General Info:
Hosting Connecticut, LLC, a Windsor-based website development company, is dedicated to taking the mystery out of online business. Original owners, Paula M. Pierce and Shelley Sullivan, lived minutes from each other but never met until they joined an online business forum where Shelley was networking in support of her website hosting business and Paula her web development business. Once they realized they both lived in Windsor and had complementary services, they decided to join forces and launch Hosting Connecticut to offer the local community a one-stop shop for online business. The official launch date was January 1, 2003. Hosting Connecticut offers a simple solution to the problem: How do I get my business online? Here, all the pieces come together ; domain registration, web site design, hosting, e-commerce, credit card capability and more. There's no need to use four or more different companies to do business online. "We see this as a vital need in our community. Many businesses just don't have the time to learn how to make a successful transition to online sales. It's a whole different ball game from the offline business world, " says Sullivan. It's confusing for people to see huge differences in pricing and not know what's reasonable and what's way out of line. For instance, some registrars charge $20, $25, even $35 to register a domain name. We charge $14.95 for the exact same service, " says Pierce. Hosting Connecticut also offers online tutorials for website skills like html tips, server side includes, website planning and using twitter for business. Since January 2003, Hosting Connecticut has enhanced its initial offering to provide online marketing services including website evaluation and search engine optimization. "Online marketing can seem daunting at first, but it can be easily implemented. There's a learning process for those that are only familiar with traditional offline marketing, but the two methods work very effectively together, " says Pierce. The partners expanded their other services, as well. "We've always offered merchant accounts and ecommerce solutions, but we're finding that we are competitive in credit card processing offline, too." Hosting Connecticut offers free analysis of existing merchant account fees. "We take a look at the last few months' processing reports and often find that we can provide better rates, " says Sullivan. The website design side of the business is growing daily. Due to a flood of new business, Hosting Connecticut hired two additional web site designers. "We never want our clients to feel at all neglected." Many businesses have horror stories about their designer or their host never calling them back or putting them off when they need help. "We always make time for our clients and will add additional staff as necessary to make sure their needs are met, " says Pierce. In 2005, Stevens decided to move on and sold her half of the business to Pierce, making Pierce the sole owner of the business. "Shelley's interest in radio resurfaced and she sought out a challenge in that field, " says Pierce, "Hosting Connecticut is my focus and it will continue to grow. I have already initiated a plan for expanding the hosting side of the business." In 2007 Hosting Connecticut strategically increased its client base and revenues have steadily increased. Changes for the future include an expansion in the design side of the business and a continued focus on personal customer support. With the economic downturn in 2008, Pierce revitalized her personal networking activities and continues to build rapport with regional business people and assist others in marketing their businesses. Hosting Connecticut is certified as a Woman Owned Small/Minority Business Enterprise ( pdf ) by the state of Connecticut. Status renewed on January 19, 2010 through January 19, 2012.