Adam Toren here, and it’s time for the results of our entrepreneur poll! We have been asking  “If you could give someone ONE amazing internet marketing tip, what would it be?”

You can check out some of the answers on our live competition feed below, many of you have been tweeting your entries over the course of the last few weeks and we have had some really excellent ones.

So, thanks so much to everyone who gave us their tips, it was great reading through them.  We have put together our choice of the tops answers.

Whatever the internet marketing method is, just do it and repeat doing it…. it will get the result you want.

Start with one thing (optimizing your own site)…perfect it. Then move to the next thing whether it’s writing articles or making videos…perfect it. Then move on to the next thing… As an internet marketer you can get very overwhelmed with everything there is to do. Outsource as much as you can afford.

Stop jumping around like a kid in a candy store. Pick something, perfect it, put it on autopilot, find something else to repeat the process on.

I say use all of the resources that you can. Optimize your site, use All-in-One SEO if you use Wordpress, combine using Su.Pr and Twitter, along with Digg, Stumbleupon, Alexia, and others. Throw everything AND the kitchen sink at it. Give it 2-3 months, and see which method is getting you the best traffic. Tone it down with the others and focus on the one.

Use eBay. eBay handles more searches per day than Google (yes its true!). The majority of people searching on eBay are buyers looking for a product.
So sell your product there or better still, sell a feeder product on eBay and feed the buyer into your sales funnel.

Strike a balance. If you’re looking for low turnover but strong customers, referral market. Create strategic relationships and refer clients to others.If you are looking for high turn-over, don’t spend all day trying to find out the favorite color of everyone of your connections. Let them know what you offer… then move on.

Use article marketing to build trust, credibility, traffic, and links.

Great tip about eBay there! For those who haven’t been following this poll yet, we mentioned that our Top Tip is Social Bookmarking! Bookmark your blog posts, you web pages, you news announcements and more using this list of our top 100 faves! and don’t forget to add this to your bookmarks too! Bookmarking is great for creating awareness of your website and for back links. If you would like to keep your tips coming in, this poll will stay open for another week, so keep them coming, enter at http://contests.youngentrepreneur.com/

I will catch up with you next week for a new poll!

In our world of online marketing it seems as if we are always being bombarded by “gurus” who have the answer to all our problems. They say that they are on the cutting edge of every particular issue and come up with the latest neat trick to cure all our pains and provide us with a step-by-step guide to riches. This information is worth several hundred dollars, but because they are really nice people they will sell it to us for only $27! But be careful, as they only have 100 copies to sell, for “exclusivity”.
One of the great things about the Internet, of course, is that it is an amazing source of information. Everything, and I mean everything, that these gurus are touting can be found online and blogs are a primary source of this free information.

Here are some of those essential, informative blogs:

1.Seth’s Blog. Seth Godin is one of the most respected online marketing bloggers, with some avid followers.

2.Buzz Machine. Web 2.0, media news and social marketing explored by guru Jeff Jarvis.

3.Top Rank Blog. This blog explores the interaction of social media optimization and marketing.

4.Shoe String Branding. An essential element for the aspiring entrepreneur. Discuss and read about branding your business.

5.Techno//Marketer. See Matt Dickman discuss how technology and emerging media affects a conventional marketer.

6.Daily Blog Tips. Regular and effective tips to help you improve your blog.

7.Read Write Web. This popular blog promotes interaction in the world of web technology.

8.Search Engine Land. This is one of the premier blogs in the world of search engine marketing.

9.Mashable. Cutting edge social networking.

10.Andy Beard. Never afraid of controversy, this blog pushes the envelope in all matters related to affiliate marketing and social media.

11.Business Pundit. This was one of the original business blogs and still contains thought-provoking tickets provided by an established player.

12.Marketing Sherpa. This research firm is a specialist in the all-encompassing world of marketing. Follow their findings.

13.Beyond Madison Ave. Bringing together popular culture, marketing and the Internet.

