Jake Bandler

Growing up, I wasn't much of a talker. I didn't feel I had anything to say, and I felt very uncomfortable using my voice if I did. So, I felt it was best to be seen, not heard. This was fine with me at the time. I had to deal with some family jokes, like when they'd say, "Hey Jake, quiet down," even when I hadn't said a word. Or there was a health teacher who nicknamed me psycho because I just sat in the back and said nothing. It worked for the most part in school. My participation grade was abysmal, of course, but I nailed everything else, so it didn't really matter. I became really adept at skating through life this way, speaking only when I absolutely needed to.

But as I got older, this stopped working for me. College was the first time this became a serious problem. Since I was in the school of communications, one would assume I could communicate effectively. That assumption was mostly correct, but ultimately wrong. I still couldn't freely speak my mind, and it caused me to miss out on so many experiences, especially a great college experience. It didn't change much after I graduated, and I spent time trying to make a case for myself on short film sets as to why I should be a part of the film industry to no avail.

It began to become frustrating. I wanted to speak, but I was afraid to do so, and I had built up awful communication habits. It wasn't until I brought this feeling up during a therapy session that I was suggested to attend Toastmasters. I researched the organization, and after months of hesitation, I finally took a leap of faith and emailed the Wayne Toastmasters Club. And the rest is history.

It took some time to get comfortable, but once I gave that first icebreaker speech, everything got easier. I began to feel more comfortable speaking in front of people and sharing stories. I put in enough work that when asked if I'd be interested in being the president of our chapter, I only felt mildly uncomfortable. Now, I'm considerably calmer in front of a group, and I can speak a little more freely.

You start a company, you set up a website, and now you want to get people onto your website. How do you do that? How do you compete in a large space with hundreds of other people who do the same thing?

It's not easy and will take a lot of hard work to do, but at the end you can get people onto your website to buy your products. I'm going to give you a few tips to do just that.

Share it on social media

The easiest way to get your website out there is to share it on social media. If you have people following you, who view your posts and are interested in what you have to sell, then let them know about your website.

Chances are they'll be interested in your website and will go on and if you make it easy enough for them, maybe they'll buy something! It's always worth a shot!

Make it easily searchable on Google

Google is still the best way to find things on the internet. Your website is no different. You want to be able to be found when someone is searching for something like your product.

What you can do is set keywords on your site so that when people search for those keywords your site will pop up. Make sure that they are relevant to your website. You don't want people to expect one thing and find another. Pick your keywords wisely and let people come to you!

Tell friends and family to talk about it

Word of mouth is a good way to get people to know about your product and business, and it can work for your website too. Have your friends and family talk up your website to people they know, have them share it on social media, etc.

Let them do some of the advertising work for you. It will help get more people that you may not know onto your website and then it hopefully spreads to people they know and it keeps going. Think about all the clients that could produce!

Use ads

The easiest way to get people onto your website is to put ads in front of your target audience. If you were to set up ads on Google and/or Facebook that when clicked would lead to your website, you would increase the amount of people going onto your website by a lot.

Good ads will get the most clicks so make sure your ads look good and give people a reason to click them. For many people the ad will be the first look at your company and first impressions are everything. Make a good ad and watch the number of people on your website rise!

For additional information take some of our awesome online courses, listen to our podcast, or watch some incredibly informative videos!

Remember to comment and share this if you liked it! Good luck!

Just in time for the start of the new school year, Indian Hills High School's renovated concession building offers a commercial kitchen and ample storage, designed with community needs in mind.

Protecting Water Resources with Environmental Planning Compliance

Protecting vital water resources and wetlands is crucial for our planet. This Earth Day, LAN Associates highlights how we use expert environmental planning to ensure compliance and protect these natural ecosystems under various regulations, including the Clean Water Act (CWA).

Campaign Strategy

• Launch Post: Announced the 60th anniversary milestone with company-wide celebration messaging
• Employee Stories: Featured 5+ staff members across different roles and seniority levels
• Content Categories: Project spotlights, personal growth stories, core values, company history
• Consistent Branding: Unified hashtags (#LAN60, #FacesofLAN) across all posts
• Multi-Week Rollout: Sustained engagement through serialized content over several months

Featured Stories

My Role

• Developed campaign concept and content calendar for multi-month rollout
• Coordinated with featured employees to gather stories and photos
• Wrote all LinkedIn post copy aligned with brand voice and anniversary theme
• Managed posting schedule and monitored engagement metrics
• Created supporting graphics and visual assets for the campaign

What This Showcases

• Editing: Clean cuts, pacing, and narrative flow across multiple project types
• Transitions: Smooth scene changes, title animations, and visual continuity
• Color Grading: Color correction and mood enhancement for professional polish
• Audio Mixing: Balanced sound levels, music integration, and audio cleanup using Adobe Audition
• Post-Production: Full end-to-end workflow from raw footage to final export

About This Project

An original narrative short film shot, directed, and edited as a creative capstone project. This piece showcases end-to-end production skills — from concept development and cinematography through editing and final delivery.

• Direction: Managed on-set production including shot composition and talent direction
• Cinematography: Camera operation, lighting setup, and visual storytelling
• Sound Design: Location audio recording, foley, and post-production mixing
• Editing: Narrative pacing, scene assembly, and final color grade
• Delivery: HD output with professional audio mastering