Posted by Jason on March 4th, 2006 — in Interviews
Our next interview in the series is with Scott Jones (aka sji2671). After building websites for other people for a few years and winning an award from Sir Alan 
Sugar he decided to branch out and experiment for himself. Scott have always been driven by building his own success, and has always done this on a limited/zero budget which is part of the buzz for him. His best example of success is Tattoos by Design – it has been the thought process more than any single words of wisdom that has enabled that site’s success which can often get 100,000 unique visitors in one day and recently awarded a Hitwise Top 10.
One of the hardest parts about starting a business is initial capital. How do you get your foot in the door initially?
When I started in early 2000 I became involved in the internet out of a genuine interest and desire to make money, it was at that point I decided to make money from the internet with zero capital. I started teaching myself how to build a webpage and re-brand a template, I then sent out leaflets to local businesses offering design for a monthly fee and picked up 3 new customers in the first week, after that it was all about re-investing the money.
I was featured at least 6 times in The Mirror newspaper with half pages features for free after writing to Sir Alan Sugar who ran a column, there are lots of column inches to fill so if you truly believe you have a good idea then spread the word, if you keep banging on doors some of them will open.
It is cheaper than ever to start a website today, a domain name and some affordable web hosting and then all you need is desire/time/effort. When it comes to the most important aspect of content you may need to think outside the box.
For Tattoos By Design I wanted a gallery of designs, being the subscription area that could offer me financial security of re-occurring billing. – I cannot draw.
Therefore I searched art/tattoo forums looking for talented people who would be willing to draw and add images for free in return for a split of the money from any new members. Just recently we hit 2000 images; most of those images have been added in the last year and its hugely valuable content that cost me nothing.
You also need to look for a good reason for stickiness and people coming back, hence I created the Rate my Tattoo area of the site, this area is the free area and brings back a lot of users, adds a lot of bookmarks and adds user submitted content.
Finally you need to be sure why your site adds to the genre you have entered, what does it do that others don’t, what makes your site better than others. For this I decided to do name, word & phrase translations for tattoos, some sites I had seen offered one language so really I had to better than and took 12 months to find suitable translators to offer Arabic, Hindi, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Chinese & Japanese translations cheaply and delivered by email.
I have used that site as an example of the main points I wanted to address:
1/ Build valuable content – possibly using others – profit share
2/ Free area of user submitted content – stickiness, bookmarks, repeat visitors
3/ Unique service that helps add inbound links, offers e-sales and income
The above way of building that site created a large income/content website with little content/financial investment from me, all the content has been supplied by other people for free, it is the thought process I have applied to my new ventures which will be again be started on a zero/minimal budget.
What is the most common mistake most people make with their first venture?
For choice of startup website genre:
Choosing a topic they have no interest or knowledge about, building websites because of CPC rates and hearsay means you will probably not have the desire and drive 6 months down the line if you ever hit a rocky patch/update, you have to love your website and be prepared for the good/bad.
For rankings:
If we are talking about the new start-ups that we see on the likes of DP then having more back links than pages and gathering large amounts of unrelated links, sometimes a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous. Funnily enough for the mom/pop website start-ups it is the converse with zero inbound links. The trick is to find the middle ground and go after relative links; I’d rather have one genre related link than 100 non-related.
For overall profitability/success:
A lack of understanding of what their visitors want and how to satisfy them properly while making money and retaining repeat visitors, remember that if you get 1000 visitors per day and manage to get 5% of them to bookmark you and visit again in the same month that’s an extra 1.5 days worth of traffic going through your site next month because you gave them a reason to come back, after a few years that type of layout can make you very stable when it comes to relying on SE traffic, of the 100k visits my main Tattoo site can get, around 22k would be from Google/search engines.
Does the risk vs. reward percentage change for early ventures versus those for more seasoned business people?
It is certainly difficult when you have just started, whatever the venture. Established webmasters have various sites that they can use for links/traffic to aid new ventures, I started 2 websites from traffic from one of my main sites and they have both been very good earners thus offering very good reward for zero risk.
With two new ventures this year I am teaming up with a design company so that we will all be inputting time/effort thus keeping risk again to a minimum, you have to have faith in your own ability and those around you to go into partnership though. I have never spent large amount of money on new ventures so everything I have done has been low risk.
