http://www.mo.com a casual hangout for the serious entrepreneur Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:51:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-dk-david-klein-thinktank-and-purposeinc http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-dk-david-klein-thinktank-and-purposeinc#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:22:22 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=5193 Mike Sullivan of Sully's Blog dk whose full name is Dr. David Klein, is one of the most well connected individuals in the Internet industry. In addition to being an Internet entrepreneur and founder of Purpose Inc. dk is also chiropractor in La Jolla, California. Purpose Inc. has always had as its motto, to help others achieve their purpose. dk's bio includes having been a professional skim boarder, a lifeguard in Laguna Beach, as well as far as he can tell, the second chiropractor to ever be on staff at a medical school which was UCSD. He is responsible for some of the Internet industry's most successful events including the annual poker tournament at Pubcon and the Purpose Inc. thinktank along with an impressive list of business contacts. He has done things as diverse as helping facebook with marketing their advertising product, helping Azoogle with public relations, set up national facebook campaigns, and monetize an e-mail list of close to a million people. thinktank is an invite only event for the top people in the Internet industry. This includes domainers, entrepreneurs, site owners, SEO experts, marketers, programmers, and more. Many of the top players attend this event. This year’s Think Tank event sold out before it even officially was promoted for sale. The event kicks off on September 17, in Del Mar, California. MO: With your background as a chiropractor, successful practice and experience in treating patients, how did you get so heavily involved in the Internet? dk: It started with a simple message to help humanity. I had written what I consider to be the easiest to understand materials ever written about what chiropractic is and how it works. Chiropractic is one of the greatest secrets that only about 5% of the population have any idea about. If someone understands the simplicity of chiropractic, their life can be made immeasurably better, but most people did not, and many still do not understand it. This started a long journey about literally having to learn the Internet from html and css, right up to the most sophisticated SEO, and mass networking skills to create massive links to the site. MO: What are some of the things you and Purposeinc do to help businesses acquire new customers? dk: We are really, really good at reputation management. Very simply if someone googles your product, or name, and you don't like the way the results look, contact us and we can help. Amazingly, we can do it without violating any of google’s T.O.S. with absolute confidentiality. We can also help with Facebook Advertising, and have done this for many companies. One of my favorite games that I have been playing lately, is helping companies with large lists of e-mails, figure out how to maximize the monetization of those lists. MO: thinktank appears to be a massively successful collection of the top names in the Internet industry. The "Who is coming to thinktank" list on Purposeinc.com touts some impressive names. When did Think Tank start, and how did the idea originate? dk: This is the third year. It started from the fact that me an the other hot shots would stand around networking in crappy places like halls of convention centers, and uncomfortable lobbies of mediocre hotels. Often I would be standing for hours with a bunch of millionaires with no food, and nowhere to sit. None of us ever go to the sessions unless we are speaking. I basically got rid of all the parts of conferences that the experts don't like, which is the conference! What was left was what they enjoy most, beautiful setting, other experts, lots of seating, sports, open bar, great food, and fun with no one around who would judge them. It is simply what you would have if you were to dream up your best possible get together with your best friends.]]> http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-dk-david-klein-thinktank-and-purposeinc/feed 5 http://www.mo.com/is-it-time-to-sell-your-business http://www.mo.com/is-it-time-to-sell-your-business#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:26:57 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=5149 Selling a business is oftentimes a prime goal of a business owner. The “big cash out” can bring wealth, freedom, prestige and closure. It also can be one of the worst decisions you’ll ever make. How do you know when to pull the trigger? To begin, let’s look at the reasons why selling your site or business might come about. You’ve worked hard, and you’re tired. The wear and tear of launching any venture is taxing. With the Internet, “business” was redefined. I know starting a website to generate phone calls or leads has a lower barrier of entry than starting a local store. But a business is a business, and you get everything that comes with it. After a certain amount of time, you may get tired and lose focus. 20 employees, insurance, taxes, payroll and fighting with your competitors tooth and nail – tough stuff. Even if you have a business that’s killing it, the ‘sameness’ of your day-to-day or simply a desire for a new challenge can make you weary of the current venture. You want change. You just got a killer offer. Of course there’s more to it than deciding you’ll put a “For Sale” sign up and the buyers will come a chomping. Maybe things are going well, and you just got a call from an interested buyer. An offer was made. It’s for 7x your yearly profits. Killer! Time to sell? Well, that’s when the gut-check questions start to settle in. Do you love this business? Where’s it going, up or down? Sideways? When there’s an offer on the table, or even not, it’s key to project out where your business is heading and the direction of your competitive market. When we sold Show-Me Tickets, an overriding reason was Brant and Brock’s negative outlook for the ticket broker industry beyond 2005. There was consolidation, VC money, competition was fierce, margins were so-so, and legal changes might disrupt the business. The people who sell out at the top always look smart. But it can be hard to call. Bottom line is you know your business, and should always be considering where it’s going. Cashing out and moving on to something new isn’t bad thing. Where should you spend your resources – Time, Money. Looking at moving out of one business, and into another, involves careful consideration of your most valuable assets. Those are time, money, and talent. Could your team do better in another industry? Do you want to cut the staff from 20 to 5, and run lean at something new? Are you happy with your day-to-day? That last one is a big one. Many business owners will find that they have lost the love for their business. It’s partly what I mentioned above, about wanting a challenge and avoiding sameness. You can see and hear the down-to-the-core entrepreneurs never settling for one success or dwelling on one failure, or truly ever putting their head down and ignoring the world of opportunity out there. You want to drive a Maserati to the bar in Sao Paulo, and sip caipirinhas. This one creeps in if you’re making big money, and don’t want the responsibility or liability of the business anymore. That, or you just got that killer offer and all you can think about is Tupac saying “I’m seeing money but baby I gotsta get mo’!” Most business owners have a little slice of wanting to pimp it out and flash their success. Phat money can be fun. And you know, screw everybody who says that it’ll get boring after awhile. So? Then you can start another business, with all that money you just got paid. (Beware: cocaine, yachts, Las Vegas, buying domains while drinking, and bad real estate investments. Set up a separate account for that stuff.) You have no idea how this happened, and if you can keep up the charade. Not really joking here. A successful business or site usually takes a combo of a good idea, hard work, and timing. Sometimes timing, or luck, helps out in a big way. How did this happen? If you aren’t sure, signing those sell papers quickly and with a smile might sound like the best idea on the planet. Do it. There’s all kinds of reasons, and thoughts that stew together into the psychology of selling a business or website. It can be irrational – just look at how scattered the list above is. But it’s your business. That’s why you started