14.Matt Cutts. We should really listen to him, one of the kingpins of Google.

15.Marketing Nirvana. Social networking focus.

There truly are thousands of top of the line, informative blogs out there. You probably have your own list. Let us know which of your favorite weblogs you think we should add?

Matthew Toren

For this week’s interview we are fortunate enough to hear from Raj Lahoti.

Raj is the Chief Guru, Chairman and Co-Founder of *OnlineGURU*, a San Diego based internet marketing and Web publishing company that develops world-class online sites and Web portals.

Adam: You are managing to have a successful business career as well as indulge your passion for traveling, what technology is a must for this?

Raj: Without dependable and easy-to-adopt technology, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. Some of what I use includes:

• Laptop + Wireless Broadband — I don’t use a desktop anymore, and neither does my company. The portability makes things so much easier. You can be in the office working on something, and then if you need a change of scene or need to have some alone time to knock something out, you can be at starbucks, the deli, or a park, and still stay connected. Because you are on the same device, your work space and work flow isn’t interrupted when switching your location, thanks to hibernation/standby modes.

• iPhone — All of our employees stay connected with company iPhones, especially on days when they work remotely or outside of workweek hours. For mail, calendar and contacts our iPhones are imperative.

• Jott — This web site/iPhone app is amazing. When I’m on the go, if an idea pops up, and I want to capture the full essence if this, I can just open up the Jott iPhone app or call the toll-free # and speak my idea, task, or reminder and Jott will convert this to text, e-mail it to me, and will also attach the voice clip so I can listen to my enthusiasm/voice when I Jott’ed this note. Although their voice-to-text conversion, is not PERFECT, it is more than 90% accurate, and has never done me wrong, because the voice-clip always captures the note regardless of how the text is converted. A must-have for anyone “on the go” and very in-expensive!

• Video Conferencing via Skype — Each employee has ultimate mobility with a video camera and Skype (along with a laptop) for video conferencing. At the office, our conference rooms have Skype+Cam+LCD-Monitor combos integrated so I can attend any meeting from anywhere in the world.

• Google Docs — This allows us to have amazing amounts of collaboration with each other. Plus it ensures that our ideas are fleshed out, that we have the right people working together and that we don’t have to worry about the “who has the latest copy” nonsense. Google Docs versioning of changes is sweet because we can easily have lots of people working on the same stuff.

• G-Mail — We just switched over, and for corporate mail it has been great. Plus the interface is nice and sleek.

• Chat via Skype — Conversations stay well documented so you can refer back to them, and the interface is clean and easy-to-use. Being able to talk to anyone anytime, whether they are in-house and working remotely, is key.

• Calendar/Contacts/Tasks – These seem pretty basic, but they totally do the trick.

Adam: Were you brought up in a environment that encouraged entrepreneurialism?

Raj: Absolutely. My parents ran several family businesses, mostly catering to the Indian community within Los Angeles. We had a grocery store and a movie theater all while my dad was working as a full-time aerospace engineer.

Both of my older brothers are involved in their own businesses. For the most part they are Internet focused, and are still very large domain name holders. They started off buying, selling and speculating on domains. And now they spend a lot of their time building them out. My oldest brother, Dave, runs UDRPSearch. It’s very cool for keeping up on domain name disputes. My other Brother, Ravi, is a co-founder at OnlineGURU. In addition to serving as a Director on our Board, he continues to acquire new domains and build out new sites.

My sister has to be one of my biggest influences, when it comes to Sales/Marketing/Operations. I worked for her on and off for nearly two years starting at the age of 14. I was her salesperson, handyman, marketing manager, technician, you name it. I even fixed and sold watches for her at various trade shows, home shows and open-air marketplaces. It’s so funny how sales works. Whether you are selling a $10 watch to a stay-at-home mom or a $10,000 campaign to a media manager at an insurance company, you use all the same skills. That was incredible training for me. Although she entered the Internet Space years after my brothers and I joined, she actually runs a pretty large and successful site called DivaVillage – striving to empower and “Awaken the Diva” in millions of women from around the world.