Are there certain industries within the internet umbrella that are better suited for new entrepreneurs?
I don’t have vast experience in different industries so couldn’t really comment, I try and focus on a genre and be the best that I possibly can at it, no matter how long it takes. Anything that can be delivered electronically be it images, content, news, reviews are all great internet industries, whatever industry you choose you either need to have a good knowledge of it yourself or be prepared to quickly surround yourself with people who do know the industry.
If you had $100 in your hand now and no sites, resources, etc., what would you do with it?
I would be $100 richer than when I started in 2000, what would I do with it?
I’d search dmoz, taking a specific genre at a time, clicking on every link and look for sites that were no longer used, still had PR and were obviously listed there so had a few decent back links and possibly quite old, I’d then offer $50 for each one I found until I got had a deal and use $30 for hosting and $20 for 6 articles then build a site on the old domain and earn some AdSense to re-invest.
In truth I sent out 20 emails yesterday using the exact method above, I was offering $100 per domain though 
and I recently ended up buying a 1998 domain name for $650 which is listed in dmoz & yahoo and gets around 4000 visitors per month in a niche genre. Some of the most rewarding methods like that are extremely boring but finding neglected domains/sites that obviously have potential is quite exciting.
Is failure of your first venture always a negative?
I haven’t failed in any online venture, I did start a business when I was 18 which failed to go anywhere, I took the positive from it and it’s hard to go back into the breach when you have admitted defeat but I guess that is what separates the wheat from the chaff, the boy/girls from the men/women.
What type of personality traits lend themselves to success?
Hunger – that is the one trait that I quoted when a recent local businessman asked why my site did better than site B. Obviously determination, intelligence and some luck go down very well but if you have the genuine hunger then you can learn what you need to know on the fly and your hunger carries you through failure and obstacles to the other side.
Are there any existing business models that you would point someone trying to get a start to?
I have some offline interests as well and there are always two business models that interest me.
1/ Subscriptions
2/ Consumables
I wouldn’t get involved in any venture unless I thought it could bring me income long after I have stopped doing the hard work, it should be sustainable and long term.
How would you compare starting an internet business to a bricks and mortar?
Well I have done both, with the right skills or a small budget you have the ability to be up and running extremely quickly on the internet for a very low cost and compete with the very largest businesses in your genre which you cannot do with bricks/mortar.
The internet also changes so quickly compared to the offline world, any new lessons and facts are almost instantly absorbed into the internet whereas offline everything generally works a lot slower with fewer surprises!
What would be an average time frame to achieve some level of success?
For me today I would say 6-12 months depending on how you rely on your traffic source. I would also judge success in higher digits than I would have a few years ago so everything is relative, for some every extra dollar a day is new ground and I applaud the dogged determination of so many people I see trying to build new lives.
Is there a cut-off time or circumstances for when someone should cut their losses and scrap a project?
I am a poor loser and if I devoted 6-12 months to a project then I would either sell it for a profit to justify my time or put it on the back burner if it’s not going according to plan. Aged sites/domains have their value and maybe you just need to take a break from a project for a few months and then pick it back-up with renewed vigour, in saying that some ideas are just bad!
How do you suggest someone judges their level of success?
Success for your site would be increasing your visitors, earnings and more importantly bringing back previous visitors to your site. Financially, we all have different ways of judging our success, for some it’s leaving their 9-5, for others it’s earning a few hundred/thousand dollars a month, we all have different goals and standards.
Personally I would say if it pays the bills, makes me happy and gives me plenty of time at home with the family to pursue any other hobbies/interests without worrying about life/money then that will do for me. I am a hungry materialistic sod though so I judge my success in terms of material gain – nobody’s perfect and we are all learning everyday!
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Posted by Jason on March 1st, 2006 — in Interviews
The next interview in our series is with Johann Erickson, better known as lorien1973 on 
the Digital Point forums. Back in 1999, his brother owned a computer repair store in their area. Being a small outfit, they’d only get a few repair jobs a week. Their parents were also involved in selling a secured credit card, so they had a website for that as well. Since repairing computers was going slowly and having a website for secured credit cards was boring as well, Johann decided to give a go at online retailing.
