Meet the Mom Behind ListPlanIt.com!
Who is List Plan It? Where are you located?
My name is Jennifer Tankersley, and I created ListPlanIt.com in 2007. My family moved to Maine just 18 months ago after trying to get here for the past 10 years. I guess you can say that Maine has been very inspiring for me.
How did you come up with your business name?
I spent a lot of time thinking about the name. The business concept came first, then I had to come up with something suitable to call it. In this age of web real estate, and since my business is nothing without web presence, any names that I thought of had to have an available domain name. My original name was simply To-Do.com, but that was taken.
When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I was getting ready for bed one night just before the New Year's last year. I am a huge list person (obviously) and was thinking in my head about all of the lists that I wanted to make to try to get my house back in order after the holidays. A flash of a children's educational website called EnchantedLearning.com came to my mind and suddenly the entire concept of ListPlanIt.com came to me. I've had a lot of business ideas in my life, but this one seemed relevant to me and something that I could actually achieve! I got so excited and within 30 minutes, I had a basic business plan and almost 500 ideas for lists recorded in my notebook!
How did you get started?
The very next day, I started. I began researching the possibilities, names, costs, the competition (although I knew that what I was planning to offer was like nothing out there). I began creating the lists and planning pages. After I had over 100, then I began to act on the website. I took some business courses in college, but there were MANY things that I needed to study and learn about. There are still aspects of business that I think I may never be truly good at (record-keeping, communicating ListPlanIt.com to people in person, SEO), but I am working on it. ListPlanIt.com was finally launched on May 9, 2007. What an incredible day! I got 3 subscribers that day!
What motivates you to keep your business going?
I am very competitive and stubborn. I don't quit. I don't know what I would do if I started a business that truly had no chance of surviving. I'm not sure that I would ever be able to let go. Because I conceived of this idea of a business, incubated it, birthed it, and have watched it grow so much in just a few months, I feel very maternal and protective of ListPlanIt.com. It is my fourth baby! I WILL see it be healthy and succeed.
Do you have a particular list that's most used and popular among your subscribers?
I can track what is most searched for on ListPlanIt.com, and definitely, by far, the most searched items are grocery/shopping lists. I have 5 different grocery lists to choose from, including a Target and Wal-Mart list so moms know that they can choose the grocery/shopping list that suits their family's needs. Another unique quality of the lists on ListPlanIt.com is that almost all of the lists allow you to type your own information right into the page and then save it for future use.
How do you advertise your business? Which methods proved successful/effective?
The first thing I did to advertise ListPlanIt.com's existence to the world was to begin Pay Per Click advertising with Google Adwords. I also write articles and submit them to as many article directories or message boards as I can. Another method has been through my monthly Lists of the Month Newsletter. I use existing lists or specially made lists around a theme. My newsletter mailing list has grown really fast!
How do you juggle family and work at home?
This is a hard one, because though I love my children immensely and choose to be a stay at home mom to them, I find that my newest "baby" needs a lot of nurturing and I have truly enjoyed doting on it. Plus, websites and businesses truly need a lot of upkeep to keep them fresh and to attract visitors/subscribers. I usually spend half an hour to an hour working in the morning, and then I try to spend as much time in the afternoon as possible. This, unfortunately, means that my middle child (my son) spends 3 afternoons a week watching TV. I don't like that, but I don't really know what else to do with him.
What advice would you give to moms seeking to become a WAHM?
I say Go For It! But it helps if you are a self-motivated person who is willing to sacrifice working at the computer or assembling products or advertising around town or whatever you do instead of relaxing during naptime or in the evening when the kids are in bed. Success depends on how much you are willing to devote to your business. Be prepared to lose a little more time and energy spent on your own personal pursuits when you pursue a Work at Home job.
Visit ListPlanIt.com at: http://www.listplanit.com
I have recently begun a blog in conjunction with ListPlanIt.com. It is called List Mama Blog and you can find lists of what moms care about such as healthy snacks, speedy dinners, communication techniques, movies, books, you name it. Check it out at http://listplanit.blogspot.com
Current promotions/specials at ListPlanIt.com:
Get $5.00 off a yearly subscription to ListPlanIt.com when you use the promo code: 02love08
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