New to EBA Online this month is our BUSINESS IN THE SPOTLIGHT Column. This is our new monthly showcase opportunity where I interview a company in our Business Fast-Track Programme. This month, it is my pleasure to let you know about ViewMyLet and here is my interview with entrepreneurs, Adrian & Dianne Hide.

• Tell me about your business

ViewMyLet is a web-based service for those people who own a holiday home and would like to advertise it for rental on the internet.

Once registered, using simple-to-follow templates, our clients are able to compile their holiday home listing in a format that looks like a bespoke feature-packed website and what’s unique is they have the choice of keeping it selective, via a passcode for viewers, or searchable to all.

• When did you set it up?

Our website – and therefore our big idea – has been in development for around two years.  It’s taken this long due to entrusting the website construction to a friend.  Sorry, but a huge mistake (learning curve!).

This was a very expensive mistake and one that set us back well over a year. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

We now have a professional website company on board and are back on track, our website has three planned phases, of which phases one and two are now complete!

We did a soft launch of the business at the beginning of this year (2010) and, because we were unsure  how to market our new venture and both Dianne and I have full time jobs, it was very fortuitous that we stumbled upon the EBA one-day seminar which we saw advertised on the internet. Taking the plunge and purchasing two VIP tickets, we attended the May seminar and were so inspired by the excellent event, presenters and opportunity to have support from the finest business minds in the country! We joined the EBA Business Fast Track programme and are now working with them and our brilliant EBA business mentor, Steve Clarke.

• How did you come up with your BIG business idea?

We came up with the idea because a friend who owns a holiday villa in Florida asked us to compile some photographs into a PowerPoint show and burn it onto a CD so that they could show prospective customers what their villa was like. This proved to be very successful for them and gave us the idea to replicate this yet via a website instead.

The website idea came about because it became apparent that prospective customers wanted more than just pictures; they needed to know about the property, the resort and a whole host of other things, so a website concept appeared a better option. Looking from the holiday maker’s perspective, we’ve tried to include all of the detailed things people need to know but often only find out on the very last day of their holiday!  And how annoying is that?

• What is your unique selling point?

When we thought of the website concept, our unique selling point was that unlike traditional website listings, which tend to be on a single page the length of the M1, with ViewMyLet, clients get a multi-page interactive bespoke website and, uniquely, access to their listing is via a passcode, meaning that property owners can be selective in whom they allow to see their website and ultimately rent their property.

Our website also has many unique features, such as a document management centre: meaning that flyers, business cards and rental agreements can be customised and either emailed or printed.

Since our very first meeting with Steve Clarke, our EBA Millionaire Mentor, we’ve completely rethought our business concept so as to offer a range of products! One of which is the unique service of making a personal visit to prospective clients to gather all of the information to construct their listing! Inspired!

We now have a lot of exciting work to do to and we strongly believe we have the makings of an excellent service.  Although internet based, for our discerning clients, we are able to offer that good old fashioned attribute, the ‘Personal Touch’ – the like of which is not offered by our competitors.

• What has been your biggest business challenge to date?

We have had a number of business challenges, including getting the product right and re-designing the website, but our greatest challenge to date is that of marketing a brand new business that does not have an established customer base from which testimonials can be sought and trying to make ViewMyLet appear at the top of search engine pages along with the big boys!

Once we’ve re-designed our website to include the range of services we are now planning (currently we have just one), our aim is to work with the EBA to help us achieve our goal in successfully marketing ViewMyLet and making it the ‘No.1 place for holiday home owners to advertise and for holiday makers seeking to rent a holiday property.’

• What element of the business do you enjoy the most?

Adrian says: I work in local Government and while being the sort of guy who has absolutely no problem with conforming and I love my job, the rules, red tape and bureaucracy completely stifles innovation and progress. It drives me mad because good ideas just take forever!

What I enjoy most about running our own business is that our destiny is completely and firmly in our hands. Ideas become reality, dreams can be realised as it’s us, not ‘them’, who make the decisions in putting plans into action. I can’t wait until the business is able to support giving up my current job and working full time on ViewMyLet.

Dianne says: I work as a graphic designer and the company I work for are always hiring and firing people, which is not very motivational when spending a lot of time worrying, “am I going to be next?” By getting ViewMyLet up and running, I’ll be able to be my own boss and spend more time working on ideas to improve the service we offer.

We love coming up with ideas together for the website and this would be the perfect opportunity to do this.

• What is your favourite motivational quote?

