how i did it
By building those enduring links on a dedicated site , businesses , groups and online personalities can have a stronger tie to current and prospective clients than by depending on the algorithms of the big social networking companies , McGill said .
“ The good news is social ( media ) has become the best gift we ’ ve been given over the past decade ,” she said . “ Unfortunately , we need to understand that it ’ s not the end all and be all .”
She encourages businesses to use their social media pages and posts as a fishing line to bring people over to the Corlinc site , which is a simple platform for small businesses to build community and engage with increasingly loyal clientele .
“ We knew it had to be affordable ,” she said . “ It ’ s as easy to manage as your social media profile . This is the solution that gets us up in the morning and helps us feel we ’ re making a difference , a real difference .”
a family dream
McGill is building the business with her son , Taylor McGill , who has worked in high-tech and who wears a number of hats for Corlinc , including chief technology officer . They started the company about four years ago , and McGill said going through this process with her son has been especially rewarding .
“ It ’ s a really big honor to have a son who is brilliant and who gets the entrepreneurial journey and who wanted to partner with me to do something really , really incredible ,” she said .
Their focus is on working with underserved entrepreneurs , especially small businesses controlled by women and minorities .
The two hired a Spokane firm , CodeSpeed , to create the back end of their product .
Among Corlinc ’ s clients are the National Association of Women Business Owners and former NFL player and current speaker and radio personality Ed Smith .
an inventive legacy
McGill sees her work as part of a generational heritage . She comes from a 140-year line of enterprising , inventive women — serial entrepreneurs .
Her great-grandmother owned the first hotel , restaurant and mercantile in Walla Walla back in 1880 . “ She was a force ,” McGill said .
Her daughter , McGill ’ s grandmother , trained to be a concert pianist , but ended up going into farming after getting married . They built up dairying techniques that later become widespread in the industry , such as playing music in the barn to increase milk production . Her mother was an inventor .
40 association of washington business