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We were interested in starting up our own online business but didn’t want to get involved in managing inventory or shipping products and we were all passionate about Search. We also liked the idea of shopping comparison engines, but wanted to focus on becoming specialists in one market. We built Pharmahelper.com because we wanted to provide a safe and trusted source for people to compare and buy their prescription medication online.

How big is the pharma sales market?

In 2007 total US sales for prescription medication reached $287 billion dollars.

How do you get the word out about your site?

We have just recently moved off Beta and are now in launch mode so a big forum will be speaking with guys like you. We are always interested in talking with our peers and learning as much information as possible to improve our search and give people what they want. We will also be using PPC advertising and are exploring radio and print advertising in certain demographic regions.

Who should be using your site?

With 47 million Americans currently without any form of medical insurance and the current state of the global economy, anyone who is taking prescription medication, and is looking for a safe and trusted source on online pharmacies, will benefit. Just recently, The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 27% of Americans have decided not to fill a prescription due to the cost. Pharmahelper provides a safe place for these people to find significant cost savings on their medications.

Did you develop the Pharmahelper platform or did you license someone’s technology?

We have a great development team and developed everything in house. We use open source software bundled with some proprietary technology that we had to develop as it was non-existent.

Do you believe taking such a niche approach to comparison shopping will be a formula for success?

We are a very focused company as we only concentrate on prescription medication. Taking this niche approach allows us to provide the most accurate search available for drug prices, while saving people time and money.

What were the main challenges in developing the site?

These were mostly encountered when we began to normalize the drugs. Normalizing drugs effectively was something we felt the big comparison shopping engines were not doing successfully as it was not their core business. Drugs come in different dosages and strengths. When you add generics to the mix it becomes quite a challenge to equally compare side by side. We spent close to a year at getting things right and we realize it will always be a work in progress. However at this point, I think we got it right.

What does the clipboard mean?

The clipboard is a tool we introduced to help people save and share searches with friends and family. We found that people like to research price options for medicine for use at a later date. We thought the implementation of the clipboard would be useful in achieving this, as it can also allow a customer to conduct side-by-side comparisons as well as to email the results.

On Yelp there is ton of great content and information about restaurants (and potentially any business) generated by a passionate userbase. I was VERY wrong when I talked crapped on Yelp a year ago. My bad. Right now Yelp has grown mostly through Google Search results and map results with some word of mouth thrown in. I am guessing shortly they are going to start focusing on monetization after they’ve done a lot of growth. The amount of business they drive to restaurants is insane but they don’t get a cut of it at all. For now…anywho, they have a lot of opportunity and seems like a slam dunk for Google.

Anywho, I am totally off base or does this make sense. Thoughts?

What’s the biggest challenge you are facing in starting the Ssasy Chic blog?

Because I don’t have a tech background, it’s been challenging to learn how the blogging world works. SEO is still a bit of an enigma for me. I’ve become obsessed with checking my site viewers on Google Analytics and get frustrated when I see a decline. The worst part is not knowing what to do to increase my traffic. I feel like I’ve tried everything, but my numbers have remained stagnant. Basically, being patient has been hard!

The blog was originally intended to be a lifestyle blog for busy women. I was going to write about cooking, gardening, exercising, etc. as well as fashion and beauty. Because I didn’t understand SEO or blogs, I didn’t realize that my focus was too broad. When I did finally realize why I was getting no exposure, I consulted my trusty GA to see which posts were most popular. With the exception of a post about hosting a New Mexican themed dinner party, my most popular posts were about beauty and fashion. So, I decided to do that. It’s been fun immersing myself in the fashion world. Very different from teaching!

What do you want to accomplish with your blog?

I started the blog because I was just learning CSS and HTML and wanted a project. I also was still trying to decide what I was going to do with the rest of my life and thought it would be fun to write about things I was interested in and good at. So, basically, the blog was always intended to be a starting point for me in determining my next steps career-wise. And, it’s done that. In learning and writing about fashion, I’ve had many project and business ideas that have been passed to me and some that I’ve come up with. So, to answer your question, the selfish goal I have for the blog is that it helps me determine the next steps for my work.

The less selfish goal I have is for my intended audience. Many of the fashion sites I visited before starting this blog were fun, but not super informative and not realistic. I want my readers to be able to come to my site and easily find what the latest trends are, how to wear them and where to find affordable options. Though many women love watching fashion shows and enjoy designer clothes, few of us can actually afford any of that. So, I hope to bridge that disconnect.

