As seen at ABCnews.com, SmartComputing.com and Entrepreneur.com

"Interviews with Jim's Clients"
Three unique web businesses and what makes them tick...

By Jim Daniels

Today I'd like to share a few real life examples of what three people, just like you and I, are doing online. So I had a peek through my customer files and re-visited a few clients. I selected three separate business owners who started three very different and unique businesses on the web. (And no, the businesses have nothing to do with marketing advice or business opportunities.)

I contacted the three business owners and they agreed to share some important details about their businesses, including how they got started, how they run their web based businesses and much more.

You'll find some great examples of diversity and originality in this piece, so please do give it a few minutes of your undivided attention. I'm quite sure that many of you will find a few key strategies and resources you can use in your own business (or business ideas).

This study will allow you to peek in on an established web business, a site just growing in popularity, and a brand new site just recently set up.

So let's jump right into the established business first, by visiting a fellow by the name of Will Landrum. Will began his venture back in 1998 when he registered WillLandrum.com - albeit with no definitive plans for the domain name. He knew he wanted to do something related to his skills, playing and teaching Rock and Roll music.

What he didn't know was that within a few years he'd be the owner of a super successful website helping thousands of advancing guitarists online.

Will's newest site at http://www.GuitarConsultant.com is the premier web based guitar instruction site on the Internet! His 5000+ customers learn from guitarists who are actually writing, playing and recording rock guitar music.

Congratulations on a unique and powerful concept Will! I checked in with Will this week and asked him to share some of his secrets to success. Here's our mini interview...

Jim: What is your website all about, Will?

Will: "My online business provides advanced guitar lessons via software, either for download or on CDRom, as well as instrumental guitar music."

Jim: How did you get started?

Will: "I started out by selling my debut guitar instrumental CD, and although it was selling a little bit, it was your advice that really boosted my sales. You wrote... "How about selling guitar lessons, Will?" And BAM! I never looked back. Information sells... and in many cases it is simple to teach others to do what you take for granted."

Jim: Is your business time consuming?

Will: "Actually, I do it all on a part time basis! :-) And I use as many time saving tools as possible. For example, when the time came for me to implement numerous products on my site, I turned to you for advice and you recommended your webbusinesswizard site. That system with autoresponder and shopping cart built in saves me time and allows me to deliver download information for my products immediately when purchased. I highly recommend that system to other marketers."

Jim: What other software and services do you use in your business?

Will: Here they are...

* Main computer specs: 600mhz AMD Duron with 128 mb ram
* Web Design: Frontpage 98
* Software for day to day email: Eudora 5.1 (paid version)
* Other software used regularly: - WS_FTP Pro (for uploading web pages and other files to my website) -Notepad and Wordpad for ezine creation and script editing -QuickBooks for accounting
* Internet connection: DSL - 128kb up and 600kb down
* Web hosting: Communitech.net
* Email list management: MailMerge for Emailing, "Home-grown" software for list maintenance
* Autoresponders & Order taking: WebBusinessWizard.com

Jim: Can you share a secret or two to your fast-rising success?

Will: "I could easily write several articles about the techniques that have made my site successful. I started my Internet home business by getting your book, Insider Internet Marketing. It taught me some solid marketing techniques and strategies that I still rely on today after three years of building my business. My continued success can be attributed to your help both with your products as well as the content provided on your sites. Man, no lie, business is doing better than ever. Thanks Jim, Bizweb2000 ROCKS! I oughta know!"

Will Landrum http://www.guitarconsultant.com


OK, enough already, I'm blushing. Now let's move on to the next business.

It's a fairly new business geared to parents and teachers of young kids, Homeboundbooks.com.

Neels Theron, owner and manager of Homeboundbooks.com has created a unique and clever site that allows teachers and parents to download, print, and create real story/coloring books within minutes.

When I caught up with Neels this week he was happy to participate and help my BizWeb eGazette subscribers. Here's our interview...

Jim: Tell us a little about your website, Neels?

Neels: "The aim was to create a fun, educational product which can be downloaded electronically within minutes, but converted to a real, physical little book which kids can read, color in and even take to bed with them!"

Jim: How did you decide on that unique product?

Neels: "I decided early on that I wasn't going to compete in the Internet marketing information arena - I definitely wanted a different product and something I knew about. I used to work in the printing industry, and did a lot of writing and editing over the years. And as I soon learned the dedication and attention to detail required to get your own Web business going (regularly burning the midnight pixels... er, oil) I knew I would need to work with a product I really love."

"Plus, I wanted an e-product! I had no plans to package and ship products all over the world. BUT I also wanted a REAL product, something people can hold in their hands... Somehow it all came together in my little kiddies books. And that lead to little kiddies e-books that transform into real turn- the-pages books."

Jim: Is your business time consuming?

Neels: "While product development does take time, it is time well spent. And I save precious time using autoresponders to work for me while I focus on other things like marketing tasks. I also automate other important tasks thanks to your frequent references to free (or "cheapskate") tools such as Second Copy which I use every night for back-ups while I'm snoozing away!"

Jim: Is there any one piece of advice you received that has been instrumental in your fast success?

Neels: "One thing that always stuck in my mind was your advice to develop your own product, and one for which there is a sufficiently large market. Well, it's still early days on the marketing side, but I'm getting an encouraging response. Also, your overall focus on low cost marketing and systems - the fact that little guys can do their thing without feeling intimidated by the big (buck) companies (many of whom of course have been cut to size in more recent times!)."

Jim: How do you plan to grow your business going forward Neels?

