Jolene Wright is an accomplished hypnotist and self-hypnotism instructor, with and impressive list of credentials behind her name. She is very active in her continuing education, and in her business life she uses WordPress like a professional Web designer.
How and when did you initially find out about WordPress?
I discovered WordPress in 2007 after a miserable attempt at creating my own website using a program that came with my computer’s operating system. A client of mine offered to give my sad site a make over and they used WordPress. It turned out wonderful and they taught me how to use it so I could manage most of my content.
What was your first impression after using WordPress for the first time?
At first I was pretty intimidated by it and quite frankly afraid I would ruin my site if I was not careful. I thought this was a good topic for our WordPress class magazine, so I wrote about the fears that get in people’s way when it comes to WordPress.
Describe how you use WordPress for your business.
I have two different business sites currently. One for Vancouver Hypnosis, Vancouver Hypnosis and a retreat and workshop business called Nourishing you: Belly, Body, and Soul.
My partner and I use WordPress for our main business sites, so we have some familiarity with WordPress, but we were intimidated by the thought of starting from scratch. We ended up having someone help us with that one getting the basic set up. While they did a good job, so much was left undone and done poorly. I felt one of us had to step up and learn more. The website is a critical part of our business, and like other business tools, I had to learn how to make WordPress work for me and my businesses.
How will you use WordPress in the future?
Now that I have learned more about using WordPress, I do not feel as intimidated. I realize how many resources there are out there to learn something if you don’t know how to do it.
I look forward to using it to build a site for a friend’s Barbershop to help her begin to appeal to a younger more tech savvy crowd. I have also wanted to create some landing pages for special products or special events. I feel like I can do that now.
I’ve started using it to create started sites for new therapists who rent space in my office, a co-op office share for therapists that are venturing out on their own and starting private practices. Many have no experience with running a business so I hope to offer coaching, furnished office space, start up websites and classes to help them manage their content, updates, and SEO.
The WordPress class at Clark College helped me get past my fears and learn how to not only use WordPress but see the potential to do even more on the web with my business. It’s just a gateway, but it’s opened a huge door in my business life.
ClarkWP WordPress Magazine 