Adam: Your family are an important part of your business, this brings positives and negatives to the table, do you have any advice for family members working together?

Raj: I’m not going to say, “don’t do it.” But I will say working with family isn’t ideal for everyone. The best way to pull it off is to:

• Bring fresh blood to the table. Meaning, add independent parties to the mix. That way family members are more likely to act on their best behavior, and the level of respect, responsibility and accountability improves. Ever since we hired our COO, Karen Baumbach, the perspective she offers has has brought the organization and our Board to an entirely new level.

• Make sure you already have a good relationship with these family members. You want the type of relationship that allows for deep conversations and even counseling and mediation. If you are working with family, it’s likely you’ll encounter some very interesting and challenging moments.

• Remember the bigger picture. The cool thing about family is that we have already spent many years supporting and honoring one another. In business, that dynamic is no different.

Adam: You have had a very formal education, this can be very restrictive, is it something that came naturally or did you have to work hard at it?

Raj: I wouldn’t say formal. I tried going that route, but when the business picked up I didn’t hesitate to drop out of USC mid-stream. I don’t even have my degree.

I actually obtained a lot of my “education” attending a number of trade shows and conferences such as Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster World, and AdTech. I have learned the most by getting myself out there and meeting people working in the same space, exchanging ideas and trying to make sense of it all with one another. As a member of YPO and EO, I’ve also attended various specialty educational events and certification programs which have helped me along the way.

Adam: What was your first business and what lessons did you take away from it?

Raj: My first business involved selling baseball cards to kids and merchants at card shows. Lesson learned: If everyone wants to buy your cards at your current price, you probably are selling yourself short, and you need to raise it.

Next I worked as a MLM distributor for Amway (now Quixtar). Amway, and many other MLM businesses alike, are the original affiliate marketing model. I learned so much about being in the middle of a transaction, having other people do your marketing, and then empowering them and taking a piece of the action. Rather than just being the affiliate, I wanted to be the master affiliate and have others promoting my products, or at least promoting products that I represented.

However, the main lesson I learned was that everyone is able to take action and make things happen. But not every business is ideal for everyone. Whatever you are trying to do, you need to find people who are just as passionate as you are because passion and persistence are the keys to success. We all hit obstacles and roadblocks along the way, we all get knocked down every now and then. But passion and love for what you do keeps us getting right back up to do it all over again.

My first Internet business was Nebulant Corp, now Affiliate Media Inc. It still operates as a successful company and I serve as a Director on the Board. For the first few years, we started and operated as a two-man show — myself, and my partner Warren Jolly. We were able to get a ton done with such a small workforce, but still got in our own way on many small things. Lessons learned: Do it yourself when it needs to be done right. Outsource and delegate all day long when you want to really make things happen. I found that being a perfectionist only takes you so far, and that you’ll become your own bottleneck if you don’t learn to let go.

Adam: How would you describe your management style and the office culture at your offices?

Raj: How I describe my management style vastly differs from how my team might describe it. I’d say very fair, always logical; my team members might laughingly say chaotic. But what keeps us together (and moving toward a shared goal) is our culture. That’s the truth.

Our office culture is awesome. Each Guru is super friendly, shares the company’s core values, and always strives to kick ass and make things happen. In fact, we once listed Kick Ass as one of our core values until we decided it sounded a little unprofessional. Now we just consider it the “unofficial value.”

We have an open-minded culture where team members insist on sharing ideas, encouraging one another and collaborating. Even when we get into heated debates my employees know I value their opinion and want to leverage their experience. I much prefer to figure things out together rather than force my opinions down anyone’s throat.

As an organization, we really focus on user experience. It’s quite obvious my team isn’t interested in launching a bunch of crap content aimed only at making money. Instead our goal is to focus on usability. We believe if it’s right for the user, there’s always a way to monetize it. You just have to be creative in finding those openings.