it, to be in charge and make decisions like this. So, is it time to sell? If you’re considering it, make sure it’s for the right reasons, and remember what I said about that separate “fun” account. Keep enough for your next venture. You’ll be back and to the races again some day. (Next time, we’ll look more into smart ways to make sure you get the most out of a sale. Two words – investment banker.) Image: Refracted Moments™ ]]> http://www.mo.com/is-it-time-to-sell-your-business/feed 2 http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-elliot-silver-top-notch-domains http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-elliot-silver-top-notch-domains#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:27:33 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=5112 Mike Sullivan of Sully's Blog Elliot Silver is very well known and highly respected in the domain industry. Involved in domaining since 2003, Elliot stepped out of a successful corporate career at AIG in 2007 to focus on his own business of domain investment and development. Elliot is the founder of Top Notch Domains, LLC, which he started as a grad student at NYU. Later, in 2008, he founded Silver Internet Ventures, LLC, an Internet media company that currently has several developed web properties. Elliot also leads the award winning ElliotsBlog.com, one of the most popular blogs in the domain name industry. MO: Stepping away from a successful corporate career is a bold move and one that every entrepreneurial mind dreams of. What was it like to do that and what steps did you take to make it happen? Did you have a backup plan? Any regrets? Elliot: I had been with AIG for 2.5 years, and it was just my second job after graduate school. Although I felt that I was doing well at the company, I wasn't loving what I was doing (direct marketing management of insurance products). This was probably one of the key reasons I continued to pursue my domain business on the side. Just before I resigned in October, I had a couple of large deals lined up for the following January, and I knew just those deals could carry me for a year even if business fell off of a cliff for some reason. I had been making significantly more money with my business than I was earning at AIG, although the domain business (as with any new venture) has much greater risk. I figured if things didn't work out with my company for whatever reason, I could find another marketing position elsewhere after a year. I was ready to move on from AIG, and I knew the domain business would either be a stepping-stone to something else or it would be a new career for me. Luckily, things have been working out well, and I have never regretted my decision. I come from an entrepreneurial family, and I've always imagined that I would work for myself. I was really lucky to have discovered this business when I did, and I am very appreciative of all the advice that has been given to me over the years. MO: You have quite a number of moving parts in your business such as domain buying, domain sales, domain investing, developing, blogging, and more. When you're out at a party with the wife and someone asks "What do you do?", how do you answer that question? What type of reaction do you receive? Elliot: Your question is very funny because Karen and I were just discussing this the other day. It really depends on the crowd and the knowledge of Internet business. If I am with a tech/Internet savvy group or person, I will generally say]]> http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-elliot-silver-top-notch-domains/feed 7 http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-jeff-booth-founder-build-direct http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-jeff-booth-founder-build-direct#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:10:16 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=5082 Quality Building Materials for Less Jeff is the founder and CEO of BuildDirect. Jeff’s previous experience was in the real estate and construction business, and has been President and CEO of BuildDirect since 1999. Jeff is a frequent speaker in North America to industry groups as well as a lecturer at The University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. BuildDirect is transforming the building industry by reinventing the supply chain. The company accomplishes this by partnering with manufacturers who benefit from outsourcing their sales infrastructure. BuildDirect has been able to reduce prices to buyers by up to 50% when compared to big box stores. BuildDirect has cut out all of the middle-men in the building materials business and passes the savings on to customers of all sizes. MO: First off, I want to say that I admire what you have done with BuildDirect. In a sense, you’ve built what embodies the first generation of internet business – transforming the way industries do business and leveling the playing field for customers of all sizes. You started in 1999 and have been working on this for over a decade now. In internet terms, you’re ancient (I mean that in the nicest sense!). Where did you find the inspiration, come up with the business model and how do you continue to stay relevant? Jeff Booth: Well first off, thanks for your admiration. The inspiration came when I began to look at the complexity of the building materials supply chain, and began to call into question what I eventually came to see as unnecessary mark-ups within it. When I say unnecessary, I mean unnecessary to our customer at the end of the phone, or a visitor to our site. The motivation to innovate is about seeing a better way. It’s been a long journey because any time an industry changes, there will be winners and losers. Fortunately, our customers and growth keep telling us that we’re on the right track. Re-fashioning our approach to the supply chain, simplifying it, and turning it on its head by using Internet technology to make it more cost efficient is really just a means to that end. We’ll stay relevant as long as we keep adding value like that, in whatever form that may take in the future. MO: I read an interesting post on your blog about using Twitter. You argue that using it symbolizes openness and trust (I am assuming trusting your employees). You don’t however mention the financial benefits. Do you think the value of such systems can/should be measured directly? What other benefits do you see in social media?]]> http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-jeff-booth-founder-build-direct/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/top-5-gadgets-for-the-international-entrepreneur http://www.mo.com/top-5-gadgets-for-the-international-entrepreneur#comments Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:17:52 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=5066 D-Link Pocket Wifi Router By far, the most important gadget for the traveling entrepreneur. Allows you to share pricey hotel Internet connections without being billed for every MAC address you connect. I’ve used this same router for 2 years now, and never had any problems. Connections are always rock solid. 2) X-Mini II Portable Speaker Unfortunately, my ultra-portable laptop has poor quality speakers. Watching videos and listening to music is important to me, so I always bring along my X-Mini. This speaker packs a punch and its tiny! I especially like it because It recharges using a mini-USB (just like my BlackBerry). 3) VPN / Proxy Software An annoying thing when going abroad is that I can’t see USA targeted Google Adwords ads and SERPs are distorted. That’s why I pay for VPN / proxy services that let me tunnel back to America and surf the web as if I were still in the USA. VPN software is also helpful for watching Hulu and Netflix while abroad. 4) Android Phone or iPhone w/ Fring or Skype App The Skype app for iPhone is extremely valuable when traveling abroad. In my experience, it works flawlessly and gives you the ability to make cheap international calls over WiFi. The last time I checked, the only way to get Skype working on Android was using the Fring app. Nevertheless, my primary phone is still a BlackBerry with international roaming / data plan because I hate touchscreen phones. 5) Belkin Mini Surge Protector + Dual USB Charger This gadget is especially helpful in airports / lounges where power outlets are scarce. The convenience of being able to charge my BlackBerry + laptop is awesome. Plus, since there are multiple outlets, you can score easy karma points by sharing your powerstrip with other travelers.]]