When I started my design company in 2001, being virtually unknown, I wondered about where I would find clients. Being in Weschester county, New York, I was close to Manhattan and obviously hundreds of thousands of businesses that could probably use my services. But Westchester was populated by almost one million people, many thousand businesses, and a fairly wealthy place in general. It seemed to me that Westchester would probably offer plenty of business without venturing into "the city". I decided that Westchester would be my target and then began to look at the competition.

I was happy to see to some formidable competitors, but surprised overall that there were not very many of the level I would be reaching for. At this point, I had been a professional designer for about 16 years, five of that was involved with website design and development. I had worked in a few different positions and was very fortunate to have done work for some very well known clients. When starting your own place, any name recognition is helpful however, I had good references and a track record.

Businesses best building blocks are referrals, and I was fortunate enough to had met some very talented people that kept in touch and eventually either brought work or needed work themselves. That is how we got started and eventually became GO2 Media Design. My hunch was correct and Westchester continues to provide a variety of clients and opportunities. More and more new cients are coming to us because we're in Westchester, hoping to foster relationships locally, feeling more comfortable when they can actually visit our studio if they feel the need.

Ironically, as we crafted and honed our abilities in search engine marketing using our own websites, we found business from all over the U.S., including Beverly Hills, Dayton, Austin, Atlanta, South Bend, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville. We do travel also, so we have visited a few of our non-Westchester clients whenever needed.

If you are wondering about business in Westchester, I'd have to recommend it. There are many unique communities and many business opportunities throughout Westchester without venturing into the metropolitan areas. We are in Peekskill where there is a diverse population, a healthy arts community, and scenic views of the Hudson River and the surrounding hills.

Peekskill is also a Metro North stop, so just in case any of you city dwellers reading this think we would be a fit for your business and you'd like to escape to our place, it's a beatiful train ride up the Hudson.