program, Creative Playtime has evolved into a welcoming community center program, specifically geared toward the needs of the families and the children they serve.  Creative Playtime is a New York State Licensed facility with a qualified and professional staff that strives to provide a nurturing environment for attendees.  In their website, found at www.creativeplaytimescarsdale.org, visitors will find the various programs offered, which range from half-day sessions for children ages 2 to 4 years old, and Lunch Bunch along with the Extended-Day plans that are available for 3 and 4 year olds.

From the inventively re-designed layout you will find more about the services which Creative Playtime provides for parents and their kids.  With one click website visitors can browse through the Home, About Us, Directory, Tuition, Calendar, Photo Gallery, Programs and a link to the Church’s website.  Up-to-date announcements and letters from teachers and the program’s Director are also readily available via the Creative Playtime site.

Creative Playtime’s new eye-catching layout provides parents with program-related information in an organized, easy to access manner, while still appealing to its fun and playful theme.  Visitors of creativeplaytimescarsdale.org can also view the core values represented on their website: “Creative Playtime is a valued program of Grace Lutheran Church.  Children of all religious and ethnic backgrounds are welcome to join us.”

For more information about Creative Playtime please visit their website, www.creativeplaytimescarsdale.org.

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Contact:
Stephanie Biscow
Alexandra Bueti
Black Rhino Solutions, Inc.
Business Relations Manager
info@blackrhinosolutions.com

When it comes to Main Street, finding a strip mall without two or three “For Rent” signs along it, is a rare occasion lately.   Sure, the sour economy has taken its toll on everyone from the local mom and pop shop to the Fortune 500s.  We know that unregulated big business brought down Wall Street.  But what broke the backbone of the US small business market? Why are small businesses everywhere continuing to fail?

I started to think about this after passing my town’s local pizza joint that recently became one of the many, “here today gone tomorrows” of our time.  Nonni’s had just revamped itself in hopes of generating more business – new flat screen TVs, a decorative paint job that put you right in the middle of southern Italy while indulging in your pie, and some fancy new furniture.  Unfortunately, the owner invested too much of his time and money in the wrong place.

Unless your over the age of 65 or just plain behind, you don’t use paper publications like the Yellow Pages to find what your looking for today.  Instead, we Google, Yahoo and Bing.  We use search engines that give us exactly what we are looking for (and more) in just seconds.  The problem, for many small businesses lining the sidewalks of Main Street, is that their products and services are not being captured by these search engines.  It’s surprising to see how businesses, from general stores to hair salons, don’t have websites (their most important store front and tool for moving up on the search engine ranks).

I understand they are called “small businesses” for a reason.  Localized, smaller centers of commerce and capitalism – plain and simple.  But today, thanks to technology and globalization, there’s really no such thing as being localized, especially if you want people to know you exist.  Bottom line, the small businesses who have remained too small (i.e., no websites or other forms of online advertising) well their time to get up to speed with the rest of the world has come.  Whether your a one man accounting firm or a 30 person nail salon – you need to advertise your services on the web.  The old pen and paper way of managing and publicizing your trade is out.

Let’s revisit poor Nonni’s to try and zone in on how this establishment could have potentially survived the technology tsunami and the recession.

1. If Nonni’s would have invested the $1,000 to $2,000 that originally went to flat screen TVs on a new website, they would have been able to establish a web presence, making it easier for customers to search for their services, order online and look up the shop’s phone number, address, menu, etc.

2. Having a website Nonni’s could have also hired or performed SEO on their website to help increase traffic to their site and essentially generate more business.

3. After getting more business/ revenue from their website, Nonni’s then could have gauged whether or not to invest in TVs and a new paint job based on whether their clients were coming in for pizza or ordering out.

4. After expanding and hiring a larger staff to deal with increased business, Nonni’s could have had a CRM or Customer Relationship Management designed to help more efficiently run their business.  CRM systems could be used to keep better track of inventory, staffing and employment needs like hours and payroll, as well as manage a client and customer list of emails and other contact info to email blast their customers about promotions, new events at the store, etc.

Lesson of the day: small businesses need to focus on their digital store front in order to keep their actual store front up and running in today’s day, age and economic times.

Two Grannies from Westchester County, New York are “Going Back to the Future” with their newly launched website, www.granniesgaloshes.com.  Looking to reinvent some simpler times when family and together were not a strange twosome, Grannies Lynda Karanikolas and Iris Fisher came up with  

www.granniesgaloshes.com. Mrs. Fisher, author, columnist and teacher and Ms. Karanikolas, a well known artist and muralist have been working together on children’s books for quite a few years.  Grannies’ Galoshes is their way of sharing the library of fun games, recipes, and activities that they have created for children and their families over the years. 

“Daily, we read about the serious problems that exist in today’s families. If a family just eats dinner together, it’s touted as something special. That simple family time is a rarity,” say the Grannies.  For Iris and Lynda the website is their way of presenting activities that will keep the family laughing and having great times together.  The website is designed in a way that both kids and their families can easily access an activity or recipe based on the season it is associated with. The website offers an endless amount of holiday cooking recipes, easy nature crafts, little kid projects and family fun.

Want to have a fossil treasure hunt? Invitations, handmade favors, games, and a roaring dino-saurus cake recipe are available. There’s lots more in the fall fossil section. Fall is only one fun filled season. Winter has easy holiday recipes, nature crafts, seasonal crafts and a section called, “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.” Lynda and Iris bring this part of winter to families all over proving weather can be just a state of mind.    

The seasons are filled with stimulating activities, crafts, projects and recipes. Each can be done by the family. Some are just for teenagers. Some are to be done by younger brothers or sisters. They’re all fun, easy to do and don’t require exotic, hard to find ingredients.

The site is constantly being added to. The next season, winter, begins with Chanukah and then on to Christmas. No matter where you live, the grannies will have you throwing snowballs, pulling taffy and making maple snow candy.

 It will be a promising winter. Brrrrr-ing on the good times.

                                       www.granniesgaloshes.com