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What
is LDSPRO? |
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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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| Q: |
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Do
I need to have a web site or understand the Internet
to be a part of LDSPRO? |
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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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| Q: |
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What
kind of professionals are you looking for to list
in LDSPRO? |
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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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| Q: |
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Can
you break one of those categories down so that I
can see what you mean by individual professions? |
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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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| Q: |
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Tell
me about the medical category. |
| A: |
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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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| Q: |
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Can
you show me a sample, basic listing? |
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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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| Q: |
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Can
you show me another sample listing in another field? |
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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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| Q: |
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How
much can I write about my business or what I do
for a living as a basic listing? |
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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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| Q: |
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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? |
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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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| Q: |
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So
what you are trying to do is connect every Latter-day
Saint professional and business person and business? |
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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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| Q: |
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What
if I live in Canada, the British Isles, Australia
or New Zealand (or any other foreign country)? |
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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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| Q: |
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Why
are you doing this through Meridian Magazine? |
| A: |
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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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| Q: |
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How
many people will even see the LDSPRO directory? |
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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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| Q: |
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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? |
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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? |
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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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| Q: |
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What
are the advantages for my being listed with LDSPRO? |
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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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| Q: |
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Tell
me about having a web page. Is that included in
the original listing? |
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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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| Q: |
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That
brings up price. How much is this going to cost
me? |
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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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| Q: |
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What
advantage do I have being a Charter Member (among
the first 1,000 to sign up for LDSPRO)? |
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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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| Q: |
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How
much will it cost me to add a template web page? |
| A: |
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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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| Q: |
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What
other things can I add to my listing? |
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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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| Q: |
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When
will LDSPRO be launched? |
| A: |
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LDSPRO is scheduled to be
launched sometime in the month of March, 2002. |
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| Q: |
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If
I sign up early will I be charged for time before
the launch? |
| A: |
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No. Your contract of 12 months
(or 15 months if you are a Charter Member) will
begin the day we launch the site. |
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