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Web Newbie Turns Her Gifts
Into an Online Business
By Marika Stone
| IN
THIS STORY |
Beth Allen
Founder, CreateMyGift
Hackensack, N.J. |
As a young mother, when
Beth Allen needed a special gift for a new baby, a friend's birthday, anniversary
or other occasion, she sketched a personalized line drawing that included details
of her subject's activities and interests. Little did she know then that as she
approached retirement age, she'd turn this talent into an e-commerce business.
Her career had been in advertising,
and she'd founded an agency, Allen Advertising Inc., in 1982 with a partner. Specializing
in sales-support materials, including brochures, direct mail, video and other
promotions, the agency built a clientele of Fortune 500 companies and annual billings
of ore than $1.5 million. But following a difficult divorce, Ms. Allen struggled
with the agency. In 1998, she decided to close up shop. However, the entrepreneur
in her was far from ready for "retirement in some warm resort," says
Ms. Allen, who is 59.
Her new husband had been
urging her to "do something" with her drawings. With his encouragement,
in September 1999 she hit on an idea for a new business: marketing her drawings
online as made-to-order gifts.
Never mind that she was
an admitted computer novice, who scarcely ventured beyond the occasional use of
a word processor. "I didn't have a clue about what going online meant,"
she says.
Her focus wasn't just mastering
the Internet, Ms. Allen says. She was determined to develop a new business that
she could manage on her own, at home. She wanted it to be "one that would
bring me pleasure and, of course, eventually become profitable," she says.
She knew she'd have to learn
complex computer graphic-art skills to draw, manipulate and construct the many
different images she'd need to create her made-to-order gifts. Using a tutorial/lesson-based
manual and CD-ROM, she taught herself Adobe Photoshop.
"This wasn't easy,
since I needed an interpreter to put computer-manual talk into language I could
understand," she says.
When she was comfortable
with the software, Ms. Allen started designing a Web site that would allow customers
to create their own gift pictures, selecting from a variety of ready-made elements.
After brainstorming with
her husband, who is a systems analyst "but not a techie," it became
clear that the most cost-effective approach would be to build a database of all
the image combinations, 800 in all.
"No matter what your
age or artistic abilities, you can easily develop a personalized, customized picture
online," she says. Customers can view the results on-screen before placing
their orders.
In late 1999, she'd produced
a layout for the site, a draft of the text and a plan for how the site would function.
Then she went shopping for a Web-site developer and considered only companies
in her geographic area so that she could visit the office and meet the staff.
"I didn't want a 'virtual' Web developer," she says. She also wanted
a developer who would be responsible for the hosting so that if problems arose,
the developer and host wouldn't blame each other.
Interviewing prospective
developers and getting estimates was another lengthy process, but she was learning
the ropes. "Each contact added to my knowledge of the requirements and processes
for developing the Web site," she says. Eventually, she settled on Blaze
inter.Net in Upper Saddle River, N.J., not far from where she lives and works
in Hackensack.
Despite a few glitches and
missed deadlines, she launched her site, www.createmygift.com in January. On the
same day, she and her husband became grandparents for the first time.
By April, between 60 and
70 visitors were visiting the site each week, resulting in inquiries and some
orders. It also received a Golden Web award from the International Association
of Web Masters and Designers in recognition of its design, originality, content
and excellence.
-- Ms.
Stone is co-founder of 2young2retire.com,
a Web site for retirement alternatives and grown-up liberation, based in Weehawken,
N.J.
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