Being an entrepreneur has its own rewards but it comes with a huge responsibility as Jack T. Philbin, discovered through the process of setting up KeyEssay.com. Philbin shares with readers his experiences of being an entrepreneur.
Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business.
KeyEssay.com is a professional writing service offering accurate and expertly formatted copy to students and business people. All work is done keeping in mind the time sensitive nature of assignments. Headquartered in the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area of Eastern Pennsylvania, KeyEssay.com is exclusively an on-line entity, using contracted writers from around the US to work on projects.
Kindly give us a brief description about yourself.
Hi, I am Jack T. Philbin. I have been researching and writing on a variety of topics for over 37 years. I have a college education and play different roles – publisher, proof-reader and business owner.
How did the idea for your business come about?
The need for essay writing services for students and business people inspired me to set up Essay.com. Moreover, today the employment scene is not stable. At any given moment, down-sizing or optimizing can result in termination of your job. By setting out on my own, I knew I would be holding my future in my own hands, which can be a dizzying and frightful experience at the same time. But, I am convinced that hard-work, determination and a good product are the means to success and our on-line business continues to be a success.
How important have good employees been to your success?
The success of KeyEssay.com is directly related to the writers we employ. All our writers are carefully screened, are college educated, have been writing for years and meet stated deadlines. They all have knowledge of APA, MLA and other formatting styles. Due to nuances in the English language, we only employ writers from the US. This actually costs us more but our customers only deserve the best.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
I believe to be a successful entrepreneur, a person must possess integrity, respect and knowledge of the business he or she is offering to clients. These skills will provide the basis for establishing the critical groundwork for a business that will succeed.
How many hours do you work a day on average?
As an on-line business serving the entire US, we usually have staff available on our chat desk 24/7. So although no one person works around the clock, we effectively provide potential customers with service any time it’s needed.
How do you build a successful customer base?
The customer base for KeyEssay.com is acquired by using keyword specific advertisements on Google. In future, we will use Google’s organic listings, the websites that appear in the center of a web search’s results.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
The ability to hold your future in your own hands is at times frightening, but exciting as well. The other thing which excites me is that I report to no one and am not accountable to anyone but myself. However, this requires discipline and adaptability. Discipline, for staying on course and doing what needs to be done, day in and day out. Adaptability, to quickly respond to changes in pricing, products etc.
To what do you most attribute your success?
The success of KeyEssay.com is directly proportionate to the time, energy and research we employ to respond to customer needs. As an on-line entity, we needed to design a web site that was both visually appealing and functional, offering a service that was needed by students and business people. We achieved this by analyzing successful sites in our niche and adopting the ‘best practice’ methods. As we went through this process, we kept in mind who we wanted to attract, how we could attract them, what we needed to present to prospective customers on our site, competitive pricing and ease of navigation around our site. The fact that we have repeat customers assures us that we have accomplished what we set out to achieve.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
As any successful business person can attest, the real satisfaction for our efforts come from word of mouth advertising. Why? The answer is simple: you can’t buy it. When KeyEssay.com is recommended by a customer to a friend, classmate or relative, it shows we have done our job by meeting expectations. We’re here to offer professional writing services, and when a customer is satisfied and tells someone else about what we do, it makes all the time, energy and efforts we expend worthwhile.
In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
My life as an entrepreneur is best exemplified by the word ‘excitement.’ Meeting deadlines, acquiring new customers, retaining old ones, finding professional writers on a variety of topics, answering questions from staff and a variety of other activities – all make for an action packed day.
How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
KeyEssay.com prides itself on professional work done on time. If for some reason a customer feels the product we have created does not meet their standards, we perform a rewrite or rewrites until we satisfy the person. As a service oriented company, we want all our customers to be satisfied with our work. In the case of a dissatisfied customer, we issue a refund, no questions asked.
What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
When starting KeyEssay.com, it was necessary to work for long hours. Our devotion to the business didn’t halt on weekends as various jobs needed to be done before our go-live date. But our hard work and dedication have paid off many times over and the sacrifices were worthwhile.
