Macomb Startup Looks to Boost Mom and Pop Businesses Using 'The Cloud'

When Macomb Township resident and found himself part of a staff reduction, he realized he had two options: search for another job or take his pet project, SoBuzzMe.com, to the next level.

“I saw this as an opportunity to take So Buzz Me on full time and see what I could make of it–to help out other businesses, and make a difference, especially with these hard economic times in Metro Detroit,” McCarthy said.

Founded in May 2011 by McCarthy and his sister, Rachelle Boudry, Social Buzz Media (So Buzz Me) provides digital marketing, cloud services and IT support to local businesses looking to expand their presence on the web.

“We thought, ‘We can probably help out these (mom and pop businesses) really easily because we use social media ourselves and we know how to use it effectively,’” McCarthy said. “We started on that premise when we formed the company almost a year ago.”

A side project for much of that time, McCarthy made So Buzz Me his full-time job just over a month ago.

“I’ve always had some sort of side business,” he said. “Being in IT, people always have questions. But then I was married, had kids, and put that on hold. Later I was talking with my co-founder about social media and small businesses specifically and saw there was a need (for this type of company).”

Utilizing his expertise in Internet technology, Boudry’s communications background and friend Dan Fuoco’s social media know-how, the brother-sister duo set out to create a business that would service the technology needs of mom and pop shops in the local area.

“We want to be able to help out people in Macomb,” McCarthy said. “We’ll help you figure out what your business does and how you can best utilize the cloud," a term used to refer to the idea of providing access to software and applications through the Internet.

Expanding a business' social media presence 3 ways

At present, So Buzz Me offers three main services–digital marketing, IT support and cloud services–with each service including a number of other provisions.

“Digital marketing encompasses a lot of things, mainly website design and development, but also social media integration and management,” McCarthy said. “When we build our sites, we build them on the foundation of search engine optimization, so you’re not just putting pretty pictures out there, you’re getting quality hits as well.”

On the IT end, he said So Buzz Me will do everything from day-to-day management of a business’ office computers to serving as their helpdesk and making recommendations for wireless networks or software.

“Our tagline is ‘Technology Made Easy,’ and (our company) really is in all aspects designed to serve the local mom and pops,” he added.

Although So Buzz Me not quite a year old, McCarthy said he and Boudry are already planning to expand its three core services and ideally, “provide jobs locally if that becomes an opportunity.”

“We want to grow as much as possible and more than anything, provide a useful service for the people of Macomb.”

For more information on So Buzz Me, its services and the founders' take on the latest technology news, visit the website at http://sobuzzme.com/.