Job Q&A

Larry Kohleiber, Business Owner and Director of Sales and Marketing
by Kendra Lott
[More Job Q&A's]

Monster.com: Since it was your first foray into Internet technology, tell us about Clothesnet.com.

Larry Kohlieber: As a student at the University of Southern Colorado, I created a plan for a bricks-and-mortar apparel store, but looked at the net as a less expensive avenue. In early 1997, the Internet was just starting to boom, so instead of leasing mall space we launched a Web site. Clothesnet.com caters to the small Internet start-up. I’m not concerned about the large sites -- they have the revenue to advertise and market their wares online – but the small, home-based business or new entrepreneurial venture lacks the capital to gain visibility. Although we link national names on the home page, the departments are filled with online stores offering a wide variety of products.

Mc: How did you educate yourself in technology?

LK: I learned most of what I know from Builder.com, and I also go into Devex.com to see what’s out there. Most of my knowledge comes from actually working on various projects.

Mc: What’s a typical project you might undertake with Digital Media and Communications?

LK: One of our clients is an auto dealer who wanted to put his inventory on line (www.princeauto.com). Now, not only can his customers browse his inventory, but he can use the site to keep track of it as well.

Mc: How do you ensure the success of your clients’ online ventures?

LK: Through a combination of management and marketing. There are plenty of new "visionaries" coming online, touting buzzwords and processes that are really just first-year business theories. But the bottom line is that any site or project needs a plan, no matter how formal or informal.

Mc: What advice would you offer someone embarking on their own venture?

LK: It’s one thing to be able to program, but you have to be an extrovert if you are going into business for yourself. As a consultant, I have to both be the programmer and educate the client.

I have to tell my clients what this technology is going to do for them -- and what it’s going to save them –- in their terms, not in the industry’s terms.

Another thing that people outside the field don’t realize is that businesses like mine often operate with fewer than 5 employees, and we still don’t do everything ourselves; we do a lot of subcontracting. The Web-development community is a very close community, and people network together. That’s how a lot of the more complicated work gets done in more rural areas.

Mc: What other challenges do you face by being based in a smaller city?

LK: Getting and retaining clients can be difficult. We have to seek out the company that really needs our help, because most companies look to local Internet service providers, which often don’t have the expertise in these specialized areas. For example, we just helped a client who wanted to take its site to the next level. While our bid was more expensive up front than the Internet service provider’s, we saved them money over time because they don’t have to spend money on maintenance fees.

Mc: What do you like most about being and working with small businesses?

LK: Having full control -- we go in and explain what we do, how we do it, how we will solve their problems. We bombard them with information.

Mc: Where do you see the next big area for growth?

LK: In programming for wireless and PDAs (personal digital assistants). Additionally, in the next five years more businesses will go to database applications in a telecommuting atmosphere. This will enable corporations to have instantaneous snapshots of merchandise information, and of what employees are doing at any given time. People are very receptive to any resource they can access by simply pointing their finger at it.