My name is Justin E. Gehrke. I’m a husband, father, veteran, realtor, cybersecurity professional, Geek Shui Living™ founder, and empathetic and inclusive human being. The Richmond Hill Mercantile is another one of many ideas that just randomly appear in my mind.
Why did this particular idea come to mind? As a burgeoning Realtor®, I aspire to grow my own small business. As a cybersecurity professional and founder of Geek Shui Living™, I thankfully possess the unique skillset to build and host virtual platforms like this one. These two pieces of me form the “why” behind the Richmond Hill Mercantile.
My goal is two-fold. I want to help small businesses grow and flourish, while simultaneously helping my own business do the same. The mercantile represents me leveraging my skills and abilities in one area to improve and grow my skills and abilities in another area. The mercantile concept, design, code tweaks, and graphics are my own. I specifically mention this as a reminder to others that achieving our hopes and dreams is limited only by our own imagination and willingness to do whatever it takes to move an idea from the conception to reality.
To be completely clear, there is no local sponsorship aside from my own. The only featured content you’ll see is in support of local non-profits, charities, and civic organizations. There are no cliques or agendas, but there is unbiased inclusion and respect for all persons. Any and all legitimate businesses are welcome.
Will there at some point be an external banner ad or two? It’s possible, but it will be dependent upon the site traffic and bandwidth consumption. Reliable and secure web hosting isn’t free, so I may need to leverage tools like Google AdSense to offset the personal cost to me. I’m sure visitors will understand this and that it will be balanced out by the usefulness of the platform for the local community.
As with any undertaking, there will be room for improvement, and I invite you to reach out to me via the Contact page if you have feedback, a question, or anything else. Thank you again for visiting and be well.
Best Regards,
Justin E. Gehrke
