Hello From San Francisco! - Small Business Ideas Forum

Hello everyone, great to meet you!

I can't tell you how excited I am to find this forum and join the community.

My story:
I graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2007 with a BS in computer science.

After graduating, I took a job as a sales rep in silicon valley. I had a territory in the East Bay and did outside sales for 3 years representing companies like Texas Instruments, Lattice Semi, Vicor Power, and several others. My responsibilities were all-encompassing from prospecting to closing the deal to post-sales support. It was also a 100% commission job, which was alright with me because I was confident in my ability.

Needless to say, after 3 years of starting my sales business in the worst economic down-turn in my lifetime, it was a grind and I was ready for something new!

So I resigned.

I interviewed at tons of companies for sales and engineering jobs, but nothing seemed to fit.

Finally I said "hey, I'm smart! I want to make money online! Other people are making tons of money online...why not me!?"

So I read every book I could get my hands on:
-internet marketing
-writing for an online audience
-web design
-online entrepreneurship books

I then spent the next 6 months working on 2 content websites. One on gift advice, the other BBQ smokers (a passion of mine!).

And I didn't make a dime.

Dead broke, I took a job as a software consultant in the work management / project management field. I interviewed executives and managers and helped them implement online systems that allowed for real-time collaboration, live tracking, resource optimization, automatic notifications, etc.

After a year of this, I resigned to start another business. This time, I was selling inexpensive reusable gifts online called Love Jars.

Well, the artist that I partnered with bailed on me and left me to do the whole thing on my own. A year's passed since then and I haven't made a ton (but I did get a lot better at glass etching!)

So i dove back in to researching online marketing to make the final push for the holiday season for my jars and I was blown away. I couldn't believe the opportunity out there - particularly in helping local businesses. Most of the time, these business owners know they need to use the internet for marketing, they just don't know where to start (and don't have the time!).

After I read about how to help local businesses be successful with the Internet, I went out that day and dropped in on my favorite business owners. They were welcoming and eager to chat - how cool!

That day I made a resolution - I will become the world's foremost expert on helping local businesses succeed using online marketing (hooray!)

So that's what I'm doing! And I'm starting with a book. It's just for local / small business owners and I'm almost done! I can't wait to start passing it out around town!

So be on the lookout for some marketing ideas from me. I love to share what I know (no secrets here!) and I love to help people.

If you'd like some free advice on how to leverage the power of the internet, please contact me. I'm low key and quite friendly!

Best Regards,
Scott

Source: http://www.smallbusinessbrief.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54452

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