Courtesy of minaka
Squidoo.com is Social community website where users create pages on any topic they find interesting. Combining ease of use along with an active community where people can read, share, and explore information in many different forms was one entrepreneurs key to success. Squidoo not only brings in huge traffic amounts each month, but also some solid profit along with it. For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Seth Godin in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn.
Summary:
Name: Seth Godin
Age: 49
Location: New York
Claim to fame: Squidoo.com (Social community website where users create pages on any topic they find interesting.)
Initial cost: <$1000
How He Did It:
Seth Godin grew up in the New York area and later graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Philosophy from Tufts University. He then obtained his MBS from Stanford Business School at about 24 years old. Godin would work the next three years of his life as a Brand Manager for a small software firm. Godin then went onto work for himself as a book packager, which is where a publishing company outsources the research and writing of a book to what is called a book packager only to be bought back in the end by the publishing company to sell to the masses. Godin sold this off a few years later to his employees to pursue a few side projects. Godin began writing books on marketing and the information age in the mid 1990s and has since published over 10 books with his most recent in January, 2010. Godin would launch Squidoo in 2006 wher eusers could come create pages on any topic they find interesting with ease and share them with the world. The site has seen huge growth in traffic and profits over the past few years. The site is currently in the top 500 of most visited sites in the world!
Lessons Learned:
- There is no one path for anyone looking to be an entrepreneur (Seth played the role of manager, book packager, developer, author, and entrepreneur through his life.)
- Take every job/opportunity to learn more and develop yourself further in preparation for whats to come.
- Remember to be open to new ideas, people, and walks of life (Godin had many different jobs that allowed him to find his success. He wasn’t any one role forever.)
- Decide what’s important to you and then go for it. You are the only one that can take action and make it happen. Stop waiting!
- Try and try again as they say! You probably won’t be successful first time around, but hats off to you if you are. The important thing is to keep trying and to learn from your mistakes.
Did you miss last weeks spotlight? Check it out here: The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Trip Adler of Scribd.com.
Be on the lookout for our next entrepreneur spotlight article in this ongoing series. In the meantime, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think about the success of this week’s entrepreneur. Also, please let me know if you have an entrepreneur you would like to see featured here in the weeks to come.
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