One area I’d love to improve involves my team’s ability to take some risks every now and then. I always work with my employees to take baby steps toward acting with entrepreneurialism in mind and not being afraid to fail. I want it to exist in my organization, therefore I share my entrepreneurial spirit with them every chance I get.

Adam: Where do you see your business in 5 years time?

Raj: It will continue to evolve. As long as we continue making good decisions and putting our heart and soul into what we do, I’m certain we’ll constantly improve the place we are in.

Our focus is on user experience. Each and every day, as we learn more about how people use the Internet, we are making daily strides toward the continual improvement of the collective Internet experience.

In many ways, we are blazing our own paths and coming up with new ways to do things. It’s always interesting when we see ideas we’ve come up simultaneously emerge through people across the nation and the world. This often leads me to believe there’s truly a collective consciousness working in this space. Because things happen so fast, it’s fun to see examples of this turn up every day.

Adam: What is your take on Google Wave, it seems simple yet revolutionary?

Raj: Google Wave is ridiculously cool. I’m a fan of Google Apps & Docs, and I think Google Wave just takes it to a whole new level. It will most definitely change the way people communicate, and will also change social networking and Facebook.

The biggest reason people use Facebook is for social collaboration on pictures, ideas, etc. They like the ability to communicate with friends on these things and see updates in real time. Google Wave brings all those features to e-mail, and allows for more privacy (when you need it), which will make Facebook’s current features less attractive.

Regardless, these tools are all natural steps in the evolution of the Internet and the online world. I’m just excited to be a part of it and use them to further our goals and mission.

Adam: Do you think that Twitter will keep on growing or is it going to implode?

Raj: Twitter has too many uses to list. It’s an incredible tool for mass communication, and some people really get a ton out of it. I use Twitter to share interesting things I see on my travels, as well as concepts/news that are of interest to me. You can follow me @RajLahoti to see what I’m talking about.

I think Twitter, like most new things, is going to take some time for people to get adjusted to. Right now, tens of millions of people have jumped on the bandwagon, around the world, because they don’t want to be left out. So many people, who I’ve spoken to, are still unclear on why they use Twitter. But they feel like they should, so they are doing it. Blindly in some ways.

Twitter is here to stay. However, the Twitter we know today, and where it is going to be in another year, are completely different. Because Twitter is such a versatile application, most of the innovation is going to come from the online community, as you can see here in this Twitterverse diagram.

Adam: What are your views on the internet censorship that some governments/law enforcement agencies are trying to bring in?

Raj: Good luck. For every one site that you try to censor, there will be 99 more that pop up the next day. But because Google (aka God) is the beginning of the Internet for most people, it could continue to get pressure from many government agencies and might have to continue being regulated to satisfy the countries in which it operates.

What’s very interesting to me about this topic is that the Internet might actually force these countries to change long-standing laws on censorship. They might become more lax on these because they just can’t keep up with the regulation of the Web. The Internet and Technology enhancements and innovation are definitely changing each and every way our society does things.

Two books I recommend that show just how much Technology and Internet innovations are changing what we do: The Four Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferris, and The World is Flat, by Thomas Friedman.

Adam Toren

Fortune magazine probably summed him up appropriately. They called Harvey Mackay “Mr. Make Things Happen,” and this accurately describes this powerhouse of a man. Mackay has been at the helm of a highly successful self-made corporation for some 50 years now and he relates to his experience within many of the media engagements and products that have made him famous.

Harvey Mackay was born in his beloved state of Minnesota in 1932, to newspaper correspondent and schoolteacher parents. He enjoyed a public education and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1954. Right out of college, Harvey went to work in the shipping department of an envelope company, gradually rising to the role of salesman. His entrepreneurial spirit came to the fore and he left to develop his own envelope manufacturing company, the Mackay Envelope Company, which thrives to this day.

