Background
Appalachian Healthcare Legal Consulting (AHLC) is a small business dedicated to supporting community healthcare organizations that help to fulfill the wellness demand of their local communities. Community healthcare organizations must adhere to state and federal requirements that can be challenging to navigate and maintain.
Jenna Walker Misiti, healthcare and compliance attorney, established AHLC just two years ago with a passion for providing meaningful legal services that bolster community healthcare centers throughout the state. The development of a professional website and business promotional materials have been essential to Jenna’s ability to expand her outreach and impact on community healthcare in all regions of West Virginia.
From Startup to Established
Every business startup requires time, resources, and clients in order to become established. Jenna made the decision to launch out on her own once she was confident that the clients and projects she had secured would sustain her for a time. During her first year, she was able to settle her business with her base clientele who promoted her services largely through word-of-mouth. With their business, Jenna had no urgent need for a website, or even for business cards and other promotional materials. However, her startup clients could not significantly grow her business.
The Covid pandemic slowed many businesses to a crawl and undoubtedly created an increased need for robust community healthcare. Jenna realized that this was the time for her to take concrete steps to expand.
“I didn’t have a website and I didn’t know where to begin,” Jenna confesses. But she did have one key connection. She reached out to her brother, an owner of three businesses, for his advice and any recommendations. “My brother is the executive director for an organization that had recruited Jamie to build their website, and he told me that Jamie was the easiest web designer he’d worked with.”
Jenna and Jamie met by phone several times. “We had good conversations about what I was looking for, then Jamie would send me samples and we would discuss them.” Jenna was impressed by how thorough Jamie was in these conversations and that he didn’t hesitate to suggest ways to further enhance her business. “From the beginning, Jamie discussed his suggestions for my branding, having an online presence, even helping me to set up my phone number, email -- everything I would need to build my online presence from the ground up.”
Jamie made a lasting impression. “He got in contact with me right away and he immediately helped me get the ball rolling. He passionately jumped in and said what I needed to do, and within eight hours, I had my domain name, new phone number, and lots of other things. I got more done in a day than I thought I’d get done in a month, and Jamie was really instrumental in helping me get up to speed.”
From Established to Expanding
In addition to establishing the basics of Jenna’s online presence, Jamie completed the design of her website, logo, letterhead, and business cards. Jenna is using her website and promotional materials to target her outreach and expansion efforts. “I’m looking forward to presenting at some conferences in the Fall, and now I can promote my services in ways that I wasn’t able to do previously.”
Jenna’s also looking forward and sees events and additional marketing opportunities in her business future. She was genuinely satisfied with Jamie’s work which laid a solid foundation for her growth, and she’s confident she can rely on him to assist with her approaching endeavors.
Jamie and his team at Bricks Without Straw take pride in providing excellent service to businesses and organizations at all levels – from startup to established and expanding. “Jamie was really professional, accessible, and a pleasure to work with,” Jenna says, echoing her brother’s positive perception.