Johann started a little website, through yahoo store (since it was the most available and seemingly the simplest to use at the time) and added up a bunch of products from a drop-shipper he had seen from a television infomercial. He was going to be a beacon of success (note the sarcasm). He didn’t take it seriously for about 2 years. In fact, most of his sales came through yahoo shopping (back when it was free) and from random search engine visitors. Johann didn’t even realize, until 2001, that he needed a domain name so people could find his site. The wayback machine doesn’t show a history of his site until late 2001 because of that.
In fact, before he started in Online Business, he had never even purchased anything online, didn’t know what a keyword was, and thought Google was stupid because its homepage was just a search box. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. Obviously things have changed for Johann and you can see two of his current successes, Online Discount Mart and TV Products for Less.
One of the hardest parts about starting a business is initial capital. How do you get your foot in the door initially?
I was lucky in this respect. When I started, I had a steady (but small) stream of income for our other business, so I had a little bit of money to spend to get things running. My only expense was hosting though. Beyond that, I did not have to stock anything nor did I do any paid advertising. I think I got off the ground with less than a $1000 investment.
What is the most common mistake most people make with their first venture?
I think that people overthink their venture too much. Too much time is spent on picking a host, choosing a domain name, and agonizing over their search engine placement. When you start out, you should develop the product, and let the other things come later on. Build it and they will come does work (sometimes). Even if you get traffic, but have a bad product, people won’t want to come back nor will they buy anything or contribute to your bottom line.
Are there certain industries within the internet umbrella that are better suited for new entrepreneur’s?
I think that new entrepreneurs should focus on smaller niches - rather than the grand ideas that the big boys play in. If I were starting a website and business from scratch, today, I’d find a topic I was interested in and go from there. I see too many new websites trying to make a dent in the real estate, credit, mortgage, debt markets - where the chances of succeeding is very low. And the work involved is much higher. Start small, work up.
Is failure of your first venture always a negative?
Failure is never a negative unless you learn nothing from it. I currently own 2 websites. I’ve had several that have failed (some miserably) and have cost a good deal of money. Sometimes, you do not realize that you are not suited for a given venture until you are in the middle of it and it is too late.
Whenever I think about starting a new site these days, I spend time with it offline. For instance, if I were going to make a website about “shoes” and I wanted to sell this product. I do my usual research (keywords, brands, price points, etc). I then design a site layout for it in excel or something similar. If I cannot design a site in a spreadsheet and spend time on it there, what are the chances I’ll work on it day in and day out for the next year before it sees a little bit of black? Not much.
What type of personality traits lend themselves to success?
I think patience and being able to work without direction are the two most important traits. If you need someone to tell you what you have to do then working for yourself is probably not going to work out. You have to be motivated to do it yourself and parse your time out so you get it done. Procrastinating isn’t a bad thing always, but not getting things done in a defined time frame is never a formula for success.
Patience, as well. If you start up a website today, and expect to see it profitable in 1 or 2 months, you are kidding yourself. Especially these days. You have to be able to look at the long term picture and see the site profitable within 6 months to a year. Work pays off a lot more slowly these days if you are not patient enough to work with little reward until then, you probably won’t succeed.
How would you compare starting an internet business to a bricks and mortar?
I think starting an internet business is easier, at first, than a brick and mortar. Expenses, are, of course going to be lower. Less employees. Less rent.
There is a downside as well. No one is going to randomly happen by your website and buy something. Someone may do that for a brick and mortar store. Some B&M’s don’t even have to advertise, they rely on walk in traffic from a grocery store or the nearby Walmart.
Internet businesses must advertise (in some form) or they will never succeed.
What would be an average time frame to achieve some level of success?
I think, if you are working on your sites consistently and productively, you should start to see positive signs within 3-4 months. At least your number of visitors should increase and hopefully your revenue with it. Starting a new site, I think profitability should be achieved within 6 to 12 months. Once that happens, the sky is the limit.
How do you suggest someone judges their level of success?
I can tell you how you should NOT judge your success. And that is basing it on how well someone else does. If you are happy with your revenue and you can make a living off it, see it growing in the future, then that is successful. Don’t let someone making 10x what you make lower the pride you feel in your work or make you feel like you are less successful.