Mackay is most famous as a columnist, motivational speaker and best-selling author. His unique style has endeared him to many and has inspired countless numbers of people to succeed. He has the ability to tone every subject with a human touch, as witnessed by the titles of his New York Times number one bestsellers – Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive: Outsell, Outmanage, Outmotivate, and Outnegotiate Your Competition (Collins Business Essentials), Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt: Do What You Love, Love What You Do, and Deliver More Than You Promiseand Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty : The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need. Each title reflects a vital business anecdote and gives you an idea how colorful and inspirational he can be.

Mackay’s bestsellers have been translated into 35 languages and distributed to 80 countries through more than 10 million copies. His philanthropy extends to over 20 nonprofit boards dedicated to the assistance of others and his motivational speaking talents are in great demand.

Harvey dedicates a lot of his success to his experiences with the envelope company. Today the business employs over 600 people and is worth over $100 million. His philosophy is ingrained – “do what you love, love what you do and deliver more than you promise.”

The master of networking, Harvey Mackay believes in a regular interactive relationship with his network and is convinced that it should be a lifelong practice. He believes in gathering as much information as he can about anyone that he comes into contact with for social networking reasons. He reasons that the more he knows about you, the better able he will be to treat you as you would want to be treated. “If you wish others to believe in you, you must first convince them that you believe in them.”

Harvey has managed to stay competitive in the cutthroat world of business whilst maintaining a high degree of personal integrity. His skill at relationship building has served him well, as has his ability to relate to the aspiring business person & entrepreneur.

Adam Toren

If you learn nothing else when studying the habits of effective entrepreneurs, make sure that you do your best to understand the importance of time management. Almost without exception, the really successful business person has this down to a fine art and ensures that the people surrounding him or her do also. Time management is not about doing things faster, but it is about the more productive use of that time. We all have exactly the same number of hours, minutes and seconds available in a day. The way we use that time is going to set us apart from the average.

Here are 20 top tips for time management:

1.Make sure that you know what your goals are. If you do not have this primary focus, how can you plan your activities?

2.Don’t waste time on non-productive matters. Once you know what is likely to get you results, focus only on these issues.

3.Make a list. Prioritize your tasks and itemize each step. Be concise, focus and make sure you reach your target.

4.Don’t be swayed. There will always be something small which could be classified as “urgent”. Maintain your focus on the big plan.

5.Schedule. Prioritize your larger activities and fit all the others around them as they are more flexible.

6.Plan each day. At the start of the day take a short amount of time to focus in on what you need to do. When you’ve done that, get working and don’t spend too much time planning!

7.Virtual help. There are a number of first-class time management programs and applications available, use these to your benefit.

8.Have some flexibility. Ensure that your schedule is not absolutely rigid and try and build in some time for the fun things in life.

9.Allow for education. You must always better yourself.

10.Consult for greater efficiency. Get expert help to consolidate your performance and efficiency.

11.Do it right the first time. Concentrate on doing a good job and avoid having to repeat your work.

12.Be honest. You have to ask yourself whether you are achieving your goals according to your plan. Don’t be afraid to change, if you are not.

13.Bite the bullet. It’s no secret that we are always looking for excuses not to complete the least pleasant tasks. Therefore, swallow hard and do these first, as if you keep putting them off, you will run out of time.

14.Act now. Always make decisions, implement them and never procrastinate.

15.Be on time. Never be late and make sure you instill this virtue upon your staff.

16.Make it easier. Don’t panic if you have a seemingly huge task in front of you, break it down into smaller pieces and it will seem more manageable.

17.Get help. Surround yourself with competent people – delegate and outsource as much as possible.

18.Be more efficient. Pace yourself and be effective in time management and be careful that you don’t stress yourself out.

19.Know yourself. None of us are superhuman and we must pay heed to what our body is telling us. Make sure that you maintain optimum efficiency to be the most productive.

20.Get a life! You must have balance. Don’t neglect family, friends or hobbies or you will end up asking yourself – just what is the point in all of this?