I’m also interested in building more of a community among participants in the online fashion community. There seems to be very little communication or camaraderie. I’ve found it quite difficult to ‘make friends’ with other fashion bloggers. There’s a sense of unnecessary competition when really, we could be supporting each other.

How did you make the decision to leave teaching to go out and do your own things?

Oh! Tough question! And, how to answer this well? I loved teaching and have no regrets for making that my career for 6 years. I am the type of person who gives absolutely every part of herself to her latest project. And, that’s what I did with my students. I worked in a pretty challenging school and it became harder and harder to take care of myself and live my own life. I needed to focus on my needs, my relationships and what I ultimately want out of life. Really, I needed to allow myself to be more selfish for a little bit.

It was also time for a new challenge. Teaching was always very challenging. But, it was a challenge that had become routine for me. When a student was struggling with reading, I knew the steps to take to approach that issue. When a student was having home issues or behavioral issues, I knew what to do next. Those things were no less challenging, they just didn’t require me to be as creative or thoughtful as I had originally had to be. I needed something new.

The goals I have for myself include more flexibility and freedom on a day to day basis as well as long-term. Teaching wasn’t going to allow me that.

Who should be reading and what’s your plan to get a hold of them.

Anyone! I have a guy friend who says he reads it at work. He strategically places windows on his desktop so his co-workers won’t think he’s secretly interested in buying a new pair of Skinny Jeans.

My target audience is women aged 20-50 who want to learn more about fashion and beauty. My site is much more practical than just showing the latest runway trends. I show you how to achieve those looks for yourself at a reasonable price.

My plan to get a hold of them? Well, that’s the challenge! I’ve done lots of networking, link sharing, commenting, forum discussing and have tried to crack the SEO code. Any other ideas?

How can the okdork readers help you?

I would love any feedback! Feedback on layout, content, SEO, increasing traffic, etc.
And, spread the word! Tell your girlfriends, your sisters, your moms, your grandmas…your male coworkers!

Criticize, comment, suggest, inform–anything helps! Check out SSASY Chic >

How did AntiClothes get started?
AntiClothes was launched in August, making it 2 months young. We started the concept about a year before that, and it finally all came together then.

What made you become interested in doing your own business?
I’ve got an expensive habit with loving cars. Oh, and people uglying themselves up with crappy t shirts. I wanted to make things that felt like a warm hug every time you put it on. It’s like a replacement for a significant other. Those are so overrated!

What’s missing in the t-shirt business online now and why do we need another one?
Simple, consistency. So many companies are pushing our fresh designs every Monday, but most are forced ideas. We may move into releasing every week, but right now we wait, pick the best idea, then design. After we design, we filter even more to what we dig the most, and think our customers will like the best. You can’t show up with just one or two good designs, and the rest fillers. You need solid ideas, executed to the T (oh god, puns), every time.

How do you plan on people marketing AntiClothes shirts?
We’re promoting through standard channels, banner ads, traffic plugs, but we have alternative marketing methods in mind. We are launching a ‘viral’ campaign, based around video. I put viral in quotes because it’s never really something you can predict, or create, but you can damn sure use the tools available to try. I’ve spent a lot of time researching what has gone viral on video sites, as well as what seems to be popular amongst our target market of 18-30.

Our first video is coming out on Youtube in about a week or so. I had a cartoon version of myself created, and I teach YouTube obscenities in sign language. Inspired by this lovely gem: YouSuck T Shirt . I want to give each shirt it’s own video. Some will be completely random, and some will be based around the shirt.

There are many t-shirt companies, how are you going to stand out?
We’re the badass of the group. You’ve got Threadless who focuses more on a designer/art type t’s, and BustedTee’s who focuses on the joke and not the design as much. Both are great companies, but we’re what would happen if you smashed the two together and threw sprinkles on top. Our shirts aren’t novelties, they help our customer stand out. Strangers come up to me and compliment certain designs I wear, and that reaction our customers get as well, will help put us on top.

Biggest challenge and greatest so far?
Designers who flat out suck. We’ve went through a good piece of change with artwork that never came out right, or we just didn’t receive. We need a vast array of styles for our line up, and though you can find one solid designer out of filtering through 10, we needed more than that. What I advise to people is to search outside your niche. This is risky, but will pay off incredibly if you can find someone with raw talent in a similar field, and get them to filter it to yours. We’ve had people who are street designers, comic artists, but they raw talent is there – and once they channeled AntiClothes’ vibe they’ve made us great pieces.