> http://www.mo.com/top-5-gadgets-for-the-international-entrepreneur/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-eric-borgos-is-well-known-for-the-sale-of-bored-com-for-more-than-4-million http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-eric-borgos-is-well-known-for-the-sale-of-bored-com-for-more-than-4-million#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:57:43 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=5000 Mike Sullivan of Sully's Blog Eric Borgos is well known for the sale of Bored.com for over $4 million. Born an entrepreneur, he spent his childhood days turning hobbies into profits by collecting and selling coins and baseball cards. As a teenager, he had an interest in trading stocks and it was not unusual to find him reading the Wall Street Journal. In college, Eric ran a "976" phone line teaching people how to make money. After college, Eric stared a computer consulting business and soon moved into designing websites for others and then for himself. Impulse Communications, Inc. was founded in 1990 by Eric Borgos and was incorporated in 2000. The company runs over 300 developed websites and owns over 9,000 domains. The company's revenue comes from ecommerce sales, domain sales, advertising, and parking undeveloped names. Impulse Communication has been featured in several blogs and in the traditional news media as well. MO: Eric, the evolution of Impulse Communications, Inc. is impressive, growing from your post college computer consulting operation to the domain and website force we see now. Tell me about Impulse Communications today. Is it a one man operation, or do you have a staff? How are you able to manage 300 active sites and a portfolio of over 9,000 domain names? Eric: My company is somewhat unique, in that I plan never to work from an office no matter how big my business gets. I have everything setup to be as virtual as possible so I can work from home. At one point I had 15 people working for me from their homes in many different countries, yet I had never met any of them or spoken to them by phone, we just communicated by email. My mailing address is a virtual PO Box where a service scans all my mail online so I can read it, and I have a phone number where all my voicemails are translated to mp3 files (and also translated to text) and emailed to me. All of my company's bills are setup to be autopayed from my checking account/credit card and all my income is deposited automatically into my bank account. For the few companies that still pay me by check, my mail box service scans the checks and deposits them into my bank account for me. I even signed up for a new e-signature service today that allows me to sign documents (like domain name sales contracts) online so I don't need to manually fax or mail them back to people. All that being said, my business still requires a lot of work. Although I use several programmers, I handle everything else myself. I spend my first few hours each day just dealing with emails. There is always something that needs my attention, like a server that is down, domain name offers that need a response, paying money to workers, questions from programmers, changes that need to be made to a site, billing issues, etc. I also need to deal with all the general hassles of running a business, such as accounting, taxes, computer software and upgrades, calls from sales people, contracts and paperwork, legal issues, and more. Aside from when problems arise, most of my sites/domains run themselves. Much of my time is spent on new projects, like creating new websites or adding to my existing ones. In the past few years I have done a lot of work adding content to my sites Dumb.com and Adoptme.com, since I think those have a lot of potential. MO: You have had success with developing sites as well as selling domains. Which criteria do you use when deciding which domains to develop and which to sell?]]> http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-eric-borgos-is-well-known-for-the-sale-of-bored-com-for-more-than-4-million/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/researching-the-business-plan http://www.mo.com/researching-the-business-plan#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:18:12 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4977 So you’ve decided to investigate writing a business plan…where do you start. CHEAT! See what has already been done. Find business plan samples in the same industry you are interested in. While I don’t want to endorse any particular source available realize that they are everywhere. For example, Bplans.com provides a small database of business plans that you can edit (for a price) using their Business Plan Pro software. However, there are various free resources that are available. Two notable freebies are at CarnegieLibrary.org and ReferenceForBusiness.com. Be careful in reading the examples from any one site however. They are not your business. They do not serve your clients or customers. They do not operate in your marketplace. They don’t have your financial assumptions, income statements, or balance sheets. You cannot just put your name on one of these and open for business. So you’ve decided to do some homework. GREAT! First, homework requires some effort. With the internet, the effort is usually just a few keystrokes. The internet and your local library offer a ton of useful information that allows you adapt any business planning template to your specific market. The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of the Census conducts a lot of research on U.S. commercial and consumer markets. The information they collect is free! Use it! Their online source is [census.gov]. One of the most useful tools they provide is the American Community Survey. It provides fairly detailed data about a specific geographic market you might be considering targeting with your business. It provides data concerning income levels, home values, age, race, etc. This information can be extremely useful depending on the type of business you are thinking about. For example, if one was interested in a home repair business a simple entry of a zip code can reveal the physical characteristics of the housing units in that zip code such as age of homeowner, year built, vacancy rates, etc. This information allows the user to better focus marketing efforts on neighborhoods that might need more maintenance attention than others. A quick search of my zip code on this site reveals all kinds of information. For example, the median age is 33, younger than the national average. 13.5% have some type of disability status, much lower than the national average of 19%. 56% of the folks in my zip have some type of bachelor’s degree, over twice the national average (it’s a college town…GO TIGERS). Our median family income is about $61,000, about 20% above the national average. Again, some of this is useless trivia…but it can be a goldmine depending on what data you need to determine if your business is viable. Additionally, for an established business the census data can be drilled into down to the street level so you can truly target your marketing efforts on the demographic you want to reach. If you are trying to logically determine a good location for a retail business the decision should focus on revenue generation. In the past I have used vehicle traffic counts as one factor to consider. Traffic counts means exposure to your customers. Your state department of transportation’s website probably provides this data free too. All kinds of information is available. If you can’t find it on the internet it might be time to put the bagel and grande’ café latté away and head out to the library. You’d be surprised how great a good research librarian can be. We’ve got one in town that knows where to find any nugget of knowledge that has ever been collected for business research. If your local library has limited resources and subscriptions try a local college or university and ask specifically for the research librarian. Again, depending on what you are looking for you may want to try some good ole’ hardcopy library references such as:

• Susan Mitchell’s American Generations: Who They Are. How They Live. What They Think.
• American Incomes: The Demographics of Who Has Money.
• Cheryl Russell’s Best Customers: Demographics of Consumer Demand.
• Hoai Huong Tran’s Household Spending: Who Spends How Much on What.
• Lifestyle Market Analyst is a good data source of what people do in their spare time. It breaks down different metropolitan areas in terms of hobbies such as reading, fishing, hunting, gardening, etc.
• Encyclopedia of Associations is a listing of industry associations…and their websites. This is an invaluable tool to find detailed information about a specific industry.