Don’t forget that you are focusing on time management so that you can be efficient – allowing you to enjoy your life as much as possible. Do you follow this mantra?

Adam Toren

Adam Toren here, and it’s time for a poll update! We are asking “If you could give someone ONE amazing internet marketing tip, what would it be?”

We have had some great entries and some amazing marketing tips – thanks to everyone who is sharing their tips and also voting. I would also like to extend a thanks to everyone who compliments us on the blog, we aim to bring you quality, useful content and poll’s so if there is something you want to see – tell us!

For those who havent been following this poll yet, we mentioned that our Top Tip is Social Bookmarking! Bookmark your blog posts, you web pages, you news announcements and more using this list of our top 100 faves! and don’t forget to add this to your bookmarks too! Bookmarking is great for creating awareness of your website and for back links. If you would like to take part in our poll and tell us your Top Internet Marketing Tips, enter at http://contests.youngentrepreneur.com/

The affiliate marketing industry has enjoyed unparalleled growth in recent times. Even during this dour recession the industry represents a growth area. Jupiter Research estimates that affiliate marketing will grow in size by 13% each year over the next five years, as measured by affiliate earnings.

What is it that attracts people to affiliate marketing and accounts for this growth, even in a downturn? For many people the affiliate marketing business represents a potential lifeline. In this recession, more than any other, the level of layoffs and job losses have been substantial and many people are facing grim realities. In certain geographical areas – those heavily reliant on the automobile industry for example – jobs are not likely to return and many people are being forced to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Affiliate marketing is an ideal, work from home business.

Before embarking headlong it is important to take stock. Endure some soul-searching to see if you are really cut out to make it in this highly competitive business. There are five questions that you should ask yourself before you decide if this is for you and, if you decide to proceed, there are a further five tips that you should bear in mind when setting up your shop.

Ask yourself whether you are really willing to sit down and learn. This will all be unfamiliar territory to you and it will take you quite a while to learn all the tricks of the trade.

Secondly, understand that you must be willing to put in a significant effort as things will not happen overnight. You must understand that several months may go by without any measurable results.

The third quality you must possess is determination, as without this you will often find it difficult to respond to that early morning alarm clock, knowing that you must put in the hours necessary to succeed.

Discipline! Don’t be tempted to shortcut and try and make sure that your time management skills are adequately honed.

Finally, are you an optimist – there will be plenty of naysayers. Try and surround yourself with other optimists and always look at the glass as being half full.

When you decide that a career as an affiliate marketer is for you, make sure that you follow this advice and “play smart.”

Always check up on the company that you will be doing business with. If you are investing a significant amount of time and effort to promote the products or services of another company, it goes without saying that you should be aware of who you are “getting into bed with.” Look for any warning signs online that might indicate bad reviews or payment issues.

Secondly, understand what is involved, including the terms and conditions, payment schedules, tracking methods “do’s and don’ts.” There is nothing worse than establishing sales only to find out that you may have inadvertently broken one of the rules, thereby forfeiting the payouts.

Be wary of dealing with a new company and try and stick with a reputable firm. Try and protect those future payments.

If you sense any problems, payments are late or you come across other rumors about the company, cut your potential losses and move on.

Finally, don’t be tempted to put your “fingers in too many pies” as many do. Stick with one product or promotion and do it well. Give yourself the best chance of success in this highly competitive arena.

Have you ever been tempted to try affiliate marketing? Let us know.

Matthew Toren

This week I have had the privilege of interviewing Ben Kaufman.

At the age of 18, Ben took an idea for an iPod accessory and founded Mophie. He designed and launched Mophie’s first product while still attending High School. Following the acquisition of Mophie, Ben founded Kluster. He is also the founder of Quirky.com.

Adam: Kluster is your second start-up, did you take any lessons from the first one, Mophie, into this one?

