Cristian: Good morning Mr Deepak and welcome to www.entrepreneurship-interviews.com . I must say this is my first interview in the luxury property chains domain so be patient with me! Just to start by positioning correctly the interview, you were recently named “Entrepreneur of the Year Best in Asia by the HAPA (Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards)” to add to more than 60 awards your business has received in just 6 years. So what exactly is your company doing that others aren’t?

Mr. Deepak Ohri:  Yes, the honor came as a wonderful surprise as this is the second time I have been nominated and awarded Entrepreneur of the Year. lebua Hotels & Resorts has also received numerous accolades (please see attached) over the past 6 years – something all of the team is extremely proud of.

From the outset, lebua Hotels & Resorts has built its reputation on delivering unique and innovative experiences for our customers. As a luxury group, we’re committed to ensuring each and every guest enjoys our personalized, dedicated service every time they visit.  We pride ourselves on knowing our customers’ likes and dislikes and anticipating their needs before they know them themselves. It is this commitment and dedication to service that keeps our guests returning time and time again.

Cristian: Just by looking at the pictures from your restaurants I can only say: breathtaking views! Where exactly are they located?

Mr. Ohri: Our flagship property is Tower Club at lebua located in the heart of the Thai capital, Bangkok. This is also home to our signature restaurants and glamorous bars at The Dome at lebua including Mezzaluna – our signature fine dining restaurant where twin chefs Thomas and Matthias Suhring create new and innovative menus daily, using the freshest ingredients from both local and international destinations.

The Dome at lebua also houses Asian fusion restaurant Breeze and al fresco dining hot spot Sirocco – which is perched on the 63rd floor overlooking the city of Bangkok. A main feature of Sirocco is the Sky Bar, one of the world’s highest outdoor bars – a must visit for any traveler visiting Bangkok. Other establishments include Distil – the perfect spot for those who enjoy vodkas, cognacs and cigars, or our Oyster Bar which serves a selection of delicious oysters sourced from the USA and France.

The group also boasts an exclusive three suite lodge in Rotorua, New Zealand, nestled at the tip of a secluded peninsula and surrounded by unspoiled lush forest. The property has an in-house chef who creates dishes to each guest’s individual liking from the freshest local NZ produce. The dedicated front-of-house team ensures you can do as little, or as much as you like during your stay.  The Lodge can be exclusively booked, or individual suites can also be booked.

2012 will be an exciting year for lebua as we’re soon to open a new hotel with fine dining restaurants in New Delhi, India, as well as properties in southern France and the Caribbean.

The New Delhi property will be the first of a number of properties scheduled to be rolled out in India, each with their own distinct interpretation of lebua luxury.

Our five to ten year plan is to have a lebua property in key tourist hotspots across the globe.

Cristian: What are the main ingredients that make a luxury chain special? Besides the best accommodation and food, what are the feelings and sensations your customers get?

Mr. Ohri: Firstly, we treat each and every customer equally. Secondly, we pride ourselves on our personalized and consistently attentive customer service. Customers who dine or stay at lebua Hotels & Resorts will always feel special. As a business, we’re passionate about remaining true to the luxury and style for which lebua has become renowned.

Cristian: What’s the most interesting culinary experience we could get from one of your famous chefs?

Mr. Ohri: Mezzlauna at The Dome at lebua was recently named Restaurant of the Year (Best in Asia). With acclaimed twin chefs Thomas and Mathias Suhring at the helm – using the freshest ingredients in inventive ways – every guest will enjoy a different dining experience as the menus change daily – an unusual feature in a high-end restaurant.

Mezzaluna in the past was also involved in the Epicurean Masters of the World (2005 and 2007) and in 2007 saw 8 three Michelin Star awarded chefs prepare a meal for THB 1,000,000 (approx US$31,250) per person, which at the time was billed as the world’s most expensive dinner.

One of lebua’s bars is Distil and it is known for offering many items not available in any other outlet in Thailand including 10 cane rum, Belvedere IX vodka, Martin Miller’s gin, Jonnie Walker Blue Label, King George V whisky and, exclusive to lebua Krug Rose (the house champagne at Distil).

