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	Steven D. Strauss Author of The Small Business Bible
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	Stephanie Chandler Author of The Business Startup Checklist & Planning Guide
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	Tom Severance Author of Business Start-Up Guide
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	Joe Kennedy Author of The Small Business Owner's Manual
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Entrepreneur Profile

Jennifer Keenan Bonoff

New View Design, Inc. and The Home Business People, Inc.

Middletown, RI

www.TheHomeBusinessPeople.com, www.SportstoSchool.com, and www.ZerotoSixFigures.com

What do you do with a Political Sciences degree from prestigious Yale University? If you’re Jennifer Bonoff, you start an Internet businessâ€”and then another, and another. This Ivy-League graduate says she felt lost during her senior year at school and dreaded setting foot in the Career Services building on campus.

Following spring break, she says, “My friends and classmates were being accepted into graduate school and were accepting job offers. They were on their way to beginning life after college. I’m not claiming that this is wrong; my heart was just in a different place. I was restless. For as long as I could remember, I wanted a business of my own, but I didn’t know how to get it.”

Shortly after graduation, a neighbor introduced Bonoff to the direct marketing industry. “I quickly realized that this industry was not for me personally, but along the way I had the opportunity to meet many people who were involved. I saw that they needed resources to market themselves on the Internet.”

Armed only with a credit card for financingâ€”a strategy she doesn’t advocate for others-Bonoff launched a business that sold gateway websites and e-mail follow-up systems to people in the direct marketing industry. Revenues grew quickly, generating between $20,000 to $30,000 per month, and Bonoff netted an impressive six-figure income in her first year. After only 18 months, she decided to sell the business to a private investor and pursue new endeavors.

She says that the most frustrating part of starting her first business was finding the information she needed. “I struggled through a lot of the process; trying to figure out how to accept credit cards online, get a website without spending a lot of money, etc.”

It was this frustration that inspired her to write a book, “Zero to Six Figures.” The book tells the story of how Bonoff started and grew her business, and helps readers lay the foundation for their own Internet companies.

The desire to help others also led to her next company launch. Bonoff joined forces with her husband, Doug Bonoff, and started The Home Business People. The company offers website design and business startup consulting. Two virtual employees (who work from remote locations) and one full time employee help the Bonoffs keep their business running. “I understand from personal experience the frustrations of trying to get your business up on the Internet. There is so much information out there, and so much to choose from. It can be a confusing and even expensive proposition. My goal with TheHomeBusinessPeople.com is to help you work from home by making the journey easier,” says Bonoff.

A self proclaimed workaholic, Bonoff wasn’t satisfied with just one Internet business. She also founded Sports to School, a website that helps high school athletes who are interested in pursuing sports in college. The business takes the opposite approach that recruiting services take by empowering the athletes to get involved in the recruiting process. “High school athletes must put themselves out there, contact college coaches, and get themselves noticed.”

The athletes can set up their own websites where they can showcase their successes. They also receive a directory with access to over 20,000 college coaches for 55 sports across the U.S. The business boasts high school clients in all 50 states and in 35 countries around the world. Bonoff says,“The fact that we are helping kids pursue their dreams of playing sports in college and offering them the opportunity to potentially earn scholarships for their abilities is very rewarding.”

Though she didn’t write a business plan with her first venture, Bonoff saw the error in her ways. “My limited preparation and lack of organization created problems that persisted throughout the course of my first business.”

Now she writes a thorough plan for each new venture she starts and says, “You should think of your business as a long-term project. Don’t feel rushed to make it happen yesterday and sacrifice the very important initial preparation.”

“As for obtaining a loanâ€”this was not an option for me. My business was truly built on a shoestring budget. I built it with a credit card and a lot of hard work!”

Much of the hard work is spent on getting attention for her companies. Bonoff is a firm believer in marketing via the Internet and credits her success to her assertive marketing efforts. “When people are surfing the Internet, I guarantee you that they will not just stumble upon your website and buy your products. You have to get people to your site.” She insists that if you don’t devote ample time to marketing, “your business will quickly go under.”

Bonoff has written an e-Book called “100% Marketing” that details all her best Internet marketing tactics. “I truly believe that a free online newsletter is the number one most important advantage you can give yourself on the Internet. Whether you already have a home-based business, are looking to start one from scratch or have a traditional business, arming yourself with a quality online newsletter will change your bottom line forever.”