Ben: For sure, everything I do is built on what I have learned in the past. Quirky takes my learnings from product work at Mophie and community decision making from Kluster together. There is no way I would be able to run Quirky without having these 2 learning experiences behind me. But no regrets for any step of the way, the journey to get here has been rewarding and mistakes are good…there is no better way to learn, I think.

Adam: You have been through the entire business cycle with Mophie from start-up, growth and through to the sale of the business as a going concern. Which part of the cycle do you gain the most enjoyment from?

Ben: I get the most enjoyment from the initial proof of concept. I am definitely a product guy, there is nothing more satisfying then seeing someone walk down the street and see or hear someone talking about/using my products…

Adam: You started you first business with capital from your parents, as the business grew you went down the venture capital route. What are your top tips for being successful in gaining venture capital?

Ben: Be yourself and know that if they don’t fund you you’re probably better off… If you remain true to yourself/personality, and they DO fund you… you’ve found the right group.

Adam: In your business ventures you have always recognised your strengths and weaknesses and brought people on board to strengthen to strengthen your proposition. Do you think that it is important for entrepreneurs to recognise that they can’t do everything themselves?

Ben: Of course. It’s always important to know what you’re good at, and more importantly what you suck at. I am thankful to have a fabulous team to carry out most of the work.

Adam: What are your views on the college system, do you think that entrepreneurs should be encouraged to just get out there and do it rather than go down the formal education route?

Ben: Well, it would be unfair to me to judge something I haven’t really experienced! That said, on the general topic of learning…. I remain confident that the best way to learn is to try, and fail. Failure is healthy.

Adam: What was the idea behind starting Kluster?

Ben: At Mophie, our products were community designed and developed, that’s one of the things that made us so appealing as a brand. I decided that I didn’t want to sell iPod condoms for my whole life so I sold the product (Mophie) and kept the process. This community decision support process became known as Kluster. Kluster powers collaborative strategy for hundreds of companies worldwide.

Adam: Have you been surprised by the ideas that have been generated and what is the most memorable one to date?

Ben: Oh, there are countless memorable ones… That said, I love them all. For me, giving people a place to get their ideas out of their heads and just “out there” is really rewarding… even if the world doesn’t need an inflatable soda can.

Adam: Where do you see Kluster going over the next 2 years?

Ben: I never answer that question. I live my life one day at a time. In a startup, you gotta roll with whatever the morning brings and make the best of it.

Adam: There has been a huge explosion in social networking on the internet over the last few years do you see sites like Kluster being a natural evolution from this and what other areas do you think call for this type of collaboration?

Ben: It’s been said all of us are smarter then one of us…. Therefore, collaborative decision support can fit into anything…. I look forward to the time when the “social networks” are put to work.

Adam: Invention and creativity come naturally to you, was this something that your parents nurtured/encouraged in you as you grew up?

Ben: Well, I used to like to carry about my tool box when I was a kid…just wanted to constantly build things. Yes, my first word was in fact “hammer.” So I suppose that means my parents must have fostered creativity. I owe a lot to my mom.

Adam Toren

The story of the French fashion designer Coco Chanel is quite remarkable. She can be credited with making a significant impression on female fashions and is treated as an icon in the industry. She continued to innovate and contribute all the way up to her death at the age of 88.

Born on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France, Chanel – whose given name was Gabrielle – endured a troubled childhood. She was placed in an orphanage by her deadbeat father and was raised by nuns. However, as the nuns taught her how to sew, this paved the way for significant achievements ahead. Trying to find her way in life she briefly became a club singer and this is where she assumed the name “Coco.” This name was a “shortened version of Cocotte, the French word for “kept woman”” according to Chanel.

As she passed from her teen years, Chanel became involved with a couple of wealthy society figures in Paris. This association allowed her to start a millinery business and achieve reasonable success, expanding to other cities. She soon started making clothes and her offbeat style became an instant hit.

It was in 1922 that Coco Chanel introduced one of her iconic products – the perfume, Chanel Number 5. This was indeed the first product to ever feature a designer’s name and it is popular even to this day. Perfume “is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion… that heralds the arrival and prolongs your departure,” she explained. It was around this time that she met her business partner, Pierre Wertheimer, whose family still has an element of control in the perfume company today.

