Interview with James Chartrand of Men With Pens

I did an interview with, James, one of the founders of MenWithPens.ca. This organization epitomizes the lifestyle that Sparkplugging.com is focused on. Their four employees, one of whom is a woman despite the name, operate from four different locations in two different countries thousands of miles apart. We talked about what they do, remote work advice, free content, and what a new entrepreneur should focus on. Read on and when you are done please go check out their site at MenWithPens.ca

Would you say that you focus more on one particular topic between wordpress customization, web design, and copywriting or is it more evenly divided?

We began our venture with content writing services, but it wasn’t long before we’d expanded that to offer website content (our specialty) and copywriting. Design came along shortly after, but with WordPress gaining ground as a way to offer people affordable sites they can control easily, the move to include it into our service offerings seemed natural.

Now our business offers just about anything anyone needs for online business, from rockin’ copy to slick design to technology that makes everything a breeze. I really enjoy having a full-service business, too, because we can definitely help more people get ahead and achieve their goals.

How long have you been at this?

Harry and I began the business three years ago in 2006. Charlie came onto the team last year and Taylor was our most recent addition this year. But we’ve each been working in our respective industries for some time, and between us, we probably count 50 years of experience or so.

I noticed that you have a woman on your team. Is there any chance that you would rebrand the site to something like 3 Men and Babe?

Ah, the eternal question (and the answer to your question is no, unfortunately.)

While we expected the business to stay smallish, the potential for growth quickly became apparent. We wouldn’t rebrand, as our brand has a strong reputation for great work, top-notch service, and expert skills, all with a relaxed, friendly and casual attitude. We just make sure we work with a team that supports our brand image, mission and philosophy, whether they be women or men.

You are also all pretty dispersed geographically, was that a conscious decision from the beginning or did it just happen out of necessity?

Our geographical locations were born out of necessity, but also conveyed that almost anything can be done from a distance and fully online. Our business model shows other entrepreneurs and freelancers that the sky is the limit.

I admit I’ve tried to get the team to move to Canada, but they seem to think it’s too cold up here…

What advice could you give to others working virtually that could ease any potential problems they might encounter. How can they learn from your mistakes?

Learning from other people’s experiences is one of the best ways to learn. We built our business the hard way, with knocks and obstacles, overcoming each one. We like to share those learning and life experiences at our blog, so that other people don’t have to go through what we did and get the fast track to success.

There are two pieces of advice I’ll share with your readers:

1) Use systems to streamline how you work for the most efficient process you can create

2) Believe in yourself. There are going to be all sorts of bumps while building a virtual business, and the self-confidence that you can get through it is crucial to success.

Some would say that giving away all that content (i.e. knowledge) is foolish but what do you think?

Good question. I recently blogged my thoughts on free content and how it affects business.

Many people have appreciated the post’s message and have found that it’s turned their business model upside down – in a good way.

Has it been effective for you as a business generation tool or more as a brand-building tool?

Both. While our blog isn’t our main source of business, it has allowed us to establish our expertise, share with others and build the Men with Pens brand. We let our personality show through on the blog, and we consider it our home. Our readers are more than welcome to come hang out in the comment section, too, and I think they get a good taste of our brand each day.

What would you say is your brand, if you had to describe it in 2 – 3 sentences?

Our brand is all about giving our clients sexy, elite design and content that lets them get ahead in life – while experiencing great service on a platter. If I had to sum it up even further in a few words, I’d say our brand is “casual, confident success”.

Where would you tell a new entrepreneur to focus: his blog, lead generation or brand building?

Definitely lead generation. It isn’t a business if it isn’t getting sales. The brand should really be built and established before a blog or business even gets started. It’s part of the foundation. Once a blog or business is launched, the brand permeates everything and the main business focus becomes converting consumers to clients.

While it has never been easier to start a blog, the competition for eyeballs has never been greater. Do you think a great looking blog with great content is enough today?

That’s never enough. You can have the best-looking blog and the best content in the world… but if you aren’t giving people what they want, then you won’t reach success. What you put out there doesn’t count. Giving people what they want is everything.

So before you open a blog, before you start putting work into your business, figure out what need you’re responding to. Do people want what you’re going to offer? Can you do it better than the competition? Or differently? What’s going to make people want what you have – and what can you give them that they want?

Then get a design that gets their attention and copy that hooks them in, keeps them reading and compels them to take action. The combination of all these creates success.

Christopher Johnston is 37-year old husband, father, christian, iPhone owner, and new Mac user. A recovering former financial advisor, passionate about the new green economy and how it will help my hometown, New Orleans, recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chrisjohnston