A second challenge has been the fact our competitors have hundreds of designs, when we were starting out with 16, and now we’re up to 20. I’m aiming to get us to around 24-25 within a month and a half, then keep expanding from there. Selection is important, most people appreciate a good amount of our shirts. The more we have, the better a chance of some one finding their clothing match made in heaven.

Anything else?
Yes, I’m on a mission. Companies like SnorgTees, which I feel have some of the lamest shirts, are managing to do well. I feel I need to save their customers from buying such horrid t shirt fashion faux pas. AntiClothes is here people, we can save you!

Also, feel free to check out AntiClothes, drop some feedback in this blog post. If you like anything enjoy 10% off with code “okdork”. Don’t forget to check back here and there too! We only have 20 of our designs up right now…plenty more coming!

What’s the moral of the story?

Focus. Johns started out just doing cd rates and became the #1 term for it on google. Then he expanded to other banking categories.

Relevance. There are 1,000s of personal finance sites. Most of the people just consume some information. You go to his site to find deals and sign up for them. That’s the point.

Monetize. Just like what my old company Mint.com is doing, Johns picked a lucrative category where clicks will pay out $50+.

Bottom line: Next time we go out for burritos, Johns is going to treat;)

If you enjoyed this post subscribe to my RSS Feed, email it to two friends or do nothing:)

Bottom Line: Get the book. Should give you some new ways to look at dark days and re-shift some of your perspectives. As always, easier read than done.

I heard the name before and thought it was some shady place where loans happen. IGNORED. Nothing really happened when I saw them on sites a few months back. But, these 3 trusted friends of mine were on it so I was curious.

Prosper is: A place to loan people money.

Opportunity: You can get a really good interest rate on the loans that you provide for people.

The guys at the table were telling me they were earning around 10-15% on different things. Compare this to a 3-year CD at 5% interest. Compelled? Bored?

People want loans for credit card debt consolidation, real estate, student loans, anything…There is a fair amount of information about the person, the loan they want and the potential risks.

Sexy Times: Go pick out some loans you want me to make and I will make 10 – $50 loans. The person who’s loan does the best will get the interest money. Leave your suggestions in comments, the 10 most interesting loans are getting my money. Have fun spending;)

To learn more about Prosper check out these resources:

Lazy Man and Money’s tips for Prosper Success

MyMoneyBlog’s Overview of Prosper

Congrats to my friend Pat who just launched All Free Calls. A free way to call anywhere in the world from your own phone.

1. Dial 712 858 8094
2. Enter 011, Country Code & Phone #
3. Enjoy free phone calls to anywhere.

How they are going to make money? Who knows. Take advantage of the service while you can.

You may not get that impression watching the local news or visiting a nearby Wal-Mart, but smart successful people (like OKdork readers) care about more than just washing their trucks and instant lottery tickets.

Now businesses care.

• Fashion cares because of LiveStrong.
• Brands companies care because of (Product) RED.
• And everyone cares because of Katrina.
• I’m not even going to touch on business starting to care about the environment.

There is a new business model surfacing which understands that people not only want quality product at a reasonable price, they want their purchases to make the world a better place. Soon there will be companies like Giftback popping up in every industry. No marketing budget can compete with the trust that a charity or community can hold.

My contribution to this movement is the Fwingers Fundraiser.

The Fwingers Fundraiser is a national fundraiser working on local levels with under-funded deaf schools and non-profit organizations. Since launching on November 1st 2006, eighteen schools have begun participating in the fundraiser which has raised over $4000 for donation. For every Fwingers Key Chain purchased on the website, Fwingers’ creators donate $1 to a deaf school of the customer’s choice.

Our goal is to donate $1 Million in 2007.

So to answer you questions:

• Yes, we have chosen to accomplish this goal in the extremely fast growing business of selling key chains online.
• Yes, we are the first company that you have heard of starting a word of mouth campaign in the deaf community.
• And yes, it will work because people care.

If you care, or you’re at least beginning to care after 291 words, please visit the Fwingers Fundraiser Site. The first ten people to post a picture signing their initial (or anything to do with sign language) on the community page will get a free Fwinger Key Chain. Be sure to email me with your name and address after you post.

Please more than anything else, tell someone that would be interested.