Another unique offering of Distil is its Oyster Bar, for which fresh Eagle Rock Pacific Premium Kumamoto and Fines de Claire oysters are flown in twice weekly from the USA and France.

Cristian: Here on www.entrepreneurship-interviews.com most readers are small business owners. Their first impression may be that the heights you’ve reached with your hotels and restaurants are beyond their reach. However, we hear you started way back in 1988?

Mr. Ohri: Absolutely, I’ve definitely worked my way up and have undertaken a range of roles in markets including the US, India and Singapore where I have also sat on a number of advisory boards including the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (Singapore) before launching lebua Hotels & Resorts in 2003.

My career started in Delhi where I received a diploma in hotel management from Chennai and I started working with the India Tourism Development Corporation in 1988. After a number of years working throughout the globe with properties such as Kempinski and Taj Hotels, I was ready for a new challenge and decided to move to Thailand with my wife, where I was responsible for the opening The Dome by lebua restaurants including Sirocco, Mezzaluna, Distil Bar, Breeze and the iconic Sky Bar (all considered Bangkok’s top dining establishments).

From one hotel and a raft of high end restaurants we started to build a brand which prides itself on luxury and sophistication – and this will be carried through all our future developments.

For any small business it is important to know your target market, understand what they are seeking in terms of products and experience and ensure you remain committed to seeing your vision come to life – even if there are hurdles along the way.

Cristian: What motivates you to keep going despite having already achieved success?

Mr. Ohri: I firmly believe in never resting on your laurels and always keeping an eye out for the next venue. I love striving to improve and growing the business and am eagerly anticipating the opening of our first property in New Delhi, India, later last year.

Cristian: How is business different in Asia? Most success entrepreneurial stories come from the USA, so I don’t know that much about Asia.

Mr. Ohri:  Asia’s an exciting market for doing business, and particularly for launching new offerings in the luxury sector.  It’s highly competitive and already known for fabulous hospitality which puts the pressure on to stand out from the crowd, but at lebua we never shy away from a challenge!
The expanding economies of China and India are opening up a myriad of opportunities and delivering a new genre of Asian tourist who expects high quality, fresh experiences an unparalleled service. We’re striving to meet that demand and of course to continue to service travellers from further afield.

Cristian: Back in 2003 you were told “Don’t open a restaurant there, there’s no view” and yet by 2009 Sirocco at the Dome at lebua had been unequivocally hailed the restaurant with the “best view in the world”. Is that an example of your belief in your own ability to succeed, even against all odds?

Mr. Ohri: Listening to your detractors never gets you anywhere. If you know your market inside and out, and you employ the best possible team to support you there’s no reason you can’t pursue a dream. In our case, we had designers and architects who understood our vision for the lebua property in Bangkok and together we worked hard to achieve the dream.  The property is characterized by its thirty meter tall golden rooftop – The Dome, and neoclassical balconies. The golden dome is said to act as a beacon to those visiting Asia’s ‘City of Angles’, summoning them to enjoy the breathtaking, views of the city. And today, Sirocco is an iconic spot for locals and tourists to savour a meal; enjoy a cocktail at Sky Bar; and take in the panoramic views of beautiful Bangkok.

Cristian: If you were to start all over again, would you do anything differently this time? How do you know you’re doing things right?

Mr. Ohri: Of course you learn from your experiences along the way but I wouldn’t actually change any of them because it’s been an amazing experience and we’re delighted with the end result! I guess the biggest message from me is to research your market – and your customers – and to have faith in your vision and then work relentlessly to make it happens. Sure, you’ll encounter hurdles and setbacks along the way, but never let them dampen your enthusiasm. Passion for what you’re doing is paramount.

Cristian: What brings you most satisfaction in the luxury business? What makes you happy?

Mr. Ohri: Seeing my vision for the lebua brand come to fruition brings a smile to my face every time.
lebua is now an internationally acclaimed hotel, known for its innovative business strategies and use of cutting edge research and technology. Rated within the top 1% of companies in the world in terms of Customer Satisfaction by TNS research1 (TRI*M Index), lebua’s business management strategies have been the active point of discussion in several top business schools including Harvard, Kellogg, INSEAD, NYU, Columbia and IIMs. Currently, it is in the first stages of being a full-fledged case study at the Harvard Business School.