The real work. While the templates for business planning are widely available you will still have to fill them in with your unique business pitch, strengths, opportunities, etc. This requires some effort. But once you’ve done your homework you will have a better understanding of your business niche, your competition, your customer, and, how to reach your customer. While the real work may take some effort it can save thousands of dollars in business mistakes and wasted marketing.]]> http://www.mo.com/researching-the-business-plan/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-ed-robinson-aptimize-ceo http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-ed-robinson-aptimize-ceo#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:06:43 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4949 Mike Sullivan of Sully's Blog Ed Robinson specializes in designing and bringing to market software that builds business value for developers and IT professionals. He has developed specific expertise in making big sales to Fortune 500 companies. He has worked for major technology companies including Microsoft where he designed and helped market Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft Content Management Server and Microsoft SharePoint; and also for smaller companies through the start up phase. Ed is the CEO of Aptimize, a New Zealand-based company that develops and sells the Aptimize Website Accelerator (WAX). WAX is a software product that helps companies dramatically increase the performance of their websites and intranets. MO.com: Aptimize is a young company. Out of the box, you have a laundry list of huge and well-respected clients such as Google, Microsoft, Northrop Grumman, Fidelity, and on and on. How did you manage to land these giants? What is the secret of your sales technique? Ed Robinson: From the beginning we didn’t worry too much about building up automatic systems and things like that. We just connected with people. We e-mailed everyone we knew utilizing our networks. Anyone approaching our website, we offered to just talk to them to help them with any web performance questions that they had. People buy from people and from the beginning we’ve tried to build relationships rather than just sell and I think people sensed that we genuinely wanted to help them do better business online. Also, we developed a product that people needed, one that quickly developed a reputation for being the best at what it does – speeding up websites. The internet giants and Fortune 500’s tend to be well informed about the benefits of fast page load, for example when Shopzilla increased the speed of their website by 5 seconds it resulted in a 25% increase in page views, a 10% increase in revenue, a 50% reduction in hardware, and a 120% increase traffic from Google. The ‘big’ companies are constantly looking for ways to improve visitor experience, be more competitive, and increase their bottom-line – as we can see with the Shopzilla example, increasing the page load speed of a website is an effective way to do this So here’s how I pitch our product: We’re a software product. You download it, put it on your web server. It will immediately double the speed of your website with no code changes and no extra hardware, and that’s all it does. And so that’s very simple for people to understand, and some people will say, “I’m in the Marketing department for a company,” or the IT Engineer, and can instantly see how this can help their business - so you can see how simple it is. Here are three important rules – especially for a start-up company: 1. Have a very focused value proposition: Aptimize’s products instantly accelerate websites and intranets. 2. Be good at it: Our software works really well – a lot of our customers instantly see a reduction in load times of 50%. This is powerful 3. Love your customers. We work across the internet, but pride ourselves on providing better support than most companies you’d deal with locally. With these three rules you’re equipped to sell to small and big companies. MO.com: You were a program manager at Microsoft and then Intergen before being involved in Action This, a catalyst to Aptimize. How would you describe the difference in working for a large corporation to leading your own company?]]> http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-interview-ed-robinson-aptimize-ceo/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/get-in-business http://www.mo.com/get-in-business#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:27:08 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4868 Kevin Ohashi of Ohashi Media Dana Robinson is an entrepreneur, investor and a lawyer. He received his JD from The University of San Diego School of Law School where he graduated cum laude. Before starting his own businesses, he worked in Nevada focusing on intellectual property and managed some of the most well-known trademarks around such as Mirage and Bellagio. Today, Dana is a founding partner at Tech Law LLP, an IP law boutique in California. He also runs FreeLegalAid.com, a service and directory to help people assist themselves in legal matters. His latest venture is Get In Business! which is a resource center for budding entrepreneurs. Kevin Ohashi: You have worked as a lawyer involved with startups for quite some time. What sort of unique insights do you gain with your background that someone from say a technical or business background misses? Dana Robinson: I tend to bring that experience to the table, in a way that doesn’t just help a new business owner accomplish some task, like forming a corporation or drafting a stock offering or filing a trademark. What my background gives me is the ability to empathize with the people I work with. I’ve been in their seat. I try to think of what I didn’t know when I was in that position and to bring some cost/benefit thinking. A typical IP lawyer will get a client who wants a patent and they will do a very good job filing for a patent. I’m going to ask if you need a patent. Don’t spend the money if you don’t need it or if in the end it won’t do you any good. That’s a fundamentally businessy approach. Businesspeople tend to think that their lawyers and accountants and consultants think this way, but in reality they don’t. Service providers tend to think of their tasks individually, not as part of the whole. As a result, novice business owners overspend on services and don’t end up with what’s the best for their business. Kevin Ohashi: Your own startups seem to mirror your personal expertise in the legal field. Has the internet changed the way legal services are provided in a major way? Dana Robinson: Absolutely. The Internet has meant two things for me:]]> http://www.mo.com/get-in-business/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/partnership-and-development-structures-for-online-businesses http://www.mo.com/partnership-and-development-structures-for-online-businesses#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:55:10 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4859 A Look at Partnership and Development Structures for Online Businesses I'm often asked how I prefer to structure a partnership with another business owner. After all, part of my 'MO' is to invest in existing online companies and/or domains and ramp up their marketing. When you’ve got the chops to make a website purr, the challenge becomes finding the places to put your time and energy. Not just the right niches and timing, but the right partnership setups and well . . . partners. Is it money up front? For equity? Buy the domain straight out or lease it with an option? Revenue share only? With traditional angel investing VC, most of us know the common deal structures and ownership splits. People tend to 'get' the concept of putting money into a business for a defined stake over time. But the internet world acts just as you’d expect when it comes to partnerships and the like – it’s more wide open. Here's a look at how you can approach a deal, and some pros and cons of each. Hopefully by the time I’m done writing it, I’ve figured out which option I like best. Cash Up Front for Equity. You invest cash in an existing web business in return for a % of equity. This is as traditional as it gets, like the angel deals of the world of yesteryear. Simple example. A site is making $20k per month. You agree on a value of 4x yearly revenue (~$1 million), cause it’s an up and comer. But it needs marketing help. So you drop in $50k for a 5% stake. I like this setup cause it's easy. I'd do it if the company already had a good base, like a kick ass software product that I was not going to do much to improve. It'd be a straight marketing push, apples for apples, that’s all I bring to the table and all i expect to earn on. Of course, I’d like this deal a lot more if we add in a bit of . . . Additional Equity Earned for Increase in Revenue. Instead of just a straight cash for equity trade, how about getting some ]]> http://www.mo.com/partnership-and-development-structures-for-online-businesses/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/checkfront-is-e-commerce-for-companies-with-schedule-and-service-based-inventories http://www.mo.com/checkfront-is-e-commerce-for-companies-with-schedule-and-service-based-inventories#comments Sat, 03 Jul 2010 16:27:58 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4904 Mike Sullivan of Sully's Blog Jason Morehouse has been engulfed in the world of e-commerce for over 10 years. With a strong technical background as an asset, he has played an important role in the development of several successful e-commerce companies which include Netconcepts, Vendorama, and Revenuewire. While Jason has lived and worked in Toronto Canada, Auckland New Zealand, he now resides in Victoria, BC, where he has co-founded Checkfront, Inc. Founded in 2008, Checkfront, Inc. provides a leading online booking management system, based on a secure Saas (Software as a service) platform. Checkfront allows businesses to integrate the system into their existing websites within minutes, with no programming knowledge required and integrates with most popular payment gateways. Plugins for many of the popular content management systems, such as Wordpress and Joomla make adding Checkfront services simple and effective. MO: You have been self described as a "Technical Architect" and "Linux evangelist". Tell me a little bit more about what that actually means and why it's an important part of your success. Jason Morehouse: The title of Technical Architect was given to me at a previous company. I suspect it was a clever way to make sure I had nothing to compare myself to on the monster.com salary review, but it has stuck with me. I'm at my best when taking a concept and building it into a product from the ground up. I'm a geek at heart, but I also have a good grasp on what it takes to make a successful company. I’m more of a Linux enthusiast these days than I am an evangelist. I use to care a lot more that other people use Linux, but now I'm just happy I do. If you want to run your infrastructure on Windows NT, I say go for it -- just don't ask for my help when it goes to pot. And don't get me started on Windows Azure. MO: Linux is playing a huge roll in cloud computing and that is very exciting as a long time user. For Checkfront, Linux has allowed us to build a secure, scalable and distributed network at a low cost. You have an extensive technical background with some of the e-commerce businesses you contributed to. Checkfront seems unlike any of those, where did the concept originate? Jason Morehouse: In some ways Checkfront is very different than my previous companies, in other ways it's a natural progression. Checkfront is e-commerce for companies with schedule and service based inventories -- albeit significantly more complex to develop. Back in 2008 I was approached by a friend and former colleague Grant Jurgeneit. He was looking for some advice on implementing an online booking system for a friend of his with a travel / tourism based operation in Whistler BC. By that time I had been developing e-commerce applications for almost a decade and it was a fairly mature market. I was horrified at the backwards and cumbersome solutions that were available to companies looking to take and manage online bookings. Like good entrepreneurs, we said (somewhat naively) “we can do better than that”. Of course we did, but it took us over a year and a lot more work than we had anticipated. MO: A quick Google search revealed several online booking systems. What is it that differentiates Checkfront and places you as an emerging leader in the industry? What are some sample industries that are leveraging Checkfront and in what ways?]]