Q. When did you launch Central Virginia Business Directory?
A. January 1998. My partner (my sister) and I developed a regional business directory in order to get our name out. Our philosophy has always been that you give before you get. We listed every business in a four-county area and linked to every website we could find, all at no charge. We also launched a large number of related sites primarily as a community service.

Business owners began noticing that they were getting more attention from the Internet. Once they learned that our directory was the reason, they started calling us to advertise. They also needed websites developed and Internet marketing advice.

Q. How much preparation time was involved for this enormous directory?
A. It took almost a year to set up the directory and begin to see something in the way of return on our huge investment in time. It took another year before we began climbing out of debt.

Q. What were your primary short- and long-term goals?
A. Short term, we're trying to build the reputation that we can turn ideas into profitable realities on the Internet. The short-term goal success (we're there now) - took about two years of 60-80 hour 6-7 day work-weeks. Long term, we want the bulk of our business to come from renewals and sources that require little daily attention. We're confident we'll meet or exceed our goals.

Q. Do you have employees?
A. No. Only two of us actually work for the company. We have a part-time programmer we work with over the Internet and several independent, commission-only sales people. We also have some graphic artists with whom we work very closely and active referral groups both inside and outside of the three chambers of commerce to which we belong.

Q. In what ways can small businesses compete with the conglomerates?
A. Small companies can appear just as large as conglomerates. In part, they need well-organized, well-designed sites. They also need to play by the rules. It's important that they join organizations with the credibility of BBBOnline; write and follow their privacy policy; get a secure server for online purchases; and pay their bills and their business taxes.

The Internet rewards hard work and innovation, opening doorways to totally new ideas. In many areas we compete head to head with some of the largest companies in the world - because we can! It's a wonderful feeling!

Q. Do you have a niche business?
A. Definitely. We have a distinct advantage over most Web development companies: we're not "computer geeks." Our business did not evolve from a computer hardware or software company and it was not the extension of a bricks-and-mortar advertising business. Most computer companies don't understand any business outside of their fields. We do.

We started the company to be on the Internet - from scratch. We knew how businesses worked before we learned about the Internet. Our backgrounds are in accounting, business and liberal arts. I've audited companies in hundreds of different fields. I've taught business management. Together we have over 45 years of business experience.

I went back to school to learn how to program on the Internet and to study information systems. Then I taught myself web design. Because of all of that, we do not just design a web site - we design an online business. There's a vast difference between the two.

Q. What do you like best about having your online business?
A. I absolutely love being my own boss. I love being creative, independent - and working in blue jeans and slippers. When I get a new thought, there is no one other than my partner/sister to tell me I can't try it. What freedom. I honestly cannot imagine ever again working in an office for someone else!

It's exciting to be creative with our clients. We're generally much more aggressive than our clients when it comes to discussing what they can accomplish online. Some people are afraid of too much success. I have trouble relating to that fear.

Q. If you had all the time in the world, what other features would you add to your online business?
A. I'd work much more closely with businesses from other countries: other cultures and languages fascinate me. If there were more hours in a day, I'd work with people from other countries, helping them via the Internet...all to contribute to increased understanding among people with vastly different experiences.

Q. What technological difficulties give you the most problems/challenges?
A. The most wasteful use of our time is striving to coordinate many different browsers, screen sizes and plug-in availability for any one project. It's frustrating to work without consistent standards. Creativity is limited by the need to design to the lowest common denominator. I could do so much more if there were some good standards for browsers that were followed consistently by everyone.

Q. If you were starting your Web development business today, what would you do differently?
A. I'd do the marketing first. The biggest mistake a company can make on the Internet is to wait until they think the Internet or their customers are "ready" - they lose much more than they can begin to measure. The sad thing is that so few of them even know what they have lost.

It now takes much longer to get established because many start-up "deals" offered by companies trying to make names for themselves have disappeared. The free rides are almost gone. Companies who are not yet on the Internet will have to work many times harder to get what their more forward-thinking competitors got for free or for very little money.

Q. What advice do you have for people who want to quit their jobs and make a fortune by starting a business on the Web?
A. The rules of business have not changed. Businesses following the rules providing good solid customer service and good value will win in the long run. The best approach is to work hard, develop customer loyalty, treat employees, customers and vendors fairly and honestly - and be patient. The definition of luck is "when opportunity meets preparation," so do your homework. Learn as much as you can and don't waste time on get-rich quick schemes!

The Internet is an opportunity unlike any other which has come along in a hundred years. Not since the California Gold Rush has there been an economic phenomenon that has leveled the business playing field the way this new medium has. Our determination to make this business succeed has served as a good lesson to my daughter. We have pushed forward with the motto "Where there's a will, there's a way." There is certainly the "will," and the "way" is becoming clearer all the time!

---

Accounting and Computer Enterprises, Inc. has been doing business in Lynchburg, Virginia since 1993. The company was doing business as Hensley Accounting Services prior to its incorporation in January, 1998. The company incorporated to include its computer and Internet focus. Soon after incorporation and name change, it also began doing business as Central Virginia Business Directory, a Division of Accounting & Computer Enterprises, Inc.
Find Saltz's credentials at http://www.ace-lynchburg.com/Orders/Resume.html, and to reach her, write to webmaster@centralvirginia.net.