We remain committed to understanding our customers and ensuring they feel special, each and every time they visit a lebua property.

Cristian: Any wise words for entrepreneurs just starting out?

Mr. Ohri:  Firm up your goals and business plan early on. Always stick to your core values and ensure you have a dedicated and professional team to support the brand vision every step of the way. Above all, have fun, put your heart and soul into it and enjoy the ride – it will be rough at times but it’s exhilarating!

Cristian: Hi Leslie. You just started a family business. What is it about?

Leslie: We manufacture and sell a designer style cloth diaper which includes organic and sustainable fabrics. Our diapers also have a hidden waterproof barrier, which makes them all in one, no additional cover necessary.

Cristian: What are the main advantages of cloth diapers over the paper ones?

Leslie: The list is long! For one, you never have to worry about running out! It is not fun having to make an impromptu trip in the middle of the night because you didn’t realize you were down to the last disposable. They are also much more stylish and eco friendly.  I think there really is no argument for a disposable vs. cloth once you investigate what chemicals a disposable consists of.  Because it’s not always easy to tell how wet a disposable diaper is, babies who wear disposables may sit in their own urine longer than those who wear cloth diapers, does that really sound appealing?

Cristian: How much can a family save on average using your diapers?

Leslie:  Over a 3 1/2 year time period, you may end up using over 8,700 disposable diapers on one child, totaling $2358 for discounted name brands and $1862 for generic/store brands. If you have a baby who is large for his/her age, you may pay even more. This is not including disposable wipes.

Cristian: I believe some might think cloth diapers are more difficult to use. Are they?

Leslie: Not at all, I believe they can be as hard or as easy as you want them to be. Adding one more load of laundry to your routine is not so difficult when you really think about it and you get the added bonus of natural and organic fibers.

Cristian: Do you target a specific buyer ?

Leslie: We not only focus on those who are already parents of infants but also those who are trying to conceive or considering having children. Our brand works hard to be a client’s first exposure to cloth diapering.

Cristian: Being non-disposable makes them a fashion item also, doesn’t it?

Leslie:  Absolutely. We only manufacture diapers with an attractive high quality designer print, our brand is the only one of its kind currently on the market that offers a wide selection of prints in large quantities, in stock and a waterproof barrier making them comparable to disposables in every aspect.

Cristian: Which are the top selling ones ?

Leslie: Certain prints are more en vogue then others so it just depends on the current trends, right now we see Michael Miller is a favored designer as is Alexander Henry.

Cristian:  What exactly is the manufacturing process?

Leslie: We source our materials from the US and import others, then we cut and prewash the fabric in house, sewing and snapping the diaper from start to finish.

Cristian:  The diapers are hand-made ?!

Leslie: Yes! Our company is entirely family owned and we are real people in the USA sewing these diapers. Our production house is in Dallas, TX and the rest is handled in Phoenix, AZ.

Cristian: How exactly do you manage to be economically viable with hand made products? Everything is now done in China…

Leslie: Handmade is making a resurgence in todays day and age and with the attention towards being more eco friendly and “going green” comes the demand for Made in the USA. We are a one of a kind product in a growing cloth diaper market and with the increased attention on organic and reusable, our brand is quickly making its way to the top.

Cristian: You are working with your family to do this. How difficult is to work with the family? What happens if you disagree on something?

Leslie: It’s not difficult at all when you go in with a clear mind and nothing left up in the air unanswered.  Everyone has a specific job and we all give 110% in our assigned areas. We are constantly in communication and we all trust each other in making the right decisions as far as the tasks we are responsible in completing. Disagreements are handled with discussion and compromise, we also work to keep each other motivated and focused.

Cristian: Who is doing the non-manufacturing things like marketing, legal, shipping?

Leslie: I am! My aunt and uncle operate the production house in Dallas while I handle the face of the company. It has been the most enjoyable position I have held so far.

Cristian: Do you need special marketing or legal skills to run a small business like yours?