> http://www.mo.com/checkfront-is-e-commerce-for-companies-with-schedule-and-service-based-inventories/feed 2 http://www.mo.com/internet-entrepreneur-peter-frank-collegeacb http://www.mo.com/internet-entrepreneur-peter-frank-collegeacb#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:21:35 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4875 Mike Sullivan of Sully's Blog Peter Frank is a college student at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He founded Sumdae, LLC, while still in high school. The business started on the premise of buying Internet domain names and reselling to end users at a profit. Peter now owns and operates CollegeACB.com. CollegeACB.com or "Anonymous Confession Board" is a controversial hot spot for college students, boasting upwards of a half million pageviews per day. Although originally created by two other students, Peter is behind the enormous growth of the site. CollegeACB.com is described as a web-based community for college students to voice their opinions on college life while remaining anonymous. MO.com: You obviously have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, forming a business while still in high school. What drivers, experiences or influences did you have at such an early age that positioned you where you are today? Did you come from an entrepreneurial family? Peter Frank: No one else in my immediate family line has been particularly entrepreneurial, but my parents have always supported me in every way they could. They had trust and allowed me to sign up for a Paypal account at thirteen. That freedom allowed me to start my first business with a friend (we sold Counter Strike admin privileges). From that point forward, I was always trying something new to make money. Eventually (around fifteen), I stumbled into domain names and websites and now here I am. I have a drive from within to be successful, and generating profits allows me to see my success concretely. Equally important to making money is the sense of satisfaction from beating competitors and/or the market. MO.com: You have been featured in countless blogs, newspapers and most impressively, TIME. Have you had any difficulty handling this rush of attention? What impact has it had on your day-to-day life? Peter Frank: I had my fifteen minutes years ago, so I know how ridiculous the media can be. It hasn’t really impacted me too much in my daily life, though the attention at times can be both exciting and aggravating. It is also quite frustrating when my quotes are taken out of context to make me look bad, but I guess that comes with the territory. I’ve certainly learned to become much more careful when talking with the media over the last year. MO.com: CollegeACB.com is clearly controversial. While some describe it as "practical and helpful", others describe it as "hateful and hurtful." How do you react to those that claim to be victims of online bullying or others who claim their reputation has been destroyed?]]> http://www.mo.com/internet-entrepreneur-peter-frank-collegeacb/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/the-myths-of-business-planning http://www.mo.com/the-myths-of-business-planning#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:13:36 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4849 The Myths of Business Planning One of the biggest misconceptions about building a business plan is that an entrepreneur only needs one if they are seeking external funding. However, one of the critical aspects of starting a business is first determining its feasibility, marketability, and profitability. Many times, even “boot-strapping” a business would be better served if a business plan was in place. So why isn’t a business plan only written for the purpose of raising capital? In reality, the business plan is a process. While many entrepreneurs go through the mental exercise of planning their business, following a logical structure will ensure that key aspects of the idea are analyzed. While it may take time, it can potentially save money by minimizing the inherit risk in being an entrepreneur. The key is to view the planning process as just that…a process. The planning process encourages the entrepreneur to step back and take an objective view of the venture. What is gained? Primarily, the planning process identifies the ventures potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Not only does it allow you to evaluate the venture but it clarifies the financial requirements and potential. Some of the more common mistakes made in crafting the business plan is to make it too long. Length matters. Anyone reading the plan wants to make sure that the entrepreneur can clearly and concisely describe what the venture is all about, how it will reach its target market, what financing is needed, where is it coming from, what/where is the competition, what advantage does the venture offer the customer, etc. Because entrepreneurs need to be very clear and concise about their idea/venture most collegiate business plan competitions start of as simple “elevator pitch” competitions. One of the more common competitions held at the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization’s national conference each year [C-E-O.org] gives students only 90 seconds to make their pitch. This is the amount of time you might be able to capture an executives attention with your idea! Another common error is to assume that there is no competition for the venture. If there is no competition then perhaps there simply isn’t a market. The business plan is also an opportunity for the entrepreneur to confirm that they have the necessary experience, passion, and skill to properly analyze and operate the venture. Finally, during the planning process many entrepreneurs do not make reasonable financial assumptions…which leads to erroneous expectations for the venture. Be honest with financial figures…most times, YOU are the primary stakeholder in the venture. Format of the Business Plan Typically, business plans will follow a structure that describes the exact nature of the business. This usually includes:]]> http://www.mo.com/the-myths-of-business-planning/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-chris-merrill-ceo-super-web-o-matic http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-chris-merrill-ceo-super-web-o-matic#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:03:22 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4770 Kevin Ohashi of Ohashi Media Chris Merrill is the CEO of Super Web O Matic. He started his entrepreneurial career in 1999 when he started Thrive Networks, a company dedicated to bringing high quality technical support to small businesses. He eventually sold off Thrive Networks to Staples. When Chris sold Thrive Networks it had around 100 employees at the time. Chris found his passion for working with small business owners early through Thrive Networks and continued to start more companies before Super Web O Matic in the space. One such company was Designer Advantage where he worked to create a service to help interior designers manage their businesses by focusing on helping them with bookkeeping and project management. Currently, Chris is focused on Super Web O Matic. Super Web O Matic provides online marketing services for small businesses. It was born out of the idea that what makes a business successful online is the ability to cost effectively generates leads. With this goal in mind, Chris and team have streamlined the process that normally would cost $10-15,000 down to $3000 by automating as much as possible. Super Web O Matic focuses on creating good looking websites with clear calls to action and apply online marketing best practices. MO: Tell me about Thrive Networks: was it your first company? Did you manage the company until it was sold to Staples? What was the most important thing you learned while working there? Chris Merrill: My first company was actually a pager (no laughing) company I ran when I was 17. Most of my friends couldn’t sign up for there own accounts because of our age and parents didn’t like the idea. I saw a great opportunity (for beer money) so I convinced a distributor to give me a wholesale account and I rented pagers to everyone at school. Collections were a bitch, as I literally had to track down kids for 8 bucks. It must have looked so sketchy. Thrive however was my first real company. College and I didn’t get along so instead I started doing computer support (my mother worked for an IT training company so I “borrowed” training materials.) I ended up getting a job at a computer reseller and that is where I really fell in love with small business owners. These small businesses would either use a friend or family member (Joe Six-pack) to maintain the computers or cycle through IT companies who force-fed huge contracts or blocks of hours. In addition all services were reactive, not only were the paying hundreds of dollars to fix the problems, they were down so everyone was pissed off…not fun. This was the problem we solved with Thrive. Provide SIMPLE and effective computers networks to small business and then pro-actively monitor and manage them. It took us the first couple of years to get it right, but once we had the right people, processes, and technology we really gained traction. Most important thing I learned, and I still have to be reminded of this weekly, is that I don’t need to control and be involved with everything, in every instance, there is someone who can do it better. Hire good-hearted people with high aptitude, train them, and get the hell out of their way. MO: You have been keeping an ideas list for many years. As a culture we love and embrace new ideas. If you’re up to sharing could you tell us about the craziest idea (in your mind) on your list? How about the one you most wish you had executed on when you came up with it and why you didn’t?]]> http://www.mo.com/entrepreneur-chris-merrill-ceo-super-web-o-matic/feed 2 http://www.mo.com/social-entrepreneurship%e2%80%a6who-really-cares http://www.mo.com/social-entrepreneurship%e2%80%a6who-really-cares#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:40:11 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4737

New ways of work. They want to promote new information and technologies as a prerequisite for the development of their economy…and the “fast accession of Croatia to the EU.”

