Name of your website?Reading About Me
Your name?
Lisa Lange
Your Location (city, etc)
Glendale, Arizona
Please give us a short summary of your website?
My website contains over 30 titles of children's books that can be personalized with the child's name, city and state, names of friends, and other information. Santa letters are also available this time of the year. All orders are processed and shipped within one week, and the shipping is FREE!
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I have always wanted to own my own business, but could never figure out what to do. My passion is children (I have 4) and I love to read....so, I chose to do personalized children's books. Owning my own business allows me to be with my kids and enjoy them when they are home.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
My first website (and only) was launched in August 2007. The link is www.reading-about-me.com.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The first thing I did was to research available .com's because I wanted my website address to be the same as my business name. I typed in several things, and then came up with Reading About Me.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
All of my books make great gifts, and have the personalized touch. I have many titles that are well-known cartoon character names, and all of my books are educational. I also carry several different religious titles, some products are available in Spanish, and some products are African-American based.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
My goal is to grow the business so that my children can work with me, and for me, in order to earn money and save for college.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Since I just started my business, I am still in the marketing stages and finding ways to get the best exposure. I have done one Expo so far, and am working with several magazines for publicity.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would build a better shopping cart and have the site be more interactive.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes. I have several people on hand and ready to go when the business takes off.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
I did not secure the individual city licenses when I got my state license from the Department of Revenue. Now, I am having to go back and get the individual liicense for the cities that I do Expos in.
What has been your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is finding the market for my products.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I was a vendor at the Arizona Babies and Children's Expo. I had a great experience, and was very welcomed by the public.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I spend a lot more time researching than I thought I would.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
I have been running the site since August, and will continue forever.....
What is your website address?
Reading About Me
