<I>DAMIAN MULINIX photo</I><BR>The team at Beachdog.com - from left: Web designer David Jackson and owners Keleigh and Keith Schwartz and "beach dog" Kara - purchased, renovated and moved into their new offices at 1517 N. Pacific Hwy in Long Beach.

LONG BEACH – Two local businesses, Beachdog.com and Western Coastal Mortgage, have joined forces in bringing new life to a building in north Long Beach.

Now at its new location at 1517 Pacific Ave. North, Beachdog.com was started in Seaview 10 years ago by Keith and Keleigh Schwartz.

Prior to starting Beachdog.com, Keleigh was commuting to Portland to work in graphic arts. Just about the time that the Internet was becoming a popular tool, the Schwartz’ decided to start their own advertising and marketing firm near their home in Long Beach.

A business that provides tourism marketing on and off the Peninsula, (Beachdog.com) does more than create Web sites for businesses. Employees also work closely with clients to determine the best ways to leverage their resources to meet their goals. Through this process, staff can create business cards, brochures, letterhead and other advertising options.

“We are a full service, tourist-focused ad and marketing firm,” explains Keleigh, who calls the popular Web site funbeach.com “her baby.”

“We are the only local business that does tourism marketing. Whereas other businesses focus on selling a product, we want to meet goals – the product is secondary.”

With years of hard work and endless creativity, Beachdog.com became a success through providing tourism marketing both on and off the Peninsula. Happy with the business they have acquired, the Schwartz’ wanted to purchase a new location for their business. After three years of putting a deal together, they finally got their dream location and began a five-week improvement process. Now with new floors, wiring, walls and doors, the new home of Beachdog.com is complete with landscaping plans in the near future.

“Mikel and Merry [of Western Coastal Mortgage] were very excited to come on board with us,” says Keleigh, who owned the Seaview Motel from 1995 to 2002. “That is what really made this happen.”

After 10 years, Western Coastal Mortgage moved from the First Place Mall at 811 Pacific Highway to the newly-renovated space because of the great advantage of being right next door to their very own webmaster.

A business established in 1996 by Billy Martin, Western Coastal Mortgage is currently owned by Mikel Burns, who took over in 1999. After working in the Seattle area for 25 years, Burns says she enjoys going to her job in a smaller community.

“I like being able to deal with customers one on one,” she says. “When I worked in the city, I never saw my customers, so this is very nice. After working in Bellevue and other areas, this is much more fun!”

“It’s kind of like having an IT department next door,” says Burns of the advantages of being next door to Beachdog.com. “These days, with identity theft, we now have a fairly advanced security system to ensure that our customers are safe.”

As the oldest mortgage company on the Peninsula, Western Coastal Mortgage has years of experience and offers a variety of products, such as home loans, reverse mortgages for senior citizens, special credit help for first home buyers, and most other types of lending.

“We’re always looking to expand the products we offer,” explains Burns, who shares her office with employee Merry Scharf, a 24-year veteran of the mortgage business. “We sometimes can keep up with the marketplace a lot faster than other mortgage businesses can. And I love making people’s dreams come true and helping them get the homes they want.”

Western Coastal Mortgage is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and also by appointment. Give them a call at 642-8034 or visit their Web site at (www.westerncoastalmortgage.com).

Beachdog.com is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To find out more about the services they provide, visit their Website at (www.beachdog.com) or call them at 642-4431.