Starting a dot-com is more than a 9 to 5 job.

by Kristin Synowka
photo by Bridget Commisso

 

Justin Wolford is the entrepreneur behind Marketing Monkey.

Justin Wolford's Web site is no monkey business. Instead, marketingmonkey.com is a Web design and promotion site launched by Wolford, a Kent State graduate student.

He chose the name "Marketing Monkey" because it was unusual.

"It was cool, a memorable name," he says. "Sometimes when I was working away on it, I felt like a monkey. It was enjoyable, but it was busy."

Wolford, who received his bachelor's degree in marketing from Kent State in 1997, is pursuing a master's degree in concentrated information systems.

He launched Marketing Monkey in August 1999 after working with the Cleveland affiliate of 1-JOBS.com, a job search engine site. There he helped develop the company's Web site.

When he set out to start his own site, Wolford wanted to get more exposure for his clients.

"There used to be a large market share, and everyone could have a piece of the pie," he says. "We help our clients get more hits on their sites and get more market exposure– help them compete on the Web."

Wolford has 14 clients from his own company and also works for two other Web design firms.

Funding was hard to find in Ohio because it isn't as evolved as other states in financing entrepreneurs, he says. He used personal savings to launch the company, and his previous experience helped, too.

"My background was great because I had made contacts," Wolford says. "It's not so hard to find Web site design people, but it is hard to find people who can do Web site promotion."

When Wolford began the company, he put in 14-hour days for months. He now works about 65 hours a week and has two part-time employees. He recently joined a cooperative venture, which will give him more time to focus on Web site promotion.

On top of his work load from Marketing Monkey, Wolford is enrolled for six credit hours this semester, which he says leaves little time for anything else.

"It's a constant struggle between work, school work and social life," he says, prioritizing them in that order. When he completes graduate school, he plans to continue with the company and enjoy more leisure time.

Even though some might be cautious about starting a dot-com, Wolford says he didn't worry too much about his site.

"Mine's not risky because the market is already there. I just have to promote my services," he says. "The reason dot-coms fail is because there is nothing to it. Take ebay - three guys with a server in their basement could run it.

"No time in history could a guy in Kent start up a business and get clients in Vermont and Connecticut and all over the world. There would have been a much greater risk. Now you just throw it up and see how it flies."