Interview with LYNN TERRY of Self Starter’s Weekly Tips
“Is life worth living? That depends on the liver – Anon”
For a woman who sold everything (her shoes, the pictures off the walls, most of her furniture – you name it!) to open an electronic shop with her husband, only to be left alone when the business took off, LYNN TERRY is, at the age of 30, unusually popular, successful and at peace with her life. She enjoys being a single mother to two kids and sharing joys and sorrows with her 91 year old Grandmother over a cup of coffee.
This ‘Self-Made’ woman has left a strong mark on my mind and will always continue to inspire me. The rough paths in her life have only made her feet stronger and brought her the well-deserved success in life. She owes a lot of her success to the supporting Online Community and is giving back all she can to in the form of – Self Starter’s Weekly Tips. Dot Com Women wishes her the best in life!
“Whatever your dream is… I encourage you to make it a reality.” – Lynn Terry
1. Tell us about your life before the Internet stormed into it?
Taking you back to 1996: I was married, working as a Unix System Administrator for a small local company and raising a blended family of four children (one mine, two his and one ours). I left that job to start my first business, an electronics shop and had a nice little PC sitting in my home-office for accounting and inventory.
2. And how did the date with the Computer and WWW come about?
I originally dialed up to research parts and vendors. Immediately I realized the potential with this access, and learned everything that I could about computers and the internet. Within six months I began offering computer training and web design on the side and by the end of our first year in business I was rewriting the business plan and moved us into a large commercial building in the city.
3. What led to the launch of ‘Web Service Network’ and ‘Self-Starters Weekly Tips’?
Web design, internet marketing and computer training quickly became my passion, and so Web Service Network became a stand alone business in late 1997. When my husband and I divorced, I gave him the electronics shop and continued to manage WSN from my own home office. Despite all obstacles, I was determined to succeed with it
Self-Starters Weekly Tips is a much newer project of mine, being just under two years old. It was about this time that I noticed a growing number of people were taking advantage of the software and books and resources available to design their own websites… I began publishing Self-Starters Weekly Tips by email each week – genuinely helping this group grasp it faster, do it better, and have more success with it. After all, I was a do-it-yourself’er – a self-starter – at one time myself (and still am in many ways!). Real quick this little publication became my second passion… and a second source of income. I offer my tips – my trade secrets, if you will – for free… and many of the resources are even free for the subscriber as well. It turned out to be the best business decision I’ve made in a long time… and the long list of testimonials from loyal subscribers alone makes it all worth it.
4. What were your experiences as a WOMAN in the Online business?
In the beginning my focus was offline and local clients, for the most part. I became more involved with the Online end of my business once I moved WSN to my home office and I was fortunate enough to get involved with some very supportive email discussion groups and online communities that had a focus on Women in Business. There has been a dramatic rise in woman-owned businesses and home-based businesses in the last five years, resulting in more support and resources than ever. This gave me a great starting point as a new business owner, and played a vital part in my success with WSN online.
5. Did Lady Luck smile on you almost immediately or you had to struggle for it?
LOL Well, I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a few months and pretty much sold everything that I owned to start the business. I have to admit that I was young, inexperienced and pretty much just full of excitement and had that feeling of being invincible that you have in the very beginning. So while, yes, I did struggle, make sacrifices and put a lot of hard work into it I can also say that Lady Luck was definitely on my side through it all.
6. How did being a ‘Single Parent’ affect your business? This was a huge adjustment for me, and I ended up restructuring my business completely. It was at this point that I needed to be at home more and meeting with clients or teaching classes less. I focused more on my online end of the business and eventually got away from the local offline business altogether. This allowed me to be more flexible with the children and their schedules, and more productive during the hours I set aside for my work.
7. What difference did you find between doing business online and offline?
The biggest difference for me was time and productivity. Communication is streamlined and efficient online, versus offline where I felt distracted from my tasks by the telephone and walk-in customers.
8. Lynn was recently interviewed at the Mary Goulet show. Lynn, please tell us about your experiences at the ‘Mary Goulet Show’.
Mary Goulet is a dynamic host with a great show! I first heard the show when Mary was interviewing Cheryl Demas of WAHM.com and was instantly hooked on the concept of Internet Talk Radio. It has been fun, a huge learning experience, and a great new way to share my information with a larger audience.
9. Who are/were the people who are/were instrumental in your success?
Cheryl Demas of WAHM.com, and all of her members, are at the beginning of this list. I joined her email discussion list in 1997 and found it to be the most resourceful and supportive group available at the time.
More recently, Nancy Johnson and Michelle Sepelak of the Womans Networking Community another wonderful group of women that have been both encouraging and supportive as I continued to grow my business online.
and Mark Farmer, of TotalLifeSuccess.com . Mark is a success coach and host of the 21-day Challenge event. I participated in the May Challenge this year for the first time and can honestly say that this is a life-changing event. Mark has been a huge inspiration to me, and was the one that encouraged me to think big and move past my self-imposed limitations.
My list here could go on and on, including Sharon & Roy Montero for their help in SEO, Rebecca Hagel for enlightening me on The Missing Link in e-business and for being a supportive friend, Mike Merz for his outstanding articles and insight on Affiliate Marketing, Mary Goulet for her personal support and for the radio publicity, and all of the members of the SSWT Forum who continue to participate in the growth and success of our community to name a few
10. What is the real ‘Lynn’ like when she is not a ‘business woman’ and is with her family?
I can usually be found making up new dances with my six year old daughter, flipping grilled cheeses for the troop of boys my son has over for the weekend, or having coffee with my Grandmother as we exchange stories about life and business. {smile} I have a good life and I am thankful for that.11. May we have Lynn’s final word on ‘Women’ and ‘Business’? Whatever your dream is… I encourage you to make it a reality.
