Business

Q. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

A. Travel has always been a passion. When I was a kid, I would go through the newspapers looking for travel sales. But the idea came to me around the time airlines started posting schedules and fares on the Web. It was really frustrating; you had to go to 25 different sites to find out what was being offered. So, I started sending my friends emails about the deals I found. My friends told their friends. Eventually, I realized I had the makings of a business and, four years ago, I decided to start my own travel information company. Today, we're the largest publisher of on-line travel news, with specialized publications around various interests, like frequent flyers, parents, students.


Q. How did you fund the business?

A. With some of my own money. But I also tried to build an advertising-based business model that would generate revenues from day one. From the beginning, I took the approach of finding out what it is that advertisers are looking for. For example, we heard they wanted to be able to sell to segmented audiences. By listening to their needs, we've made it work from the start.


Q. What's the biggest challenge you've faced?

A. When I started Smarter Living, the travel industry was strong. That's changed. The questions people asked about travel five years ago were very different from the ones they ask now. Because of that, we had to reposition our product, offering information like newsletters on things to do within a few hours of your home. At the same time, we had to work with our advertisers to help them understand the right message to display in today's market. Right now, it's not just selling a good deal; it's creating confidence.


Q. What mistakes have you've made?

A. Once we got established in a core business, we forgot to invest as much as we should have in new product development. But, I've learned that, if you think you're going to have the same business five years from now, you're probably not going to have a business at all. Also, I didn't realize how important it would be to get the right people from the beginning. If I were to start a business again, I would spend an equal amount of time on hiring as I did on the idea.


Q. Have you changed your business strategy?

A. We have a brand name within travel and consumer information. We're known for listening to our consumers and to our advertisers. But, now, we're doing more direct surveying. For one example, we got a group of business school students to do one-hour interviews of our readers. A lot of our strategy is coming out of what those readers said. We're also giving more thought to diversifying readers, so no one client accounts for too much of our revenue base.


Q. What surprises have you encountered?

A. I was surprised by how quickly the world could change. There was a time not long ago when, if I went out and said we're a travel dot-com, people would think that was exciting. Now, they want to know how I'm managing to make it.


Q. Who in the business world do you look up to?

A. I pay a lot of attention to my entrepreneurial peers. For example, I meet once a month with a group of ten other entrepreneurs to discuss personal and professional issues. I also belong to some informal entrepreneurial groups. A large percentage of my time is spent talking to and learning from other entrepreneurs, as well as experts, people in the industries we cover, advertisers.


Q. How do you set yourself apart from others in your industry?

A. A lot of our industry went out of business. What sets us apart from those still out there is our quality. We have an editorial department that finds the best deals, regardless of whether the company pays us. We could have made more money if we sold editorial placement. But, by not doing that, we made our editorial product better.


Q. What one piece of advice would you give someone starting a small business?

A. Focus on getting the right employees. And spend as much time as you can building a network of people you can bounce ideas off of. The peer and mentor groups I have been in are extremely valuable. I can't make myself any smarter. But I can listen to people who are more knowledgeable and experienced than myself and learn from them.