Leslie: I think it is necessary to have thick skin and Internet savvy. When selling a product online you have to be prepared for negative reviews and questions or complaints. 100% of people will not like your product 100% of the time; you need to be prepared to be able to solve any issues and work until your customer is satisfied whether they found use for your product or not.

Cristian: Any advice for people willing to start a small home business?

Leslie: Be prepared to never have any time for yourself! A successful business requires times, patience and capital. I think marketing and gaining a clients trust to try and buy your product when you first open is the highest mountain you need to climb. I would say thoroughly researching your market and client is key prior to even producing your product.

Cristian: Hi Andries and welcome. When everybody complains about the great depression you have started yet another business. What is it about?

Andries: SME Discounts is like “Groupon” for B2B Businesses. We promote discount deals on business products and services. On our site you can find as much as 90% off things like PR services, contact databases, email marketing, office supplies, website reviews, social media and much more.

Cristian: How did you come up with the idea?

Andries: I’ve been working with SMEs and starting my own businesses for well over 10 years. Every time I start a new venture I’m amazed by how hard it is to find good quality business partners who are willing to discount their services initially to help out new start-ups and growing businesses. Along came Groupon, which made offering discounts as a way to attract new clients “fashionable” again, and viola. I thought to myself: this can work in the B2B space just as well.

Cristian: How does it work exactly?

Andries: It’s actually very simple: We broadcast (through email, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter) to our fans, followers and users when we have negotiated a great new discount for them. Our audience can then buy the deal (with a 40-90% discount) and share it with their friends, contacts or colleagues. Our members, who sell B2B themselves, can feature their own products and services on the site. Most importantly, it’s free to sign up and feature your products. We just ask for a commission on the sales we generate for our business members.

Cristian: I always say you can take an existing idea and with a small tweak turn it into a completely new business. What is the tweak that makes SME Discount work?

Andries: Most definitely the B2B focus. Because we are experienced entrepreneurs ourselves, we understand the pains and frustrations business owners have and we’re trying to offer a service that solves them. We know SME Discounts is not perfect yet (very few businesses are so early in the game), but we are continuing to mak tweaks and adjustments to deliver something that really helps SMEs at ground level – operating more efficiently, safely and cheaply.

Cristian: By the way do you need technical background to start an online business?

Andries: Yes and no. I think an online business is a function of knowledge (trained technical skills or gained experience), network (on and offline) and money. You either need to have massive amounts of one of the three, or a balance of all three to make it work. Secondly, I just want to highlight that it’s easier than ever before to get started with an online business (via a big choice of “off-the-shelf” kits), but it’s also harder than ever to grow your online business because of the competition.

Cristian: Who can take advantage of your services, who exactly is in your target?

Andries: We focus our marketing initiatives on 25-54 year old business owners, professionals, home based businesses, consultants and startup entrepreneurs. But anyone who’s in business or thinking about going into business could benefit from our deals.

Cristian: Are small businesses heading more towards online purchases during hard times?

Andries: In a developed country such as the UK, yes definitely. SMEs are all really cost conscious, so we found that they “price shop” a lot more. The most effective avenue for this is online.

Cristian: What would be the main advantages proposed by your service opposed to a classic coupon site?

Andries: Our aim is to only feature “exceptional” deals, as I mentioned earlier. We want to distinguish ourselves from the competition by offering:

• Relevance – We only feature products and services that can truly benefit SMEs, we never spam our members and if we don’t have something good to promote to individual members then we don’t bother them.
• Quality – We do quality checks on all our suppliers.
• Value for money – We do not promote deals that are merely a “x% discount” on the suppliers inflated website price. We benchmark it against the industry to ensure that it really is a bargain compared to what’s available.

Cristian: And what type of products or services can businesses buy from the site?

Andries:  Some of the deals we have already featured include professional PR writing at 50% discount, expert website reviews for only £25, web videos for £60, premium business cards for £12, business valuations for £97 and 1,000 business leads for £19. We’ll soon be featuring new deals on telesales services, virtual assistants, telecommunication services and many more.

Cristian: Are there any kind of guarantees regarding the price and the quality of the products?

