In my last article I introduced you to a man known as Jonathan Wold. Jonathan is an Online entrepreneur, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. I last asked Jonathan about his position on pushing young adults into more active rolls and not settling for your run of the mill job.
Jonathan: Ooo.. that’s a hot button for me. I think it’s important because it’s not expected of us. People tell me all the time that I should just take it easy and enjoy life.. kick back and not worry about all this “business stuff”. Well, ignoring the fact that I do enjoy this “stuff”, I don’t think my age is any excuse! If you have a mind for business and you have what it takes to start something and see it through, why should you wait till you’re “old” to get going? I see so many bright young people each day who struggle with the influences around them. Their friends, their siblings and often times even their parents, tell them that they shouldn’t be wasting their time in business. These young entrepreneurs, myself included, are the ones who are going to make a difference in the world tomorrow and there’s no excuse why we shouldn’t start today.
Mitch: What is the goal you hope to reach with Youthcove?
Jonathan: My goal is to take those bright young entrepreneurs and encourage them in all that they do. They get enough flak from those around them telling them that they’re crazy, they need the support. I created Youthcove to be a community of support, encouragement, and growth. Support comes through networking, being with people who are struggling with the same things you are, being with people who understand and who are going to back you up, even if they don’t always agree. Encouragement is another part of support and it comes in many forms. Not only do I want people to get to know others going through the same things as them but to know people who have already been there and who’ve made it through those early struggles. Finally, growth comes through education and experience. I believe that everyone should be constantly learning and that’s the kind of environment that I want to foster through Youthcove. Then, after all that learning, its time for experience.. sometimes, even when you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ve just got to it.
Mitch: Would you consider yourself to be a role model to others who wish to follow in your footsteps?
Jonathan: I wouldn’t say that I’m a role model, but that’s what I strive to be and encourage others to be. A lot of what I do isn’t just something you can easily follow after.. traveling the country like I do is kind of crazy at times. What I want is for people to look at me, at the things I’ve struggled with, at the things I’ve accomplished, and see what can happen when you’re willing to take a risk, willing to not just take “you’re crazy” for an answer and actually step out into the world to make things happen. I want people to see that it won’t be easy, it is never easy.. but it can be so worth it.
Mitch: Some of your past and current projects are very similar. Could you see your Blue Flame Design Group perhaps blending in with your Hostingfrog Web hosting?
Jonathan: Definitely! I am running Blue Flame Design Group and Hostingfrog as two entirely separate businesses and I’m very careful not to mix the two. However, as they grow I would definitely encourage relationships between the two. I know, it sounds kind of funny, but when you’re in business there are just some things that you don’t mix. Blue Flame is probably one of the businesses I’m going to personally stick with the longest. My partner and I have many solid plans for what we can do through Blue Flame as we both get better and better at Web Design and involve more and more people. For the short term, a relationship between the two businesses would as simple as recommending Hostingfrog’s services through Blue Flame, and vice versa.
Mitch: The Startup Blog, your blog describing the day to day life of what goes on behind getting Hostingfrog started up, has gotten a little more popular lately. What do you hope to do with it, and what will be done to it once Hosting Frog is no longer a startup, but a real functioning Web hosting company?
Jonathan: First I want to give credit to Johnder. He’s the man behind the scenes with the Startup Blog, he’s the one who makes things happen. If it weren’t for him, I would have never gotten started at this level in Web Hosting and I certainly wouldn’t have blogged about it. You’re the man Johnder. Since we started the Blog, the goal was for me, the startup, to “figure it out and tell the world what I find”. I started with absolutely no experience in web hosting other than a basic understanding of cPanel and “how things work”. That’s the biggest reason it’s taken so long to see progress on the outside. The goal for me from the beginning has been to show things as I see them, to share the challenges I’ve faced and to help others in anyway that I can through my experiences.
As Hostingfrog grows and becomes a “real” Web hosting company, the blog will continue. Our plans for what we do with it may change as the business grows and as time goes on, but it will always remain an objective (if not overly optimistic) view of the world of Hosting as I see it.
Mitch: What is the best advice you could give somebody who is tracking your progress and wants to become a little more than an average grunt in the Web hosting world?
Jonathan: Just get started. Once you’ve got your foot in the door and you’ve got your first customers, your job is to take exceptionally good care of them. Make sure that they ALWAYS come first in your business and always go the extra mile for them. Why? Well, first because it’s the right thing to do. Second because that’s a sure fire way to grow. If people love you their going to tell their friends about you and it’ll go from there.
The other thing is to make sure you’re not just playing everyone else’s game. I know, its much harder than it sounds, but it is something that needs to be taken seriously. If your goal is to get started and simply “take over the search engines”, well.. good luck to you. Some of the best ways to grow are free. Make sure that as you grow you are constantly innovating and constantly improving your business. Your customers will notice and that’s the kind of thing they like to see.
If you are interested in learning more about Jonathan, feel free to go visit his Web site or stop by his personal blog. If the Internet had a few more Jonathans around, it might be a far more productive place than it is now.
Miss the first article? Read it here!
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