October 11, 2004
Extended family | A chat with John Powell, founder of MomAndPops-R-Us in Lisbon Falls.
By Dorothy Ogrodowczyk
Founded: February 2004
Revenues, year one: $8,000
Projected revenues, year two: $50,000
Address: 20 Hinckley St., Lisbon Falls
Phone: 353-6782
Web: www.maprus.com
Describe what your company does.
MomAndPops-R-Us, or Maprus, provides a method for mom and pop businesses, or small businesses, to get found on the Internet. Search engines often can't find [small business websites] ˆ it's a huge problem for them.
We provide Internet storefronts through our site builder software, get domain registration for them and hook them up to the Internet through our own Maprus Internet service provider that includes five free e-mail accounts. We also provide mom-and-pop businesses with a gateway to do business over the Internet at our Mom and Pops Mall, www.momandpopsmall.com.
We also have an independent e-commerce consultant program, where consultants make the Maprus marketing system available nationwide and in Canada and the United Kingdom.
How many employees do you have?
Two. Keith Anoe is the senior partner.
When did you first get the idea for the company?
I owned a small business, Andronox Box Co., in Lisbon Falls, which closed five years ago [because of] foreign competition. I had someone build a website for the business, but search engines couldn't find it. I felt that there were thousands more like me that needed to join together to form a large marketplace to sell products. This was the seed for the idea for Maprus.
What was the biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
I am not technically oriented, and when I first started [trying to develop] Maprus five years ago, I needed people who could do the [technical] work. I offered them a partnership to help me. One person would do a piece of it using one kind of software, and the next person would do another portion using a different kind of software. It was helter-skelter, and it caused problems. Most of the Maprus marketing system, including the Maprus website, was in place, but nothing was networked. Keith made everything work, and it was no easy task.
How did you finance the launch of your business, and what did it cost?
Somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000, [financed with] my own money.
What have you achieved since then?
We have 60-65 businesses listed on the mall. We've built sites for 27 businesses, and we expect to more than triple that by this time next year.
What are your plans for growth?
We're going to launch a Spanish language Maprus site, but that's a couple of years away. We also want to add a third person for marketing ˆ up to this point, we've advertised through word of mouth.
What's your competition like and how do you differ?
There are all kinds of people out there who create websites, but ours is especially for small businesses ˆ people who work out of their house, their garage or even larger small businesses.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business and what you learned from it.
Mostly, it's hit or miss. I have in mind what I want to do [but] my difficulty is translating that into words that a technical person can understand. I don't know enough about computers to know what can be done, and I've had to make adjustments based on what's possible.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
We'd advertise to promote the mall. We want mom-and-pop businesses to have us host their websites, and we want the buying public to go into the mall to buy the products and services produced by the mom-and-pop businesses listed there.
Are you happy or disappointed that summer is officially over?
As far as my business is concerned, it doesn't matter because it's not seasonal. Personally, I'd like to have summer all year long. I'd like to have summer two days before Christmas and two days after.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to dorothyo@mainebiz.biz.
Revenues, year one: $8,000
Projected revenues, year two: $50,000
Address: 20 Hinckley St., Lisbon Falls
Phone: 353-6782
Web: www.maprus.com
Describe what your company does.
MomAndPops-R-Us, or Maprus, provides a method for mom and pop businesses, or small businesses, to get found on the Internet. Search engines often can't find [small business websites] ˆ it's a huge problem for them.
We provide Internet storefronts through our site builder software, get domain registration for them and hook them up to the Internet through our own Maprus Internet service provider that includes five free e-mail accounts. We also provide mom-and-pop businesses with a gateway to do business over the Internet at our Mom and Pops Mall, www.momandpopsmall.com.
We also have an independent e-commerce consultant program, where consultants make the Maprus marketing system available nationwide and in Canada and the United Kingdom.
How many employees do you have?
Two. Keith Anoe is the senior partner.
When did you first get the idea for the company?
I owned a small business, Andronox Box Co., in Lisbon Falls, which closed five years ago [because of] foreign competition. I had someone build a website for the business, but search engines couldn't find it. I felt that there were thousands more like me that needed to join together to form a large marketplace to sell products. This was the seed for the idea for Maprus.
What was the biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
I am not technically oriented, and when I first started [trying to develop] Maprus five years ago, I needed people who could do the [technical] work. I offered them a partnership to help me. One person would do a piece of it using one kind of software, and the next person would do another portion using a different kind of software. It was helter-skelter, and it caused problems. Most of the Maprus marketing system, including the Maprus website, was in place, but nothing was networked. Keith made everything work, and it was no easy task.
How did you finance the launch of your business, and what did it cost?
Somewhere between $8,000 and $12,000, [financed with] my own money.
What have you achieved since then?
We have 60-65 businesses listed on the mall. We've built sites for 27 businesses, and we expect to more than triple that by this time next year.
What are your plans for growth?
We're going to launch a Spanish language Maprus site, but that's a couple of years away. We also want to add a third person for marketing ˆ up to this point, we've advertised through word of mouth.
What's your competition like and how do you differ?
There are all kinds of people out there who create websites, but ours is especially for small businesses ˆ people who work out of their house, their garage or even larger small businesses.
Describe a mistake you've made in your business and what you learned from it.
Mostly, it's hit or miss. I have in mind what I want to do [but] my difficulty is translating that into words that a technical person can understand. I don't know enough about computers to know what can be done, and I've had to make adjustments based on what's possible.
If you were given $500,000 toward your business, what would you do with it?
We'd advertise to promote the mall. We want mom-and-pop businesses to have us host their websites, and we want the buying public to go into the mall to buy the products and services produced by the mom-and-pop businesses listed there.
Are you happy or disappointed that summer is officially over?
As far as my business is concerned, it doesn't matter because it's not seasonal. Personally, I'd like to have summer all year long. I'd like to have summer two days before Christmas and two days after.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to dorothyo@mainebiz.biz.
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