Andries:  In terms of price, the price you see is the price you pay. In terms of quality, as stated earlier we do quality control on all suppliers, products and services to ensure that our members only receive the best.

Cristian: What kind of companies can join the program and list special offerings?

Andries: Any company selling B2B, i.e. to other businesses.

Cristian: Is the UK market somehow specific when it comes to online sales, or the same principles can be applied anywhere?

Andries: Although much of what businesses need is the same cross-border, we believe each market is unique in culture, preferences and habits. So the trick is finding the right “packaging” in terms of message and feel.

Cristian: How does an online business like yours get exposure? Most entrepreneurs focus primarily on the product and do not realize until it’s too late that marketing and sales are hard.

Andries: I absolutely agree with you. This is the most common mistake. There is unfortunately not one golden technique or fail-safe method of marketing that can guarantee success. We believe in testing everything and maintaining what works. It’s as simple as that.

Cristian: Is there any way an entrepreneur could validate his idea before starting? Most are afraid they will fail so they never start.

Andries: No is the honest answer. You just don’t know until you’ve tried it. However, at SME Discounts we are at least trying to make it cheaper and faster to try, by pre-vetting suppliers for you AND doing the hard negotiations to discount those products and services. Most experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the secret is not to fear failure and to ensure that if you fail, you fail as cheaply as possible.

Cristian: What would be your best advice for people willing to start an online business nowadays?

Andries: It’s a bit of a cliché, but just start! Start by setting up a WordPress blog, get on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. Subscribe to many sites in the industry that you want to move in. Take 6 months and completely immerse yourself in 1) the technologies available and being used in your industry, and 2) the conversations taking place in your market. Once you’ve done that, decide what you want to do and create a plan to learn, buy or network the skills required to start your venture.

Cristian: Any plans for the future?

Andries: We have many plans, as I’m sure ALL entrepreneurs will tell you, but we’ve learned the hard way that it’s important to focus on one thing at a time. So currently the plan is simple: Grow SME Discounts to be a market force that really makes a positive and tangible impact on all SMEs in our target markets.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself, your role in the company and what World First does.

A:  My name is David Smith, I am the dealing manager at World First Australia in our Sydney office. World First is a foreign exchange provider who handles overseas payments for its client base. We look after the full range of clients from private clients acting on their own behalf, through to SME’s and household name corporate clients.

Q: What exactly is the foreign exchange market?

A:  The foreign exchange market is the market for selling one currency in exchange for another. This can be for several different reasons, it can be as simple as people looking for money to go on holidays overseas, it can be for the purchase of goods or property from overseas, or it can be speculating on the potential value of a currency for profit.

Q: What are the main trends happening right now?

A: In Australia we are affected by most major trends in the world market. The Greece issue with debt has had an effect because it makes the shared Euro currency look less valuable. The continuing debt issues in the USA have had an effect because if the USA defaults on its debt this will have a severe effect on the risk appetite in the marketplace. Also, of course in the Australian market we rely heavily on any changes in the demand for resources from China. If China starts to experience a downturn (property values are already looking shaky) then Australia will suffer because less demand for commodities means less jobs and less jobs means less money being pumped back into our domestic economy.

Q: At what point in the business life taking an expert approach of exchange rates becomes important?

A:  It is important right from the start. Start ups are usually on tight margins to gain a foothold in the market place, so any savings in currency rates can be profit that new businesses sorely need. It also helps to learn as early as possible for forecasting. If a business is doing their forecasting and budgeting at an unrealistic exchange rate it may have a carry on effect in their profitability and cash flows, and may restrict how quickly a company can grow.

Q: What are the most important things to know when dealing with sales abroad and currency issues?

A:  The most important issue to resolve quickly is which currency you want to receive for the product/service you are providing, and how do you ensure that you will get the conversion you want.
If you want to invoice your clients in their countries currency to make it easier for them, how easy is it to convert these funds back into AUD. And if you are converting funds into AUD, how are you going to cover this exposure? If the rate on the day that you convert is worse than what you anticipated, have you lost profit? If you are at worse than anticipated can you wait for the currency to get to an exchange rate that you are comfortable?
The easiest way to avoid currency loss is too know your options in regards to conversion. If you have a set rate in mind can you lock this rate in now and take out any danger of the rate not being where you want it when you receive funds. There are several products available for companies to monitor the market, lock in exchange rates for dates in the future, or take advantage of any positive movement in the market so you can cover your exposure but still take advantage of any such movement.