Neels: "I've just completed the 1st product development phase and now have 31 little kiddies books lined up. I've implemented some of the site changes you suggested, and have already started making sales with your new suggested pricing structure and with the new product structure. Now I can spend more time marketing. I also have taken your advice and steadily grown a targeted opt-in list via a free sample download. I get a free download opt-in rate of about 30% of site visitors, which is growing a great list for me to promote to."

Jim: Can you share with us the tools you use in your business?

Neels: Sure! Here they are...

* Main computer specs: A four year old 200mhz Pentium I PC with 84 meg ram
* Web Design Software: Arachnophilia (free)
* Web development platform: Xitami server and PHP active server pages on my PC (both Xitami and PHP are available for free, and work well on a Windows PC even if the site will eventually be hosted on Unix server)
* Other Software -Day to day email: Pegasus (free; fewer virus loopholes; useful filter sorting features; can check headers only and then decide what to retrieve) - TextPad for newsletter editing - Backups: Second Copy (free version; automates backups to my backup PC) - Uploading to website: WS_FTP LE (free) - For all office admin I use StarOffice 5.2 from Sun Microsystems - it can do all the MS Office Suite can - even read all MS file formats, and it's free!
* Internet connection: (slow dial-up, expensive for marketing purposes - we pay per minute online in South Africa)
* Web hosting: Hetzner (Nurenberg, Germany - they have a local branch in SA so I can pay in SA Rands, but my clients benefit from fast European backbone)
* Email list management: GetResponse (not free but efficient)
* Autoresponders: GetResponse; also PHP
* Order Processing: ClickBank
* CGI Scripts: Ultimate LinkTracker (was free at some stage)

Jim: Thanks for sharing all your information Neels. It looks like you have all your ducks in a row! Best of luck going forward.

Neels: "My pleasure. I'm happy to share this information with your readers. And thanks for all your help too. It's a great feeling knowing my website is making money AND helping parents and teachers have quality fun with their kids. Some kids really love their books so much they sleep with them under their pillow!"

Neels Theron
www.Homeboundbooks.com


Now onto our final interview...

This one is with Chuck Tressler, owner of a brand new site at www.thingspatriotic.com.

Jim: When did you decide to start your own home business on the web?

Chuck: "Actually, I had been considering it for some time before making my move. Since 1997, I've been studying materials by various people who have had success marketing and selling on the Internet. I have been receiving your BizWeb eGazette for quite a while now and then last year, I bought your Make-A-Living-Online package. It's much better to learn from someone who has "been there, done that," than attempting to go it alone and reinvent the wheel. In January of 2002, I bit the bullet and brought www.thingspatriotic.com online."

Jim: What is the websites all about, Chuck?

Chuck: With the tragedies in New York City and elsewhere around the country, as well as the ongoing war against terrorism, we decided to take an active role in encouraging patriotism... reminding our fellow US citizens and the citizens of other countries who care about the U.S.A. (and there are many!) that we can never, ever let pride in these United States of America wane again!

Second... we decided to donate a percentage of everything sold at this web site to support organizations that are working to ensure that the children living in this country and world live in freedom. Freedom from oppression, fear, ignorance, hunger, abuse and neglect.

At the site you'll find information, encouragement, a way to talk to others, a newsletter and other resources that deal with being a patriot and keeping the American spirit alive!

The merchandise we sell at the web site is as American as can be. We try to provide our customers with American-made merchandise whenever possible. Our silk-screened and embroidered clothing is silk-screened and embroidered right here in the good old United States of America... in historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in fact!

Jim: How has the site been received so far?

Chuck: Actually, things have been growing faster than I expected. I already brought another site online, www.cannonsonline.com which is doing well too. And I've been asked to joint venture on yet another site (Civil War oriented) and redesign still another... all because of my initial site! And my contest giving away beautiful hand-made cotton USA sweaters has been very popular. http://www.thingspatriotic.com/contest.asp

Jim: Can you share with us some of the tools you use in your business?

Chuck: Sure thing, here's what I use...

* Main computer: Pentium III 1GHz, 512MB Memory, Windows 2000, 56K External Modem
* Web Design Software: Front Page 2000 (the easiest way to start in my opinion)
* Software for day to day email: Microsoft Outlook for everyday mail and Outlook Express to send my email newsletters.
* Other software used regularly: - Midas shopping cart, secure site technology (Swift Systems, Inc., Frederick, Maryland) - Ulead Photo Impact - Adobe Photoshop - Cannon Utilities - Microsoft Word - Nero 5.5 (CD burner) - Memory Stick (to access photos on floppy disk) - Uploading to website: I access my folder directly at my ISP via FrontPage and make the changes and updates to my websites.
* Internet connection: 56K, which is somewhat slowed down by the ancient telephone lines in my area
* Web hosting: Swift Systems, Inc. - www.swiftsystems.com (Frederick, Maryland - excellent)
* Autoresponders, Order Processing, Email list management: All part of the Midas software from Swift, I use for my catalog and shopping cart, etc.

Jim: Thanks for sharing all that information Chuck. You're growing a great product line at your site and patriotism is stronger than ever in the USA! I wish you the best of luck going forward.

Chuck: "Glad to help Jim. None of this would have been possible without your guidance. Anyone who wants to have a website, must think it through, make a plan, build as many of the right things into the site as possible at the very beginning and then just go for it. And your sites and products absolutely explain how to make it all happen!

Best personal regards,
Chuck Tressler Things Patriotic
www.thingspatriotic.com


--- Interviews by Jim Daniels, Internet marketing consultant since 1996. Read Jim's free web-based guide at Make-A-Living-Online.com, it reveals how he makes six figures a year online in his part time, and how you can do the same!

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