Human resources development. Their priority is to hire young, creative, people and to provide them with a pleasant work environment and remain “permanently focused on the development of (their) overall capacities.”

Sustainable development. They realize the importance of designing and producing products and services “that improve the quality of life and productivity and enable a more resource-efficient world.”

They also spell out activities regarding, occupational health and safety, equal opportunities and gender equality, support to associations and participation in their activities, collaboration with universities, and sponsorships and donations. Social entrepreneurship…who really cares? Our stakeholders do. Numerous studies are showing that social responsibility contributes to the bottom line. Sam Wyly, in his book “1,ooo Dollars & An Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire” tried to determine just how much extra consumers were willing to pay for environmentally friendly products. This can difficult to do. But we could probably agree that it is a moving target…and that consumers are beginning to look for socially responsible companies…and pay a bit extra for the satisfaction they get from helping contribute to society rather than just profits.]]> http://www.mo.com/social-entrepreneurship%e2%80%a6who-really-cares/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/bring-your-startup-to-life-entrepreneur-alex-farcet http://www.mo.com/bring-your-startup-to-life-entrepreneur-alex-farcet#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:53:02 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4712 Startupbootcamp. Alex is a well-known figure around the Copenhagen startup scene. He hosts monthly meetings called First Friday where entrepreneurs are ‘networking with purpose.’ It’s a place to ask fellow entrepreneurs for help with any problems their companies are facing followed by traditional networking. Alex also runs StartupDenmark.dk a site dedicated to the Danish and Nordic startup scene. Alex also organized Startup Weekend across the Nordic and Baltic region this year which saw Copenhagen, Stockholm, Lund, Oslo, Vilnius, Kaunas and Aarhus all getting their first experience from the US created concept. Alex is also an investor in the region, he’s a member of the Danish Venture Capital Association and Startupbootcamp is his latest project. Startupbootcamp’s goal is to bring Tech Stars to Europe. They are the first Tech Stars Global Affiliate and provide seed funding and a mentorship program that aims to help companies launch within 3 months. The background behind the project is it comes from Rainmaking, a team of dedicated entrepreneurs who have been commercializing their own and others’ ideas for three years and have seen two multi-million dollar exists and revenue of around 165 million DKK (~27 million dollars) and 65 employees from 10 companies. Kevin Ohashi: You spent 10 years working at DHL. Were you also trying to start your own projects during this time? If you weren’t, what caused the transition into becoming an entrepreneur? Alex Farcet: Corporate life kept me plenty busy! Having grown up in Spain, France, Africa and England my ambition was to continue to travel and discover the world. DHL offered that and more: I never had a position more than 2 years, I worked all over Eastern Europe (right after the wall fell which was hugely exciting) and was posted in Brussels, Hong Kong and Denmark. I was kind of shoved off the corporate ladder when my 3 year old son fell ill (he's fine now). I took a year off to take care of him and never went back. I started working as an independent consultant and on the side began helping startups. It turns out I'm pretty good working with geeks, I'm good at translating what they do into language business people can understand and I'm a really good networker - all of which is useful for a young tech company. Going back in time, when I finished business school I took a couple of months off in France and immediately went back to the US. I did the immigrant thing and went through Ellis Island in New York and headed straight for a friend's couch in San Francisco. I ended up working with a startup bringing the 'minitel' (a neanderthal version of the internet through a phone box) to the Bay Area. The company was not a success but I loved the experience. So as soon as I had the the time and opportunity to pick what I should do I went back to my first love: working with startups. I did a business angel investment and put up www.startupdenmark.dk which instead of a blog was a compilation of resources and interviews with entrepreneurs. In November last year I interviewed Martin Bjergegaard, co-founder of Rainmaking (http://rainmaking.dk/forside.aspx?lang=en) and we hit it off. I was dreaming of doing a Northern European TechStars and it turns out they were working on something similar so we joined forces. 6 months later, Startupbootcamp is ready to go with close to 60 amazing mentors, a facility in the heart of Copenhagen and investors lined up to see our ten startups at the end of the 3 month program in November. Kevin Ohashi: How is the culture of entrepreneurship different in Europe compared to the US? Is the Nordic startup culture different from the rest of Europe or can you see regional differences within parts of Europe?]]> http://www.mo.com/bring-your-startup-to-life-entrepreneur-alex-farcet/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/3-inc-500-awards-and-just-getting-started http://www.mo.com/3-inc-500-awards-and-just-getting-started#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:15:04 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4616 Kevin Ohashi of Ohashi Media Brant Bukowsky is a native of Columbia, Missouri, home to our very own Brian Null. Brant is the co-founder of VA Mortgage Center. He also co-founded Show Me Tickets, LakeRentals.com, Plus 1 Media and currently is a co-founder at Growth Partner. Brant is also heavily involved in his local entrepreneurial scene where he runs a monthly event for Big Thinkers and Entrepreneurs. Brant’s companies have been listed by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest 500 growing private companies three times (for separate companies no less!). Brant has an interesting history where he has been partnered with his older brother Brock on many of his ventures. If one had to guess what Brant studied one might also be surprised to find out his degree is in elementary education and he taught 2nd grade. Brant continues to expand his fields and most recently became an angel investor. MO: First off, I have to congratulate you on so many successes. I hope we all can learn something from you and benefit from your experience. The first question I have to ask about is your partner. Picking a partner is like a marriage they say. If I understood correctly, you and your brother have started many or all of the businesses you’ve been involved in. How do you and your brother manage to work so well together? Does it make it easier or harder to work with family? Brant Bukowsky: It has been great to be able to partner with my brother. We are pretty complimentary in that we have different strengths, yet many times we are on the same page and know what each other is thinking without even talking (it even freaks my wife out sometimes). I hear of some partnerships that fall apart because one partner is concerned the other is not bringing as much value or working as hard as the other. That has never been a concern for us probably because we are both happy to see the other succeed, whether that be on the same team or otherwise, but we happen to be 50-50 on everything business related and we don’t worry about what the other one does. However, we both know the other is committed to helping the company succeed for the long term. MO: You’ve worked for someone else for a total of 1 day in your life as a pizza delivery guy. What steps do you take with your own staff to make sure they don’t have the same feelings you had about working for someone else?]]