From PC World Online
Story of a Site

Young entrepreneur describes his entrance into e-commerce with yet another hopeful new Internet site.

by Eileen Smith, PC World
October 12, 1999, 2:20 p.m. PT

Think Internet start-up company.

A couple of guru kids hatch a dream in their parents' two-car garage. They work day and night, living on instant coffee, pizza delivery and one too many credit cards. They're the next Amazon.com, the next big thing, the next in line at the electronic-commerce candy stand.

They hope.

How about one 24-year-old who built his own athletic personal training Web site using Microsoft FrontPage?

That's Brian Day.

Day launched Fitness By Day last week. It's a small e-business. Very small. In fact, he doesn't have any clients yet. But he was invited to speak at the Massachusetts Electronic Commerce Association seminar Tuesday morning.

"I figure with one client, I'll go public," Day said, smiling. "With three clients, I'll get bought out by Amazon."

Day, a certified personal trainer, got the idea to go online when he was helping an out-of-town friend get in shape. He e-mailed his friend exercise routines and nutrition advice. The next time he saw him, there was a notable change in his physique.

It's the typical genesis of an Internet company: an idea backed by a solid computer background. Sort of.

"I knew how to use control-alt-delete to restart my computer," Day said of his technical expertise prior to becoming an e-commerce player. Needless to say, building the site took twice as long as he anticipated.

Learning by Doing

Day knew that he faced certain challenges to taking his business live. First, he had to learn how to make a Web page. He also had to learn how to process credit card information and payments, and how to collect data from users.

But from his lazy days of Internet surfing, Day had seen many sites burst onto the scene. He figured if they could do it, so could he.

By using resources available on the Web, from graphic designers to technical support, Day built his site from the ground. He learned Microsoft's user-friendly FrontPage application and designed the entire site. Over time, he learned to do the big things first and the little things second. In other words, instead of worrying about what shade of turquoise the navigation buttons should be, he worried about whether the site was actually functional.

When he was ready, he sent his link to anyone who would look at it for free--friends and family always make a good captive audience. Day said he got the best feedback from the least computer-savvy people, like his grandmother.

Day said that he's living proof that anyone can start an Internet business.

But in the world of e-commerce, launching is just the tip of the iceberg.