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Introduction
The Internet is about people.
Not the cool technology behind it, or the "killer" applications, tantalizing E- or M-commerce opportunities or titillating multi-media experiences downloaded onto your desktop. It's the people behind it all that make the World Wide Web a fascinating entity and a wonderful one to indulge in.
The ibizInterviews archive takes you close to the heart and soul of a thin slice of this 'virtual' humanity. In keeping with its focus, the interviewees are all united by a common thread - an interest, often obsession, with doing business online. But that apart they represent a rich mix of cultural, political, psychological, philosophical and geographic variety.
As I browsed through this year's interviews, smiling at the wit, nodding at the wisdom, jotting down inspiring quotes and trying to capture the wealth of worldly advice replete in them, two things struck me:
- The skilful way ibizInterviews draws out the passion, thoughts and emotions of these entrepreneurs and shares them with the reader.
- The startling frequency with which the same concepts and ideas kept popping up across different interviews!
Apparently some things are universal, timeless and indispensable for succeeding in online business. I've attempted to put together a collection of some of the best quotes and advice here. Hope you enjoy and benefit from it.
Editor's Note: You can read the full original interview each quote is drawn from by clicking on the link after the quote that interests you.
On Customer Service...
Another element is to listen to your clients; they will teach you a lot about what they want. Our philosophy is to provide excellent services and products that our clients want and for which we charge them a fair price. - Jim Ackerman, Sloan Securities
Be professional and courteous in everything that you do, even when things are not going your way. Your customer service is what sets you apart from your competition. There are many others who have the same talent and technical skills as you, but it is the way in which you market and deliver your services which will determine your success or failure. - Stuart Pool, KAN Design and Publishing
Know your customer and listen to what they want. - Dominic Taylor, BioMedNet
Customers want to ask questions and make decisions based on the information that they can get online. It makes sense to provide them with good customer support over the Internet. It's another step forward to closing an account. - Andrew So, Know Ex Solutions
On Innovation...
Net investors need to look and figure out what the next hot "layer" of the Net is. - Matt Ragas
The first law of marketing is the law of leadership: Create a category you can be first in. - Allan Gardyne, AssociatePrograms.com
Being first and being the most popular site in its field always keeps the pressure on. We feel the need to innovate and add new features all the time. - Dominic Taylor, BioMed.net
From the CEO of Macmillan, Richard Charkin: 'If you don't do it someone else will...' He also taught me the real value of PR as a marketing activity to create product awareness. - Daryl Rayner, Xrefer
On Persistence...
Have a vision - and work hard to make it come true. And never - NEVER - give up! - Dr.Mani, Heart Disease Online
The sign of a good Web entrepreneur, from my experience, is someone that is not only passionate and has vision but is tenacious as hell! These are the people who don't give up! They drive through or under brick walls and achieve their goals. Especially in the pessimistic Web environment that we have entered recently, I think this trait is more important than ever before. - Matt Ragas
Even the most successful web sites take at least 18 months to become successful so you have to be realistic about your timelines. The question should be "Where do you see yourself in five years' time" - Derrick Austin, FreeURL
On Learning...
Learn how to code HTML by hand, not by using software. HTML gave me an edge in getting my last two jobs. - Shawn Collins, Club Mom
Kidding aside, we simply took one day at a time and just kept trying to do things better and better. If you just keep learning and plugging away towards a goal eventually you'll get there. - Aaron Zelins, FunnyMail.com
Learning additional skills has simply been a question of scheduling and allocating time to learn set disciplines. It's the only way to do it, no-one can do it for you. - Derrick Austin, FreeURL
Continued...
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