But then I had a realization this morning that my niche is way too small when surfing the net. For the most part it’s limited to sports and technology. Technology moves so fast that it’s hard to keep up, so there is always something to read up on. Maybe I need to read more actual books though. I have a few that could use a reading, but this post isn’t about books.

I think I am going to start trying to explore new areas of the internet though. How do go about that? I have no clue at all, but there is too big a world outside the tech/sports industry for me to not tap into for information and knowledge. It might even help me break into a niche for my company, who knows. I just know that I need to explore new areas of interest.

Just a thought, but that is all I got. This will probably be my last post of 2007 which brings my total post count for 2007 to a measly 41, compared to 121 posts in 2006. 2008 will be a busier and more exciting than 2007, but I definitely need to bring more action to this blog seeing as though it’s shaping into my life journal at this point.

So, if I don’t write before the end of the new year, have a happy and safe new years, and we’ll back in effect next year.

Peace

Anyways, the article was about a 17 year old girl in Michigan who learned how to design websites when she was like 9. She made her own website (whateverlife.com) where she would offer free MySpace layouts for other girls around her age. She dropped out of high school to do this full time. Yes it sounds dumb at first, until you start picking out the details of her business…

According to Google Analytics, Whateverlife attracts more than 7 million individuals and 60 million page views a month. That’s a larger audience than the circulations of Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and CosmoGirl! magazines combined.

If that doesn’t make sense to you non-web people, just think of it like this…..she gets hella visitors a month. Her site gets more visits than Oprah’s. And, she’s 17. So, if that stat above isn’t amusing, here is what that translates too…

Ashley’s home office is the physical embodiment of her Web site. The business brings in as much as $70,000 a month, but there’s not a whiff of corporate convention.

That’s sickening. This girl and her team (of friends) are bringing in major coin, dropping out of high school, and designing MySpace layouts, each of which don’t even take that long to make. That is just frustrating to think about. And she’s 17.

I will definitely give her credit though, she is one smart girl, who seems to not buckle under pressure. Based on the article, she seems to be completely business-minded and on top of everything and everyone she works with. She even had to chance to profit immensely and not have to work for a very long time…

In March 2006, an associate of MySpace cofounder Brad Greenspan approached Ashley with a bid valued at more than $1.5 million. She passed. Three months later, Greenspan’s people came back with a second offer: $700,000, a car, and her own Internet show with a marketing budget of $2 million.

Sorry, fellas. “I created this from nothing, and I want to see how far I can take it,” Ashley says. “If I wanted to do an Internet show, I could do it on my own. I have the audience.”

To turn down that much money at that young of an age is shocking. Since I have never been in that position, I have no idea what I would do if I were in her shoes. But she is damn smart in knowing that her business (according to the metrics of her site) is probably worth more than that $1.5 mil, especially once she starts going after big brands for advertising.

So, part of me is glad that this smart girl is so successful. I do find it amazing that she’s profiting so much from doing something she loves and providing a free service. That is extremely rare, especially for a 17 year old. I wish her more success.

But the other part of me makes me cringe. Why? Well, who doesn’t want to be successful like that. Reading stories like that makes me work that much harder. It’s motivating, yet humbling at the same time because success stories when starting web businesses (of that stature) are rare.

Ideas these days get you everywhere. You can always find people with the skill set you are looking for, but a small percentage of those people come up with the cash crop idea. And I’d be lying if I said this girl isn’t one of the small percentage of skilled people that had that one good idea to make her and her friends rich. And she’s 17.

Read the article, it’s worth it.

Peace

I had a feeling this would happen this summer too. I considered even backing away from this blog for good, but I just don’t know if I could do that. Too much work and info put into this thing to hang up the hat. I will continue to ride this thing out, but during the summer, if I don’t post much, then oh well.

We just locked down our biggest client yet for Tridea, so life is about to get quite busy again but it will be worth it. This client resides in Arizona. My mom likes to hand out my business cards when she travels so that has been quite beneficial. It’s like a free traveling marketing team. I also find it interesting how we have yet to have one client in Michigan. Don’t know if that says more good about the web, or more bad about Michigan. I won’t go down that road right now.

It does say that running a business on the web can be pretty efficient and low cost. We wouldn’t get too far if we weren’t able to use some of the [free] web-based applications we use.

Damn, the web owns me. I can honestly say that I could not function at top notch without the web. Only thing I need on my actually computer is iTunes and Photoshop. The rest is out there in cyberspace. Ok, I’m rambling, and I need to go to work.

Peace