Without wishing to inflate EBA’s Steve Clarke’s ego, it was something that he said at the one-day seminar;

“Vision without action is a daydream, but action without vision is a nightmare.”

He also said;

‘Is your business a ‘business’ or a ‘hobby’ – it can’t be both.’

This struck a chord with us and it was there and then that we decided we want to run a business: not have an expensive hobby! EBA Millionaire Mentor, Penny Power also inspired us with her ‘know me, like me, follow me’ theme.

• What personal attributes do you think contributes to success in business?

There are sure to be lots of attributes that make for business success, many of which we have still to discover. For us, passion and a belief in what we want to do, coupled with endless enthusiasm and no fear of hard work is what we believe will help US succeed.  And we feel really supported. By working with the EBA, we’ve overcome a hurdle we think many entrepreneurs might fall at, ie: failing to ask for help!

We remembered what James Caan said at the seminar:

“You can’t be an expert in everything so get help from people who are!”

We believe this to be very very true and a vital ingredient in business success, hence our joining the EBA and having the opportunity to work with those who have ‘been there and done it’ (we gather many have written the book and no doubt do have the t-shirt and video too!). 

Our hearts are full of hope and excitement that we can learn from their success and avoid the pitfalls, one of which we already made, entrusting our website construction to a friend!

• How important is social media to your business?

Up until very recently, we thought social media meant Facebook and was ‘just for kids and adults who never grew up.’  How wrong we were!

We were astounded to learn just how important social media is these days and are on an almost vertical learning slope in coming to grips with Twitter, YouTube, ecademy, Linked In and the like.

From the EBA one-day seminar and after reading Penny Power’s book, Know me, Like me, Follow me, we realised that we need to get firmly in the social networking and social marketing scene as it will greatly benefit our goal in establishing ViewMyLet as a liked and trusted business.  We’re getting connected!

We have set ViewMyLet up on Twitter, YouTube, ecademy and LinkedIn; we’ve still to get to grips with how to become a good Tweeter though. Facebook is our next challenge – watch this space!

We’ve learnt also, courtesy of the wisdom pool we are now in, that you can’t do everything as fast as you like.  And that’s fine!

• What one piece of advice would you give someone thinking of starting a business for the first time?

If you believe in your product or service and, most importantly, in yourself, have a niche market or can better a product or service offered by your competitors, go for it!  However, don’t do it alone. Seek help from the experts as, while we may have a great idea, business acumen does not necessarily come along as standard for everyone.  Who can afford to make costly mistakes these days?

Contact ViewMyLet

Website: www.viewmylet.com
Email: viewmylet@tiscali.co.uk
Telephone: 01538 752771
Mobile: 07973 337251 (Adrian)   07816 437875 (Dianne)
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ViewMyLet
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ4LmC7wzCg
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/viewmylet
Skype: N/A
Facebook: N/A – but soon!

Bev James says “Starting a business while remaining employed is a safe and sensible option and can work very well especially with an online business. The biggest challenge can be responding to enquires in a timely fashion so working with virtual assistants can be the key to providing a professional service virtually 24 hrs a day. We will support Adrian and Dianne to help them make their dreams come true and  I am looking forward to watching ViewMyLet became the great success I know it can be!”

Steve Clarke says “What a pleasure to spend time in the company of Adrian and Dianne. I’m delighted they elected to choose me as their mentor to kick off their EBA journey. When I first spoke with them back in May I remember how bowled over I was by their energy and enthusiasm for their business venture; two key ingredients for business success.

We’re now mentoring in earnest. With sponge-like eagerness, they soak up all the information heading their way. They have developed a clarity of vision for where they see their business going and we are working together, step by step towards their goals.”

Penny Power says “It was such a wonderful surprise to receive a message from Adrian and Dianne after they attended the EBA Millionaire Mentor Day and actually witness them taking action so quickly with their Social Media strategy. They have an excellent business idea plus they are a highly attractive couple who clearly enjoy working together.  I love that their business was borne from a passion for a solution that they sought for themselves but no one could satisfy. I think they have many great skills and with their passion and new skills I am confident they will do well in the future.”

And finally, James Caan says “Adrian and Dianne are great examples of real-life budding entrepreneurs who have the determination to take an idea and bring it to fruition.  They are getting a start-up off the ground whilst holding down full time jobs, that’s not an easy task, and it’s certainly not for everyone.  But what’s important is they are open to learning from others who have a solid track record in business, and extracting those gold nuggets to help prevent them from making any unnecessary mistakes in the future.”