Business Start-Up

For This Young Entrepreneur, Recession is Good News

    Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 04/11/2010 - 15:45

     

    New Businesses Needing Web Sites Turn to Hosting Companies

    By Home Business Magazine

    John Raygoza started his first business at the age of 26 in March 2007. Today the company grosses $6 million per year, and he still operates it from his high-rise condo in Downtown Los Angeles. At first glance, Raygoza doesn’t look like a business owner, especially a company that grosses $6 million a year.

    Raygoza walks around in jeans, a wrinkled shirt, and sandals most of time. “If I’m meeting with someone important, I’ll keep the jeans and wrinkled shirt on, but out of respect I’ll wear my fancy shoes,” he jokes.

    When asked what motivated him to start his own business, Raygoza says, “I always went off the beaten path. When your life is wrapped up in long hours, alarm clocks, one week of vacation a year, and a 30-minute lunch break, you start to ask yourself if there is something else out there. What if you didn’t have an alarm clock? What if you had 100 vacation days a year? What if you could have a 4-hour-work-week? So I said, ‘I’m doing it!’”

    Raygoza’s online career started at iPower.com from 2001-2007. “I started as a salesperson, and by the time I left I was the Director of Sales and managing over 100 employees,” said Raygoza. He owns several affiliate sites that refer business to other companies. According to Raygoza, he earns commissions as high as $500 per referral and also owns a hosting company that has 15,000 customers. “I noticed that more people are trying to start their own business now that we are in a recession,” says Raygoza. “They need a web site, so they turn to hosting companies like mine.”

    Raygoza’s affiliates promote his hosting company. They do all the work for him, and he pays them a commission of $100 a sale. Raygoza markets his affiliate business via search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and email marketing. Raygoza’s customers range from fourteen years of age all the way to ninety. Small and medium-sized businesses are very common, and so are self-employed individuals.

    Raygoza also believes in giving back. Last year, he personally delivered over 200 gifts to kids in need throughout Los Angeles. “It took me forty days to deliver all the presents,” says Raygoza. “Nothing brings greater joy than seeing a kid receive his or her first Christmas present.” HBM

    Previously published in the February 2010 issue of HOME BUSINESS® Magazine, an international publication for the growing and dynamic home-based market. Available on newsstands, in bookstores and chain stores, and via subscriptions ($19.00 for 1 year, six issues). Visit www.homebusinessmag.com

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