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What is LDSPRO?
LDSPRO is a searchable online database, listing Latter-day Saint professionals,
business men and women, and individual business establishments throughout the United
States and the world. Think of it as a business "yellow pages" for Latter-day Saints.
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Do I need to have a web site or understand the Internet to be a part of LDSPRO?
It would be most helpful to start by having an e-mail address, although that is
not required. You do not have to have a web site to be listed. In fact, if you desire,
LDSPRO will help you create a web page to have included in the directory. It helps
to understand the Internet, but you don't have to be a pro on the Internet to be
included in LDSPRO. For many businesses and people, LDSPRO may be the entry onto
the web for which they have been looking.
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What kind of professionals are you looking for to list in LDSPRO?
We started with a basic list of about 40 professions and have been expanding from
there. It might be easier to look at categories rather than individual professions.
Here are some of the basic, general categories: Computer, Education, Entertainment,
Financial, Genealogy, Gifts, Home, Insurance, Legal, Medical, Online, Real Estate,
Retail, Services and Travel. If your business does not fit one of the general categories,
a new category can be created.
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Can you break one of those categories down so that I can see what you mean by individual
professions?
Let's take the category "Home." From this we have a vast array of professions: all
different kinds of contractors (for example: electricians, plumbers, HVAC, sheet
rock, carpenters, concrete contractors, framers, roofing, painters---anyone you
would use to build or repair a house or commercial structure); and it could be home-based
businesses; it could mean those who serve homes in appliance sales, electronics
(including home theater systems or home entertainment systems or specialists in
building out unique spaces in a home), phone systems, home communications (such
as intercoms, intranet, local area networks, broadband networking etc).; and then
there's the entire area of home furnishings, decorators-you can see the list goes
on and on. And each of these categories applies to each local market such as Mesa,
Arizona; Orange County (or just Irvine or Fullerton), California, Fairfax County
(or just Oakton or Vienna) Virginia, or Jackson County (or just Kansas City, Independence
and Blue Springs), Missouri.
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Tell me about the medical category.
Medical is a broad and wonderful field where the categories are varied and specific.
We will have this broken into every specialty as they come in, for example pediatricians;
obstetricians; ear, nose and throat; radiologists; general surgeon; family practice;
physician's assistant; registered nurse; oncologist; gastrointestinal; etc. The
list will be long and we hope to fill the categories with many choices for your
local and regional areas.
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Can you show me a sample, basic listing?
Proctor, Jensen, Finlayson and Petersen, Attorneys at Law 12457 Wisconsin Avenue,
NW, Suite 655 Washington D.C. 20032 202-555-5555 E-mail: thefirm@pjfp.com Licensed
in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Specializing in copyrights,
intellectual properties, business law, Internet partnerships and online Business
to Business communications.
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Can you show me another sample listing in another field?
Andersen Construction Company Dale G. Andersen, Proprietor 3175 Chesapeake Branch
Boulevard Lincoln, Nebraska 68508 402-555-5555 E-mail: dale@andersenconstruction.com
Residential construction expert building custom and tract homes in the Lincoln and
Lancaster County area. 23 years experience. Twelve-man crew with expertise from
start to finish. Have selection of home plans or can build yours. Can give free
estimates.
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How much can I write about my business or what I do for a living as a basic listing?
About three descriptive sentences (250 characters), but you can also buy a page
about your company that can include more information, including pictures.
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Are you trying to tell me I should only use someone's services if he or she is a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Of course not. We encourage you to use LDSPRO as you desire to use it according
to your individual needs and wants. Of course we should have numerous relationships,
friendships and associations outside the Church. In fact, for most of us that is
where a good portion of our social and business relations are. The directory is
to make you aware of choices and to set up an enormous network of like-valued professionals
and business people.
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So what you are trying to do is connect every Latter-day Saint professional and
business person and business?
Exactly. We live in a world where that can be done. We live at a time when we can
speak to each other from the most remote places on earth to the most remote other
ends of the earth in a matter of seconds. When we moved to Virginia from Utah we
had some immediate needs for some dental care. Our first choice was to find a dentist
who was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and by making
a few phone calls and asking the locals we were able to find one who practiced not
three miles from our home. We want to make that experience available for anyone
who desires to connect with other professionals in their local, regional or national
markets.