> http://www.mo.com/3-inc-500-awards-and-just-getting-started/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/aaron-wall-ceo-of-seo-book http://www.mo.com/aaron-wall-ceo-of-seo-book#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:46:01 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4645 Kevin Ohashi of Ohashi Media Aaron Wall is the CEO of SEOBook.com and one of the foremost experts in the SEO industry. SEOBook.com is a membership based educational website with private discussions and tools. Aaron also is an avid blogger and recently launched PPCBlog.com alongside his blog at SEOBook.com to cover both sides of the business. Kevin Ohashi: Let's start with a little bit of scene setting. What is your background in terms of education and interests? Also, can you tell me what you were doing before you started doing SEO? If you could tell us your story before your first SEO client (Greg if I recall correctly?) and how you made the transition. Aaron Wall: As far as education goes, the only post high school education I have had was from the Navy nuclear power school. 2 weeks after graduating high school I joined the military (when I was only 17 - my mom had to sign a permission slip). I think my siblings caused enough trouble to where my mom thought the military would be good for me and keep me on the straight and narrow. That thesis proved false as I sorta hated the military lifestyle. Not just the issue with taking orders and doing arbitrary tasks, but the thought that I was literally wasting my life and "fighting" for a purpose-less cause. My grandpa was in the military during WWII and there was at least purpose back then, but the military of today (especially the Navy) is a military without real enemies. So they make up for low morale by running more drills. And on drill work ups you sleep about 4 hours a day for about a month straight. They have you paint the submarine while underwater (illegal) and use you to suck up the fumes so the boat can look nice for a stupid arbitrary operational reactor safeguards exam (ORSE). They also kept oxygen lower than normal so you would be docile and energy-less (ie: drug you with low oxygen levels, a depressant), with the exception of during clean up days & during ORSE (when they would increase oxygen levels so you had more energy). On my first underway there was a valve misalignment and during drills we lost oil pressure at the shaft so the shaft had to be stopped. I asked the kid I was sitting with "what happens if they don't get that fixed?" and he shrugged his shoulders and in a deadpan voice stated "we will probably die." On my second underway I got to stay in Puerto Rico, and when I got dropped off they left my stuff on the boat. So I had to eat for 3.5 days on $3 :D Then when I got back to the boat they offloaded my uniforms with the SEALs, so I had to buy all new uniforms. Then when we got back to the military base I found out that they towed my car (the people who towed it said "oh we towed that a while ago, that is going to cost you" while laughing at me). I got a ride to pick up my car, in the ghetto, where I found it was broke into. The car towing company had a sign up saying they are not responsible for lost or stolen goods. So I had to pay to get my car back, pay a friend who had some of his stuff in my car which got stolen, and buy all new uniforms. On that underway my lost or stolen good losses were far more than I was paid (pre-taxes), so the sense that I was wasting my life for a piece of trash organization that did not value me was a strong and foul feeling. Important lessons learned from the military: being an employee for a large organization is not a great idea, its worth working really hard for yourself so you don't have to subject yourself to a job you do not like, distrust authority and assume it was ill gotten, try to create backup / contingency plans (the sub has 2 of almost everything), and half split when troubleshooting problems. :D Somehow I managed to live through years of the above sort of crap, but my will to live was diminished greatly as it piled up. If you recall the 2000 to 2002 timeframe there was the stock market meltdown and the terrorist attacks. But then layered on top of that there was lots of personal stuff like my grandpa dying & finding out that a relative got HIV. Also when the Russian Kursk sub sank we were nearby with a deep-sea rescue vehicle on our sub. We could have tried to save some of their sailors, but their country rejected the offer due to political ideology. I then thought about it some and realized that if the same thing happened the other way around our "capitalistic" economy likely would have found some way to squirm out of getting help from their "communistic" economy. To say I lacked purpose or drive would be an understatement. To say I drank my sorrows away would also be one. Eventually (a little over 5 years into a 6 year contract) I got in trouble and the military and I departed ways. It left me with such a foul taste in my mouth that I created a whinge website about the experience. I think at the time my attitude was generally quite foul and that made it somewhat hard for me to get a job. Worse yet, at the end of 2002, when I got out of the military there was still looming worries to employers that people from the military might get called back to active duty and the economy was still fairly soft (from the downside of the overbuild related to y2k and .com boom). I think my first website (that rant one) went live sometime in January 2002. The same month I started a crappy awful embarrassing affiliate website. My early ideas were not very good :D But I was learning and I was trying, and with no capital it was pretty obvious that search was a big driver of high quality traffic. Back then you could see the value different people put on different keywords via Overture. That seemed pretty cool and exciting. One of my lucky breaks with that online mall affiliate website I built was that I was a bad speller. So I was getting checks for thousands of dollars from the gambling and pharmacy pages on it - precisely because I didn't know how to spell. I think about 1 check and I was hooked on the internet thing because I knew I still had so much to learn. Mostly these checks started coming in in the later part of the year. But I appreciated my ignorance as well, so I got a job as a manager at an inventory service. I was on salary making about $35,000 a year. I think that started in about March of 2003. And I lasted something like 8 months before I quit to do the web full time. (After 5 months I gave my boss a 3 month notice so they had plenty of time to replace me). The lady who was sorta high up in the office often talked with my bosses boss and said that had I not mentioned I was quiting they were going to replace my boss with me. Thank goodness I quit when I did or else I would be a mid-level manager somewhere in corporate America right now. :eek: I participated at SearchGuild and eventually was a moderator there. In 2003 I helped stuff packets for SES Boston and scored a free pass that way. The main thing I learned from the show was what a big business search was. At the meeting before SEMPO was formed Danny Sullivan mentioned that he saw the phrase "search marketing" being what stuff might move to, and so I started a site on a horrible domain name search-marketing.info, where I took notes about SEO. It was sorta a 1998 unstyled site off the start. I hadn't marketed it yet and that Gregory contacted me to market his headshots photography business. I said sure for something crazy like $100 and within 2 weeks he got a gig that paid him something like $2,500. Around mid-2003 I noticed blogs were getting more inbound links than their quality alone would merit, so I decided it made sense to start one in SEO. At first I had a crappy one on my SMI site. In December of 2003 I started anew at SEO Book.com. Google did the Florida Update in November of 2003 and I wrote an article about it which got really popular. And so I got more business than I could handle or knew how to handle. Then a month later back to obscurity :) My theory was that one could sell a how to guide & at this point I was arrogant and naive enough to think I knew enough to create a great one (I think the first one was decent, but nowhere near what I could make today given over a half-decade of experience). I gave away the first version at the end of December, and based on that feedback started selling it in Feb. of 2004. I tied the idea of an ebook