Revolutionary designs continued through the 1920s, including the legendary Chanel suit, which borrowed elements from men’s wear and helped liberate women from the restriction of corsets. “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury,” she once said. The black dress, once reserved for mourning, was developed for evening wear and became very chic within society. Chanel had a natural eye and an entrepreneurial touch. “Fashion is not simply a matter of clothes. Fashion is in the air, born upon the wind. One intuits it. It is in the sky and on the road.”

The devastation of World War II had a significant impact and Chanel closed her business. A controversial affair with a Nazi officer heralded a very negative period during her life. Indeed, after the war ended, Chanel was interrogated about her affair and it is rumored that only the intervention of her friend Winston Churchill saved her from serious repercussions.

After living a relative life of exile in the postwar period, Coco Chanel emerged back into the public eye at the age of 70. Once again, her natural and casual clothing became a hit with women and she’s credited with introducing bell bottom pants and pea jackets into common culture.

Whilst she passed away in 1971, her legacy lives on to this day. Chanel never married, saying that “I never wanted to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.”

The accomplished designer Karl Lagerfeld took the reins of the company in the ’80s and the organization honoring her name continues to thrive today. Numerous biographies have been written about her life. Katherine Hepburn starred in a 1969 Broadway musical “Coco” and in more recent times the acclaimed actress Shirley MacLaine starred in a television production focusing on Chanel’s career resurrection.

Adam Toren

As an online retailer, there is nothing quite as frustrating as the thought of a would-be shopper canceling his or her sale at the last moment due to the so-called “abandoned shopping cart syndrome.” This happens much more often than we would like to think – in an estimated 65 to 70% of all potential transactions! Whilst we all understand that virtual commerce is a completely different ballgame and that we often have no direct control over the actions of a potential client, there are nevertheless a number of lessons to be learned and a number of initiatives to be addressed if we want to try and rid ourselves of this on line skittishness!

One of the first things to do is to make sure that you have your tracking and testing procedures in place. You need to know what kind of a problem you have and you should analyze your reports to see how many people visit your checkout pages but do not consummate the transaction. Once you are aware of the scale of the problem, you should take steps to mitigate, as much as possible.

We can anticipate the reasons behind last-minute abandonment:

Design issues. Make sure that your customer experience is first class, all the way from the home page to the thank-you page. Put as much effort as you possibly can into making your site user and visitor friendly and make sure that each of the projected steps taken by a client is clearly projected. If you have a small operation make sure that you bring in an additional set of expert eyes to look over your site and give advice. Sometimes you can’t “see the wood for the trees”.

Eliminate sticker shock. Always make sure that the client is aware of the total projected cost, including shipping and taxes. Very often there is a significant change in the final tally due to these add-on items and a potential sale can be abandoned. Studies have shown (including a report commissioned by PayPal and conducted by comScore in May 2009) that high shipping cost was the top reason for cart abandonment. Show those shipping costs up front.

Security. It goes without saying that you must provide a secure environment for any online financial transactions. This is not only expected but makes good business sense. Make sure that you bring your security efforts to your visitors attention by referencing your secured checkout page (https), data encryption and external verification services.

Social proof. Incorporate testimonials, user reviews and product ratings. People like to think that they are doing the right thing and they like to see that their peers have enjoyed a good experience and are happy with their purchase.

Payment options. Try and offer as many payment solutions as you can, bearing in mind that a significant proportion of the population, especially those of a younger age, may not have access to a credit card.

With an astounding 98.7% of website visitors not returning – even if they have made a purchase before – you need to do everything within your control to ensure that they have an enjoyable and fulfilling visit, all the way through to the thank you page, hopefully to return again.

Have you ever quit at the last moment? What causes you to abandon an online purchase – let us know.

Matthew Toren