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What if I live in Canada, the British Isles, Australia or New Zealand (or any other
foreign country)?
A network of LDS professionals will form in every nation and LDSPRO will be the
place of connection for all of them. The database will be built to search by profession,
by location, and by key word. The database will also be able to locate by both profession
and location so, for instance, you could find all the doctors in Virginia.
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Why are you doing this through Meridian Magazine?
The obvious answer is because Meridian Magazine is the place where Latter-day Saints
gather, but more importantly Meridian Magazine has become a platform for launching
many things. We have gathered an enormous audience in all 50 states and in over
112 countries. Our audience has a great desire to be connected. We receive hundreds
of letters a day from all over the world and the most common thing we hear is "Meridian
helps me feel connected to the Church," or "I feel connected to other Saints now."
This is another way to help us become even more connected.
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How many people will even see the LDSPRO directory?
We had in the tens of millions of page views last year on Meridian Magazine with
hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. LDSPRO will not only
be its own website but it will be an arm of Meridian Magazine. Over time LDSPRO
will become the place to find other LDS people in whatever field you are looking.
Just like we say in our promotions for the directory: LDSPRO-Connecting the Community
of Saints.
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With the economy the way it is, could I place a classified ad on LDSPRO to find
a job or even to look for someone to hire?
Absolutely. LDSPRO will be the place where people find other people who are either
looking for work or are looking to hire others to work for them. LDSPRO will have
a jobs section that will become a dynamic part of the site.
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Does LDSPRO give me a guarantee that these people are reputable?
We are trying to create something wonderful where all will benefit. Of course, our
hope and our expectation would be that everyone involved in the LDSPRO directory
will be honest and full of integrity. Will this be guaranteed? No, we cannot guarantee
the reputability of every listing. We hope, however, the chances are high that this
will be the case. One's affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints should dictate the highest standards and values of integrity and honesty
in all one's business and professional dealings.
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What are the advantages for my being listed with LDSPRO?
Again, it comes back to the power of being connected to each other. LDSPRO will
become a place of connection-a place where we can find each other and utilize the
services of others with like values and standards. You will also be placed in front
of thousands of people each day who may be looking for the very service or skill
you have to offer. It will give people in your area a chance to find out about you
and patronize your business or service. This will give you an immediate web presence.
It will give you a chance to say more about your business or service than you could
have. It will give you a chance to have your own web site if you would like one.
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Tell me about having a web page. Is that included in the original listing?
If you want a web page it will be an upgraded service. We will have a template web
page available that will include your listing, a photograph, your contact information
and a place for a number of paragraphs to describe your business or service. And
all of this will be at a very affordable price.
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That brings up price. How much is this going to cost me?
For about the cost of 4 gallons of milk a month you can be listed; how about the
cost of just under two first-run movie tickets a month? Look at it this way: for
less than the cost of one entrée at a medium-quality restaurant. $12.50/month. That's
all. A one-year contract is required for a listing which is $150. This is payable
by credit card (online) or by check. It may be one of the best investments you ever
make professionally.
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What advantage do I have being a Charter Member (among the first 1,000 to sign up
for LDSPRO)?
For being among the first 1,000 members to sign up for LDSPRO you will receive 3
additional months of online listing for free (a $37.50 value); and you will receive
free bold type, italics, larger font and a free logo placement for life (an additional
$40 annual value). You will receive a number that you will always be identified
by as a Charter Member and will always have Charter Member privileges.
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How much will it cost me to add a template web page?
A template web page will be put together for you (you provide the photograph and
the information for the listing) for an additional $100 a year. Total cost to be
listed and have a web page per year: $250 (just a little over $20/month) plus a
one-time $50 development fee.
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What other things can I add to my listing?
You can have bold type, or italics, or a larger font. Each of those adds an additional
$15.00 per year to your costs. You can also add your company logo like this for
an additional $25.00/year.
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When will LDSPRO be launched?
LDSPRO is scheduled to be launched sometime in the month of March, 2002.
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If I sign up early will I be charged for time before the launch?
No. Your contract of 12 months (or 15 months if you are a Charter Member) will begin
the day we launch the site.