I had the opportunity to talk with Brandon Muth, the owner & designer of the ClickBricks, about his vision to provide small businesses with an affordable way to promote their business & express themselves. The site allows you to provide a lot of information to your customers. You can describe your business, include coupons, provide info on events & pinpoint it on a Google map. Customers can provide comments. And business owners can network with others.

Brandon shared that ClickBricks has been featured on design sites. He certainly has a talent for a nice clean feel. (He also offers design services at BrandonMuth.com). I really like that there are no ad’s (which I tend to ignore anyway).

Connie: How is ClickBricks different from other online business directories?

Brandon: Traditional Web 1.0 sites aren’t friendly for small businesses. They have high fees and ads are shown when the results are displayed. ClickBricks is a mashup of yellow pages & the Facebook experience.

We offer our clients exceptional freedom to tell their stories, convey personalities and share why they are different. Businesses can upload photos, post coupons and events, and update their page with new products, services and news.

Connie: When did you launch ClickBricks?

Brandon: July of 2008. Now we are growing it with new features coming.

Connie: Can you tell us about any of them?

Brandon: There will be many including the ability for businesses to add their presence on other social networks such as YouTube, Twitter, etc.

Connie: What advice do you offer someone starting a business online?

Brandon: I definitely have four.

1. Choose a business model and stick to it. Come up with good reasons whether you decide on a free or pay service.

2. Pick something that you really love. I’m passionate about helping businesses so mine is a good fit for me.

3. Don’t be secretive & assume that you’re bullet proof. Ask for help & be open to new ideas. (Brandon shared about the importance of his advisory board that provides him with outside ideas & assistance.)

4. Have patience & be committed to your vision.

Those are definitely excellent points to consider as one develops their business (whether online or not). Thank you to Brandon for providing a unique business directory. Take a few minutes & check out ClickBricks.com.