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Community Profile:
12 Questions from Brad Mitchell of Mojohost.com
1. Can you give our
readers a little background about yourself. What did you do before
you got in this business?
Brad: Before I ventured onto the
internet with my first business, I worked for a large health care
company. I spent nearly 8 years in charge of the accounts
receivables which included all insurance and patient billing. I had
the wonderful opportunity to be a part of their growth, from the
company's first deposit until I departed, and the company was a
success in many states. I enjoyed the challenge of managing accounts
receivable, some operations and creating solutions for the company
that increased revenues dramatically. I found this to be a rewarding
experience and believe it gave me many of the tools and disciplines
that I use running my own companies every day. In August of 1999 I
started my online business and was able to "quit my day-job"
completely by March of 2000.
2. How did your previous job/profession help you in what you do
today?
Brad: I think the most valuable lessons I learned at my
previous job had to do with creating and managing exponential
growth. It's a challenge to own and operate your own business and I
think even more challenging to manage through times of tremendous
growth. I find that when business is at it's best, that is often the
most challenging. Increasing sales, staff and infrastructure creates
demands on cash flow and there often aren't obvious solutions. When
you are a new company, heck, even as an established company there
are no magic bullets for obtaining lines of credit from banks, etc.
Additionally, not every problem can be solved by throwing more money
at it. In my previous work experience I was hands-on participating
in the growth of a startup and I believe that being a part of their
success has given me the inspiration to replicate it now in my own
ventures.
3 . What is Mojohost and what do you offer?
Brad: MojoHost is my rendition of a premier hosting
services company. We specialize in providing quality service and
support at everyday low prices. Often times we are not the cheapest
option in the market, but it is my belief that I deliver tremendous
value to hosting companies for whom hosting is a mission critical
service. We offer dedicated and virtual shared hosting packages in
all price ranges on many hardware platforms. When I meet a new
client, it is my goal to match them up with the proper hardware and
bandwidth plan to meet their current budgetary needs in addition to
their desire to grow. We have the ability to host all kinds of
domain names and create hosted environments from the very simple and
straightforward through complicated enterprise solutions.
4. How long has Mojohost been in the hosting business?
Brad: Easy Online Solutions is
my parent company, of which MojoHost is a division. Easy Online
Solutions started offering hosting services on April Fool's Day in
2002. It has amazed me that in such a short period of time that we
have been able to thrive and grow so successfully. I am thankful to
our clients and am looking forward to serving many more in the
future.
5. What types of people or companies need your services?
Brad: Our lowest price points
mean that even the smallest companies, even hobbyists can expand
into the online world with strong support from a company like mine.
I really target companies of all sizes but make little effort to
attract the smallest of virtual hosting customers. We strive to
provide excellent service and it is important to me that my staff
not be inundated with miniscule support requests so that they can
focus on supporting more mission critical clients.
6. How do you feel about companies that offer free web hosting? What's
the upside & downside of free hosting!
Brad: I believe that free hosting
serves a good purpose in the market. For the average person, the
idea that they can have a web page online without having any cost is
pretty neat, I think. My advice for people that wish to use free
hosts is to find one that has been in business for a long time, and
also to become familiar with their rules before posting any content.
Historically, many free hosts have started doing business only to
discover that their financial model was not viable and ultimately
end up disconnecting and "404ing" all of the traffic to some
sponsorship program in a last ditch effort to recoup funds.
7. Does Mojohosts design web sites as well?
Brad: When I was new in the business so many years back,
I was committed to never working for anybody ever again. So, before
I had a decent revenue stream I used to do whatever necessary to pay
the bills and occasionally that included web site design. Currently,
my company has not done web site design for years and we have no
intention of ever offering the service again. I believe that staying
focused on our current proficiencies is the goal to unlocking future
opportunity.
8. What would an individual(s) or a business expect when shopping
for a hosting company?
Brad: I believe that online
companies should make an extraordinary effort when they are shopping
for a new hosting company. Bad service can dramatically affect web
site visitor performance and having downtime can even get sites
de-listed from search engines. I feel the most appropriate way to
shop for hosting is to find other people in your same industry,
perhaps on a forum, and look for recommendations. Narrow your search
down to 4 or 5 companies and then call every one of them. As a
buyer, what you must be careful of is companies that "appear" to be
something they really are not. Unfortunately, not all hosts
advertise honestly and many companies are simply resellers with no
staff or actual hardware under ownership. I believe that sending an
email off asking questions is the best place to start and then
following up by calling them unexpectedly after receiving their
response. Oddly enough, if a consumer sent emails to 10 hosting
companies they would likely only get a response from half within a
few days. To further narrow your selection, calling them will help
you to determine who is responsible and actually answering their
phone. You will learn much from a simple phone inquiry and perhaps
have a good inclination of whether or not you would feel safe
trusting them with your business.
9. What is the most
important thing you have learned over the years in this industry?
Brad: Patience, persistence and
integrity are paramount. I have never made an "easy" dollar in this
business and I believe I never will. My company grows now much due
to the reputation that I have earned over the years for being honest
and hardworking. As a rule of thumb, if something seems to good to
be true it probably is. Take the high road when you're faced with
tough decisions and I believe after enough time good things start
coming full circle. I believe in karma and helping people, even when
I have nothing to benefit. I feel as if the extra effort I have made
over the years is finally paying dividends, I'm a pretty blessed
guy.
10. What is your favorite part about working in this business?
Brad: I enjoy the challenge of
working in a fast paced, ever changing industry. Money is easy to
spend and hard to make in this business and that always keeps me on
my toes. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of innovating and
creating a multitude of products and services online in addition to
several brand names. My biggest challenge is to stay focused! I feel
like I see opportunity all over the place but have learned that I
would rather be the best at one or two things than mediocre at a
dozen.
11. If you were starting all over today, would you do anything
differently? And if so what would that be?
Brad: I've had a tough journey since I first started,
perhaps I'll write more about that someday. I do believe that every
experience I've had, both good and bad, has given me the gifts and
tools that I have today. So, even if I was given the option I can't
say I'd change anything. Hindsight is 20/20 and it's easy to look
back on business decision as being bad or ill-informed but
unproductive to dwell on them. The most productive approach, I
think, is to always be moving forward and keeping yourself in check
that you are continuing to work hard and that you are not to make
the same mistake twice. Making a mistake once is always something
you can recover from, doing it twice can sometimes be enough to put
you out of business.
12. Any new projects in the near future you would like to share with
our readers?
Brad:
My newest enterprise is
http://www.123BILL.COM and I am very excited about it's potential. I
have created what I feel is a revolutionary new billing method for
all merchants which can be used by any adult United States citizen.
I won't go into a detailed explanation here, but basically anybody
that wants to purchase online can do so instantly with my method and
doesn't need a credit card or checking account. We send private,
discreet bills to consumers and give our merchants a guaranteed
payout regardless of collections. I believe it's a win-win for
consumers and merchants and am hoping to be live on thousands of
websites by the end of next year. I truly believe that presenting
consumers with just one more option of how to buy goods online
safely and securely is a significant opportunity. Thank you very
much for the opportunity to share my thoughts with your readers!
______________________________________________________________________________
Brad
Is the owner and operator of
Mojohost
- One of the most popular hosting companies around today
Brad
"Mojohost
- Easy
Online Solutions"
has been working in the industry since
1999
and can be reached by visiting their web site.
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