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Kim Gehling's new web design business takes advantage of low, small-town overhead but still has a global reach.

Douglas Burns :: Western Iowa Journal: Small Town Charm And Global Reach

Gehling, an Illinois native and Iowa State University graduate, recently opened Websites To Impress.com. She and her associates design and develop sites, building them from ground-zero up and fine-tuning existing ones.

"I really like this community," Gehling said. "I pictured myself in an office and this is where I wanted to be."

With the relatively lower overhead in Carroll based on national standards - and the prestige of an Iowa State University graphic design degree - Gehling is able to offer highly attractive rates with no drop-off in service to customers in larger cities like Chicago and Nashville.

One of the major Web sites she works with is for Nashville Real Estate Authority (www.nashvillerealestateauthority.com). She's also built Canadian sites.

Gehling brings the experience working with these businesses to her cozy Carroll office on U.S. Highway 30 (211 E. Sixth St.), just a few steps east of Court Street.

Gehling also prides herself on being accessible and easy to talk to for a tech type, or a "nerd" as she joked.

"A lot of times people are intimidated talking to a Web company or a company that does Web design," she said. "Building a Web site can be enjoyable, and it can actually not cost a lot of money."

Gehling stressed that all businesses should have some Web presence, and she encouraged people with home businesses or active hobbies to get on the Internet where revenue awaits the ambitious. She helped one Spirit Lake man take his glass torch-making skills from hobby to Web business.

"For people who have a Web site I'm good at taking a Web site to the next level," Gehling said. "I deal with all types of people. I like talking about Web sites. I like building them."

Web Sites to Impress.com, like so many businesses in the Internet age, started as a side venture for Gehling as she worked in Web design and management with ISU and Winning Solutions and the National Pork Board in Clive.

She is now pursuing her master's degree in human and computer interaction at ISU..
Gehling, 28, and her husband, Nick, live on a farm north of Vail, a livestock-and-grain operation. For her part, Gehling, who hails from Geneseo, Ill., is a daughter of a farmer father, Greg Nelson, and teacher mother, Barb.

"I really like what I do, and I'm thankful I'm able to do this full-time," Gehling said.