together with the blog, and it worked well. The interesting thing about that domain name - seobook.com - was that it only cost $8 because most people thought you couldn't have an up to date book about SEO. So that was my sales angle for pushing an ebook :D Other than the awful search-marketing.info I was a bit of a natural domainer from the start, buying stuff like blackhatseo.com and whitehatseo.com for $8 each in 2003. The sad thing is I didn't really push that line of thinking into other more lucrative fields. If I would have I either wouldn't have time for this interview, or I would be writing it from some Caribbean island. :D But we have done quite well so far, and my wife met me through seobook.com ... so I have no real complaints ;) Kevin Ohashi: You say you were arrogant and naive enough to believe you could write a great book teaching people SEO. That's a very common entrepreneurial trait, if we really understood the challenges and difficulties associated with what was being attempted we wouldn't even bother. You started SEO Book as a blog combined with an ebook. Was SEO Book your first 'company' or venture into self employment? How did you decide on that business model and what sort of adjustments have you made along the way and why? Aaron Wall: One of the problems with existing businesses is . . .]]> http://www.mo.com/aaron-wall-ceo-of-seo-book/feed 2 http://www.mo.com/you-domainers-and-your-black-swan-stories http://www.mo.com/you-domainers-and-your-black-swan-stories#comments Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:21:15 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4577 You Domainers and Your Black Swan Stories Since the 90’s, the internet has been filled with get-rich-quick schemes and hyped stories of men young and old who’e hit the jackpot in the land of .com’s. From Shoemoney’s Adsense check to the Million Dollar Home page, at one point or another I’m sure you’ve stared excitedly at your screen and seen nothing but dollar signs. “Domainers” – people that buy and sell domains as investments and for profit, have some of the greatest stories about making money online. These modern day cowboys snatch up pieces of online real estate using shrewd insights into markets and trends mere mortals cannot comprehend. They get to spend their days watching ad-servers crank up clicks that feed their Cayman Islands bank accounts. Right? The stories are grand, if not a bit grandiose. Fast flips and auction steals that triple your money in 24 hours – that’s the life of a domainer. In fact, stop me if you’ve heard any of these: 1. Guy buys a domain at auction for $100k. 3 months later he sells it for $1 million. 2. Guy logs on in 1995 after reading an article about the internet, and picks up a few domains by looking around his living room. Couches.com, Kitchen.com, stuff like that. Before he knows it, he’s making $2,000/day parking the domains. 4 years later he’s selling the portfolio out for $15 million. 3. Guy registers a bunch of four-letter combo domains and parks them. Along comes a company that needs that four-letter domain, cause it’s their abbreviation. It’s their brand. Guy sells it to them for $50k. All in a day’s work! And I’m not knocking domainers, or these sweet stories of success. I can’t think of anything that sounds more like “Free money” than parking some domains that pull in 7 figures each year. (Maybe that NBA TV revenue deal those ex-owners have). What’s more important to take note of here is that these stories are]]> http://www.mo.com/you-domainers-and-your-black-swan-stories/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/is-yandex-looking-for-you http://www.mo.com/is-yandex-looking-for-you#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:52:26 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4567 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/yandex-launches-search-for-startups/407409.html]]> http://www.mo.com/is-yandex-looking-for-you/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/how-to-make-them-say-i-see-your-ads-everywhere http://www.mo.com/how-to-make-them-say-i-see-your-ads-everywhere#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 18:46:51 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4547 “What are you guys doing? I see your ads everywhere. Sports sites, news sites, blogs. You must be spending a bunch of money.” Verbatim. Every time. And what’s the answer? Say it with me: Retargeting. What’s Retargeting? While I’m sure many of you who do paid advertising online know the concept, let me take a second to review. Retargeting boils down to display advertising that targets visitors using a cookie. The user visits your site, they pickup the cookie. They go off to the netherworld of the ‘net, and when they end up on sites within the network you’re using to advertise, they get fed your display ads. Easy enough. For the visual learners out there, here’s a quick 1-2-3, using our mortgage firm and a housing blog as the example. The Potential If you can’t yet see the potential of retargeting for your biz (and of course it’s not for everyone), here’s a few reasons why retargeting gets our group excited right now: ]]> http://www.mo.com/how-to-make-them-say-i-see-your-ads-everywhere/feed 4 http://www.mo.com/can-entrepreneurship-be-taught-or-is-it-learned http://www.mo.com/can-entrepreneurship-be-taught-or-is-it-learned#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 14:56:19 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4485 JC Holmes asked the question on MO.COM as many before him have. JC said (entrepreneurship) was like riding a bike, “a culmination of skills and knowledge brought together to accomplish something.” How true. So can it be taught? Who knows? Not in the traditional collegiate manner….death by PowerPoint lectures. I would argue that it can be encouraged. So how do you find a collegiate environment that promotes entrepreneurship and encourages venture creation? Old-School. The old-school logic is that college students interested in business should take a predetermined dose of: · Accounting · Finance · Management · Marketing These lecture courses are all taught as discrete disciplines. This educational model has been, and will continue to be, very successful at producing CPAs, CFAs, and great employees in their respective disciplines. While this model may be very good at preparing graduates for a life of Fortune 500 companies it seems outdated based on today’s students. More and more, college-aged students today are interested in being more than corporate employees. They want opportunities. They have ideas. They want to improve things. They want ownership of something. The old-school model leaves many students today wanting more. Simply put, the student needs to put the skills and knowledge together…just like the culmination of skills it takes to ride a bike. Just like entrepreneurs find a niche, some colleges are finding a niche. The niche is a new business model that focuses, not on preparing students to be Fortune 500 employees, but on preparing them to be entrepreneurs. E-School. What do they look like? For starters, entrepreneurship is a inter-disciplinary approach that needs to connect academic theory with practical application and experience. If this is true, look for schools that have]]> http://www.mo.com/can-entrepreneurship-be-taught-or-is-it-learned/feed 1 http://www.mo.com/update-from-our-friends-at-ticketstub-com http://www.mo.com/update-from-our-friends-at-ticketstub-com#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 17:19:19 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4470 http://www.mo.com/update-from-our-friends-at-ticketstub-com/feed 0 http://www.mo.com/adam-strong-joins-mo-com-as-a-partner http://www.mo.com/adam-strong-joins-mo-com-as-a-partner#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 17:30:39 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4448 http://www.mo.com/adam-strong-joins-mo-com-as-a-partner/feed 3 http://www.mo.com/can-you-create-a-successful-formula-to-creating-startups http://www.mo.com/can-you-create-a-successful-formula-to-creating-startups#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 15:19:51 +0000 MO http://www.mo.com/?p=4407 http://www.mo.com/can-you-create-a-successful-formula-to-creating-startups/feed 0