Freshlime in Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine

May 7, 2010 Jillian Koeneman chicago, crain's, news blog

Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine recently did a story about me and my startup with Freshlime. I was very excited and honored to be a part of such a prominent business publication. Here is an excerpt from the Crain’s article:

In March, around the time of her 28th birthday, she launched the Web site for her business, Freshlime Marketing, which focuses on social-media strategy for small businesses. To keep a tight lid on start-up costs, she created FreshlimeMarketing.com with WordPress. The price tag: a one-time $30 fee for a template and Web hosting for $85 per year.

She plans to emphasize cost-effectiveness for her clients, too. “That’s my whole push for Freshlime,” she says. “There are a bazillion marketing companies out there that charge a lot of money and may not be able to demonstrate the results. I want Freshlime to be cost-effective and help businesses’ bottom line — not just do Facebook because everyone is doing it.”

For the launch of her own business in Goshen, social media has been “hugely important,” Ms. Koenemen says. “I was able to reach out to all my contacts and say, ‘Hey, I’m embarking on a new adventure. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help your business.’ ” She’s generated most of her leads through Facebook (where she has 600 “friends”), LinkedIn and Twitter.
She’s in the proposal stage with a half-dozen potential clients. “I have also taken on two pro bono clients to get my name out there,” she says. She’s not doing any contract work for her former employer but says there is “a possibility to do so in the future.”

The article was a great way to get the word out about Freshlime to Chicago-based businesses. We’ve already signed one Chicago client and have hopes to work with many more so we can help them fully leverage the web to grow their business.