Q: What exactly does World First do in this ecosystem?

A:  World First provides a service where clients can purchase or sell currencies , hedge exposure and take advantage of positive movement in the market, at exchange rates much better than they will receive using a traditional service provider such as their bank. World First provides a full international payments process for companies and individuals, essentially allowing them to send money overseas or receive money from overseas.

Q: What are the main benefits of using your services?

A:  The main benefits are price and service. Price speaks for itself, we buy from the same markets as the bank but because of our low cost business model we are able to take much smaller margins than the banks, with the savings being passed onto our customers.
Service is the main benefit for ongoing customer relationships. By having a dedicated broker our clients are better informed of their options, have someone they can call to offer an opinion, and have someone who can be their eyes and their ears in the marketplace so our customers can concentrate on what they do best – their businesses.

Q: Any notable transactions or customers you would like to mention?

A: Several but confidentiality stops me from providing too many details. The most satisfying customers are usually those who have been referred from an existing client who have never given a broker a chance, but once they try us they never leave. It’s always a great feeling when someone is so happy with what we have done for them that they are willing to tell colleagues, friends, suppliers and probably a few competitors how helpful we have been to their business.

Q: What’s the typical type of client that requires your services? Are there any size requirements?

A: We have a private client desk that deals with clients doing private transactions, and we have a corporate desk that runs the full gamut from SME’s and start ups, right up to household names. 90% of our client base are importers, but with the rampant AUD more and more exporters are looking at ways to minimize their losses from the markets. Our smaller clients tend to use our online service to handle their day to day invoices, while the bigger names take advantage of our expertise in alternative hedging strategies.

Q: What are the typical things that can be improved with your expertise?

A: Knowledge and pricing. Knowing the products in the market can be of huge importance to our clients. They can then make an informed choice about what product suits their individual needs, which has a carry on effect to a number of different facets of their business, like cash flow, profitability, speed of transfer/ delivery and terms of credit.
Pricing is improved and this allows the client to pass on any benefits directly to their clients, or increase their profitability.

Q: How did the crisis affect the exchange market?

A: The GFC had a huge impact on the market. The value of the AUD against the USD dropped 36 cents in the space of 4 months, causing a massive drop in most company’s profitability and ability to be able to trade in a restricted market. This was compounded by the lack of credit in the market with some competitors having to ask for 30% deposits on any hedging product just to lock in a rate.
The worst of this has now passed and companies are back to be able to handle hedging transactions without any roadblocks, but it has highlighted the importance of covering your worst case scenario.

Q: Can you also make transactions for a profit? How is it different from say the stock exchange?

A: You can make transactions for profit, however this is not the service that World first specialises in. The majority of the foreign exchange speculative market is done on margin, which means you can have greater gains than what you originally put in, but on the other hand you can experience greater losses than you originally wanted to lose.

Q:  Any advice for business thinking to export?

A:  Work out which currency you want to invoice your customers in. If it is the clients host currency make sure you can get it back to AUD without restriction (a number of currencies have restrictions on whether they can be exchanged from the country they are based in) and if you want to invoice in AUD make sure that the client can get an exchange to AUD and whether it affects how competitive you are in that market.

Q: Where can people find out more about the current market exchange news?

A: We have a daily update email which is written by our currency strategist Will Johnson, as well as a weekly update and two podcasts from Robert Malcolm on our website WorldFirst.com.au. Our London office also has a daily podcast from Jeremy Cook and Joe McKenna on the World First UK Blog.

Cristian: Hi Mikey, and welcome! We first got in contact when you pitched me the interview with Sprayground founder and street artist DBD. I always wanted to know who are the people that do marketing through bloggers! So tell us a few words about you.

