StrikingitRich.Com: Profiles of 23 Incredibly Successful ... (ISBN 0071355790)

Amazon.com Review:
If leadership by example is the best way to inspire, you'll find plenty of inspiration in Striking it Rich.com. Rather than write another how-to-build-a-better-Web-site guide, Los Angeles Times columnist Jaclyn Easton profiles 23 successful sites, detailing what has brought these firms to their current status. For those who think reading the stories of Motorcycle Online and HorseNet holds little interest for what they're trying to accomplish, Easton advises in her introduction that a site's content is irrelevant--it's how the business is run that matters. The one point Easton hammers throughout these profiles is that all the site owners are passionate about their businesses--a quality more important than such buzzwords as "interactivity" and "stickiness." All of the subjects tell fascinating yet strikingly similar tales en route to becoming "incredibly successful" (though Easton's use of the term is a bit fuzzy). All of the profile subjects conducted extensive research and think more about how to serve their customers than what type of animation to include on their site. It's hard not to be inspired by a successful Web company whose business offers auctions of remnant steel (Weirton Steel). For anyone who isn't sure how to make a Web-based business a success, Striking it Rich.com is essential reading. --John Frederick Moore

An interesting look at small and effective successes:
This book is a product of the Internet boom / bubble and not all of these seb businesses have survived. However, a surprising number have. Some were sold while others evolved one way or the other. It is quite an interesting to read about how these businesses viewed their markets at the height of the boom and then look at how things are today. I think the book has a couple of good points to make. These sites were not funded by huge amounts of venture capital. They are all small sites that have done well for people who had a specific expertise, who thought small in a tightly focused way, and who used the web to broaden their reach to a proven client base. There are thousands of successful sites just like these and this type of thing can be done thousands of more times by intelligent business people. My advice, however, is that unless you really KNOW what your plan and goals are, don't spend your hard earned cash until you are certain you have minimized your uncertainties. Of course, to be an entrepreneur is to have more risk than regular folks are willing to take on. But spend more time getting ready and learning your business rather than recklessly diving in head first to see how deep the pond is. If you don't you could end up spending a lot of money on a website that will be nothing but a drain on your precious cash and time.

Web advertising basics:
Strikingitrich.com looks at more than 200 companies that are using their Web sites to conduct business and make money. The author of this book offers the reader much in the form a Web advertising basics. For example, the author lists terms that one needs to know about Web advertising: · Banner ad: a small advertisement that is hot-linked to an advertiser's web site. · Click though: occurs when a visitor clicks on a banner and is taken to the advertiser's site. · Impression: occurs when a banner ad is seen by a visitor; three ads on a page count as thee impressions. · Link: any banner, button, or text that, when clicked, takes visitors to another site. · Pay per click: pricing model based on click throughs rather than number of impressions. · Visitor: total number of people who access a Web site over a period of time. The author combines important technical information about web advertising, such as explaining what is a "Hit," with important information on what various highly successful companies are doing to make money using their Web sites.

Today, the internet is rising again:
Although this book is relatively dated in internet time, it holds the key to success in the e-world. Just as generals study the history of warfare and key battles, you should study the history of what worked and didn't work during the early e-commerce days. Today, the internet is rising again and is being positioned to truly set us free as we enter the age of wireless. It won't be the strongest who thrive in this new age, it will be those who are most flexible and adaptable. Many of us are captivated by the headlines of only a few major published e-commerce success stories. In fact, there are many more real success stories of companies racking up impressive sales without headlines. In StrikingItRich.com, Easton highlights 23 such companies: As you can see, this book is not a how-to book in the traditional sense. Instead, Easton shows us real life success stories of people just like you. Prepare yourself to be completely motivated, inspired and revved up to take on the world. Michael Davis, Editor - Byvation

I learned ALOT from this book!:
Sponge in what Jaclyn Easton teaches you in this book! A lot of valuable lessons in here!

An Historical Perspective of Web Businesses:
In the hey-day of the Internet Gold Rush, among the dreamers and schemers, there were some companies actually making money on the web - and they weren't all p-o-r-n sites. It's outdated in 2006, as the market has matured and evolved. This book showcases successful sites from 'back in the day,' and how they made money. It would be interesting to research how many are still in business, how many were sold to bigger players, and how many evolved into what they are today under the same ownership.