Internet success stories are one of my favorite podcast topics.  There is really not anything that I can think of that is more motivating than seeing examples of other people who have been able to successfully do the things that you want to do.

This week we take a short break from our study of the Rankings Institute, to take a moment to speak with Brian Kaldenberg from proofreadingpal.com.  Brian started his first Internet business from a dorm room at Iowa State University. Since that time Brian has launched a second successful business online.  Today he takes a moment to share some of the reasons for that success.

Recording From Japan

While this interview was actually recorded a couple of months ago in Dallas, I am currently in Hiji, Japan attending some meetings related to my day job.  Hiji is an incredibly beautiful city on the coast of Japan, about two hours from Tokyo by air.  The view from my hotel room, seen below, speaks for itself.

hiji japan hotel window photo

There are lots of things to like about Japan. Japanese people are gracious humble courteous and kind. Japan is a country that is easy to navigate, Very clean, and rich with history. I love going to Japan, and I can't wait to get back.

An Internet Success Story

In this interview, Brian tells his story about how he started A pretty clever Internet business from the comfort of his dorm room at Iowa State University.  It's a very cool story, and there are several things about it that catch my attention.

The first cool thing about Brian's story is that his first business was based on something that he cared about: A video game for the Sony PlayStation. He found a way to provide a service that made the game better. People, many of whom were excited about the game just like Brian, were willing to pay for that service. Success on the Internet often has this element of personal interest.

Another amazing element of Brian's story around his first business is the fact that competition already existed. Brian saw that fact as validation of the market concept, and plowed ahead. The lesson learned here is that you should not be afraid of competition. Clearly, you need to understand the competition and subsequently crush them. But just because someone has already started a business using “your idea,” that's no reason to give up before you start.

Another point that Brian makes about his Internet success is that he was able to anticipate changes in his business. Brian could see the end of his PlayStation based business on the horizon, and pivoted to a new idea around proofreading. Once again, proofreading services already existed on the Internet. That didn't bother Brian. He assessed the competition, identified some competitive advantages, And plowed ahead.

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Episode 075 Transcript

This week we take a look at another entrepreneur who is making it happen online, outside of the internet marketing niche. Brian Kaldenberg has a great business going – and it’s not his first one – he’s going to tell you all about it. All this and more on the Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast ….

Notes from Mark…

I hope you guys are having an absolutely fantastic day. I am in Hiji, Japan and it’s beautiful. I’m looking out my window and it’s just a gorgeous day. I’m bay side and to the east I can see the sunrise, to the west I see the mountains. Hiji is a truly beautiful place. In fact, the Chinese characters that the Japanese people use to represent the city of Hiji they mean something like “beautiful place.” It’s really remarkable and I’m really fortunate to be here because of my day job, working on Late Night Internet Marketing in the evening here in the hotel room.

What I have for you this week is a fantastic interview with Brian Kaldenberg. Brian has evolved through several online ventures and he is going to tell you about those today. The reason I think this is interesting is because most of what we talk about on this show is about making money online with marketing techniques, but one of the interesting things that I think is worth thinking about is do you have something to offer that is a business apart from internet marketing, it’s not affiliate marketing, it’s not content creation for the sake of generating ad placements, but a real business that you actually deliver online.

Brian is going to tell you about the two that he has been through and his thinking, and I think that might motivate you to think about the kind of services and products that you might be able to deliver online. That’s why I love to bring these kind of stories to you. Without further ado, here’s my phone call with Brian…

Transcript continued from the Episode 075 Show notes

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