Mikey: Hi, Cristian! First, thanks for agreeing to do the interview with DBD. We appreciate it. Secondly, thanks for inviting me to participate as well. As the principal of my own copywriting and creative consulting firm, the extra PR is always welcome. About me – I’m 30 years old, and I’ve been writing professionally for the past nine years. Two years ago, I decided to start my own business after many years working at agencies.

Cristian: How did you start Paper Rox Scissors?

Mikey: I got bored with the 9-to-5 routine and the internal politics of an office. I never felt I had a future with any of the companies for which I worked. I wanted to be on my own and have the ability to pick and choose my projects. One day, I decided to give up a full-time salary with benefits to take a stab at doing this alone. Two years later, here I am.

Cristian: What would you say is the main activity of Paper Rox Scissors?

Mikey: From day one, it’s always been copywriting – whether it’s e-mails, websites, advertisements, corporate collateral – you name it – PRS is primarily a copy house. Lately, however, PRS has had a focus on publicity – that is, getting some of our clients the press they seek to promote their respective brands. Still, there are major copywriting components to publicity. Somebody has to write the press releases and pitch e-mails.

Cristian: Can you name a few clients?

Mikey: Our client roster includes DKNY, Wildlife Habitat Council, North Williamsburg Chiropractic, William Green & Associates, Julia Quinn Productions, Juxster, Club Getaway, Sprayground, and Findmytap, among many others.

Cristian: A lot of people and companies think they can do their own “online marketing.” When is this true and when it is not?

Mikey: I think they can, but they have to know who to approach and how to approach them. It’s not as easy as sending an e-mail and getting free press. If that were the case, advertising wouldn’t exist. There’s a lot of trial and error involved in this profession, especially when you’re first starting out. Patience is also a virtue.

Cristian: They think what you do is easy. I bet you will say it is not.

Mikey: I’d say yes and no. Personally, what I do is easy for me, because it’s my passion. But it’s very time consuming.

Cristian: So what would be the advantages of using a specialized agency like yours?

Mikey: We identify the needs of the individual client. Each one gets a personalized plan on how to best market the business – whether it’s corporate collateral, a new website, or public relations.

Cristian: If you were to do an elevator pitch, what would you say about your company?

Mikey: I would say that I have a home office and no overhead, so my fees are accurate and reasonable – another reason why I left the big agency jobs; the workers bees don’t get paid accordingly.

Cristian: What’s the typical company that is working with you?

Mikey: Primarily I’m working with small businesses who are just like me – trying to follow their passion, but need a little help here and there. I love working with this type of client because they’re much more open to the ideas that we bring to the table.

Cristian: What is your typical reach when spreading the word for your customers?

Mikey: It depends on the client. I’ve written copy that’s been read by millions and I’ve written copy that’s been read by two people. It’s what makes the most sense for the client. Targeting the audience it needs and getting the message to them.

Cristian: What are the main challenges when communicating to the World?

Mikey: Getting people to listen – not just client, but the editor of the magazine and/or blog, too. We’re all inundated with so many messages, so it’s very important that the ones I write stand out.

Cristian: You probably have to deal with negative publicity from time to time. What’s the best approach when you have bad publicity online?

Mikey: Bad publicity is relative. If it’s a moral issue, I would likely end my relationship with that client. Anything else, that’s just the way this business goes. No press is bad press, remember – a double entendre that I live by.

Cristian: By the way, when is the best to do online marketing and when offline?

Mikey: Again, it depends on where that client’s audience is. Our job is to identify that.

Cristian: How important are blogs in the online marketing process?

Mikey: Extremely important. I never underestimate the power of viral marketing. Even blogs that some would consider small potatoes have very dedicated and loyal readerships. I’d rather reach out to 100 reactive readers than 10,000 nonreactive ones.

Cristian: What are the main benefits of using bloggers to spread the word about a business?

Mikey: That it’s immediate, forever (until the blog shutters, at least) and searchable. For a retail business, a potential customer can take immediate action to buy that product by clicking on a link that takes him or her to it. I think it’s much more difficult to determine a measureable return on investment with print, these days.

Cristian: Any advice for companies doing their own online marketing?

Mikey: [Laughs] Yes! Hire me.