Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock
Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock

When I first started this blog I promised that readers would get a glimpse behind the scenes at Schrock, and maybe even a heads up to things that were in the works before they were “officially” announced. We have 4 major announcements lined up that will be released at various times between now and February 2007.

Some of these will be more impressive than others, but I can assure you that many of these announcements will further entrench Schrock Innovations as Lincoln’s #1 Independent Computer repair company (as voted in the 2006 KFOR Best of Lincoln) and will further elevate our standing in the community as corporate leaders and industry experts.

I received a request for an interview today from the Midlands Business Journal regarding the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). I staunchly believe that SEO is a must-have tool in any small or medium size businesses’ marketing toolbox, and after the 45 minute interview and numerous real-time examples of our current efforts and results, the interviewer had what she needed for her story.

The Midlands Business Journal is a weekly business newspaper that has been circulating state-wide for more than 75 years in Nebraska. Jill Hanson was the interviewer and we started our conversation speaking about how Google rates websites where it does. I explained that there are black-hat (bad) and white hat (good) methods that can be used to “encourage” Google to rank a website near the top of its results for a given search term. The good methods are above board and accepted by Google, while the bad methods are far easier to implement but will eventually get your website de-indexed (removed from all Google search results).

I used our newest client, Phil Walker as an example of the dramatic improvements that can be made in a website’s ranking with the smallest of changes. Phil Walker produces the Visions Along the Platte river Valley CD Series, and has sold more than 10,000 copies of his Nebraska History CDs since he started the series.

We have finalized the specifications for this year’s Holiday special, and I need one more person who wants a computer that will run circles around anything else out there for years to come.

As many of you know, each year at Schrock we put together an amazing computer for the holiday season and sell a limited number of them at our cost. The system always retails for $1,499.99, and has become know in Lincoln and Omaha as a unique opportunity to lay your hands on an extremely advanced system.

As many of you heard, Schrock Innovations began accepting E-waste (old computers and computer equipment) at no cost early this month from businesses and consumers. Many people believe that we are making a profit on sending E-Waste to recycling facilities, despite my comments to the contrary. Unfortunately circumstances which I did not anticipate are forcing […]

I was just informed today that Schrock Innovations was voted the #1 Independent Computer Repair Company in the 2006 KFOR Best of Lincoln Survey for the 4th year in a row! Thank you to all of our radio show listeners and KFOR fans who voted for us.

This year we will be trying something new with the radio show. Typically we move to Sunday mornings during the Husker season to avoid any potential conflicts with football game coverage. this year we are going to buck that trend and stay on at 10:00 on Saturday mornings. Listeners have told us that they lose track of our show for a few weeks when we move to Sundays, and again when we move back to Saturdays after the season concludes (hopefully in January this year!).

Channel 10/11 stopped by the Lincoln Service Center today to interview someone about Dell recalling 4.1 million batteries that could overheat and explode. The batteries, made by Sony, span more than 4 years of Dell notebook computers.

I was giving prepared remarks at the LIBA Luncheon, so Blaze filed in for me and did an outstanding job. You can watch the video on the 10/11 website!

Today the Lincoln Business Journal ran an article on how to pick the right e-commerce consultant or company for your business. We have done some e-commerce work for our clients, so the Lincoln Business Journal asked me to answer a few questions.

The article is full of useful information if you are planning on establishing an e-commerce presence on the web. Pick up a copy if you get a chance!

Schrock Innovations is sponsoring August’s LIBA Lunch meeting next Tuesday. I will be addressing the membership about the often underestimated value of a website as part of a well rounded marketing plan. I also had a corresponding article published as part of this month’s LIBA Magazine that is mailed to the membership.

Although the majority of my prepared remarks have been ready for well over 2 weeks, I will have an 8 lb 12 oz. helper who will help me drive home the value of a well constructed and deployed website.

If you fail to ride the wave of change you will find yourself beneath it. For the past 4 weeks that overused motivational phrase has been my compass as all of the employees of Schrock from our web developers to our technicians have come together to launch a new chapter in Schrock Innovations history.

As many of you may have heard on the radio Saturday, I launched Schrock’s 2006 Back to School Sale. For the first time ever, we are now carrying notebook computers in stock. While I could bore you with all of the logistics and reasons we have not done this in the past, I think it is much more interesting to explain why it is important for the future.

The Journal Star’s feature article today about the new E-Waste recycling program available at Schrock Innovations has generated a surge in demand for computer recycling services.

Last week Schrock Innovations announced a major change to its policies on recycling old and obsolete computers. We are now the only place in Lincoln where businesses and consumers can recycle unlimited e-waste with no disposal fees.