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Posted by Jason on February 24th, 2006 — in Interviews
The next interview in our series is with Joe Hayes (Better known as mdvaldosta 
on the Digital Point and other forums), an avid phpBB user and supporter. He has developed a few dozen phpBB forums, and currently owns four, one of which can be seen at Offtopicz. He has been using phpBB software since shortly after version 2 was released.
First of all, why phpBB?
phpBB has become very popular, mainly because it’s free and easy to use. Webmasters also have a very large and friendly support forum from which to receive help with installation and modifications, making phpBB an excellent choice for beginners.
What are the advantages over something like vBulletin?
Cost mostly, vBulletin is an extremely high quality software with excellent support and is written for serious webmasters. phpBB seems to be directed more towards those wanting something simple and functional for their friends or as a support forum on a product site. This isn’t to say that phpBB should be counted out for serious forums, only that it takes some modifications and coding to bring it up to par with the likes of vBulletin.
There is often a lot of buzz about security issues, how do you protect yourself?
Protection is simple, stay up to date. As with any open source script, the code is right there for all to see – including potential hackers. The vast majority of forums getting hacked are running old versions with exploits just a Google search away.
What are your favorite modifications for phpBB?
Wow, there are so many. The ability for users to attach photos and files is a big one, so the attachment mod is important. Webmasters wishing to receive search engine traffic should remove session ID’s for guests and consider some other seo mods as well. Customization is important, you can find hundreds of templates available for download directly from the official phpBB website. I also highly recommend the eXtreme Styles Mod, as it really speeds up phpBB forums by caching the templates.
If you could suggest just one modification to be added to the full version and supported, which would it be?
Most definitely the attachment mod as mentioned above. It’s considerably more difficult to install than phpBB itself as it requires file edits. Considering it’s the most widely requested modification, it doesn’t make much sense for phpBB to come without it.
What are the negative points?
The software comes pretty much stripped down. Much of the functionality that admins and webmasters desire has to be installed as mods. Considering phpBB has a lot of novice webmasters, the task of editing files becomes quite daunting. Then, by installing those mods it becomes even harder for those webmasters to keep the software up to date. Since phpBB isn’t updated with plugins, and the default installation has been modified, you can no longer simply replace the existing files with the new versions. This requires yet even more file edits and is one of the reasons so many installations fall out of date.
Just in general, what’s the most important ingredient in growing a forum in the beginning?
Having an active forum from the start is the key getting really big. The forum owner needs to spend a lot of time creating content and conversation to kick things off. Traffic on an existing domain or referrals from another website is a good way to do that. Simply setting up a forum with the attitude ‘If you build it, they will come’ just will not work. Nearly all forums die before they ever come alive.
Is the strategy any different when it comes to maintaining that membership?
I think so. Moderation is key here, as the atmosphere in the forum needs to match the member demographics. By providing a positive atmosphere and preventing member bullying you can ensure your users are happy. This is a fine line to walk though, because over moderation is also a member concern.
How do you deal with spammers, automated ones in particular?
Ah, you ask an excellent question. Right now auotomated spam is of the biggest problems and it’s getting out of control. I’ll share this solution, which I’ve been using successfully for quite some time. The vast majority of spamming software doesn’t actually go through the process of filling out a form and clicking links, by putting another variable in the form (use a random one), you will prevent these. Also, removing the website link from the registration form will prevent those that do get by from getting a memberlist link.
What is your preffered style of moderation?
Light. I don’t care to moderate posts unless it’s spam. I’ve try sticking to the motto that ‘moderation is the key to moderating’. Your members don’t want their posts edited, and affording them that freedom when at all possible is a courtesy and show of respect in a way.
What is the best source of income for a succesful forum?
Well, if your creating a forum for income – your making a poor choice. Forums never make much money, and even throwing annoying ads everywhere you can you still won’t generate much income. Forum members most certainly will develop ‘ad blindness’ because their there everyday. Trying to cover hosting costs on a descent sized forum shouldn’t be a problem, but having the illusion that you’ll make a bunch of money will only leave you open for disappointment.
Back to phpBB, where do you see it going in the future?
phpBB3, aka Olympus, has been in development for some time now. It includes many feature upgrades and integrated mods from phpBB2, like the attachment mod and more. Upon the release of this latest version (it’s still in testing), phpBB won’t be very far from the functionality you get from something like vBulletin.
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