* What was your education experience?
Lynda Weinman
I had an unorthodox and alternative education, for both high school and college and I think it influenced my attitude towards work and life in a significant way. I went to schools where there wasn’t a lot of structure or forced prerequisites, and students had a lot of choice. What this encouraged me to do was to identify what really interested me and learn that it was up to me to find internal motivation to pursue my interests. I graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington in 1976 with a BA in Humanities. The personal computer had yet not been invented, so I had no experience with software or design in college.
* What was your professional experience?
After I graduated college at age 21, I worked as a buyer in the gift industry. I opened my own store in 1978 when I was 23, and within a year opened a second store. I closed both stores as they were in debt during the recession of 1980, and got introduced into the film industry through some personal connections. I learned how to create special effects animation and photography, which was still all drawn by hand and shot on analog cameras back then. I got my first computer in 1982, and that was when I started teaching myself how to use software.
* When did you start your business?
I actually started my first business when I was 23, with the retail shops. The computer business started quite organically, first with co-workers asking me how to do desktop publishing, and later with the word spreading that I had good computer skills which caused a few clients to offer me freelance consulting projects. I left the film industry to pursue my own computer graphics animation company in 1986. I started teaching computer graphics in 1989 at Art Center College of Design, where I taught until 1996 when I moved away from Pasadena to Ojai after the success of my first book, Designing Web Graphics.
* How did you come up with the opportunity to start Lynda.com?
lynda.com started as a personal web site and a spot to host my student’s assignments. I was quite passionate about the web and its potential when I first discovered it in 1995. I wanted to teach my art students how to publish their portfolios to a web site, but there was no book on that topic at the time. I decided that someone had to write a book on this subject, and it might as well be me. My book was published in 1996, and became an international best seller. The success of my first book allowed me to start my own school, line of books, and online educational service.
* How did any outside advisors make a difference in your company?
It was truthfully my husband and daughter who had the biggest influence to start the company. They were tired of me traveling all the time, and believed that people would come to me rather than me going to people. My husband pushed the idea to start a school in Ojai, California, which is where we moved after the success of my book allowed us to buy our first home. in fact, we rented a local high school’s computer lab, and advertised classes on the front page of lynda.com when we first started. We were amazed that the class sold out, and people came from all over the US. In fact, one student flew in from Vienna Austria, which really drove home how powerful the web had become in its outreach.
* Did you have a business plan of any kind?
My husband did – I did not, and could not – my brain doesn’t work that way! I didn’t believe that we could make a business in a town of 7,000 people that was known for spas and yoga studios. But he believed that if people would fly and pay to see me speak and teach in other parts of the country, that they would come here too, and he showed me on paper how it could work. If anything, it worked better than he planned. He has an amazing ability to forecast sales. In fact, I found a piece of paper on his desk recently that showed what our sales were today, ten years later. I asked him when he’d made that chart, and he told me in 2002!
* Tell us about your businesses and the services you provide
We specialize in software education for the creative industry, with a focus in web, print, video, digital imaging and photography, motion graphics, interactive, 3D, and much more. Our subject matter range grows every year, and right now we work with 65+ instructors who create custom curriculum. We produce books, live events, training videos, and online training videos.
* What were/are the most demanding conflicts or trade-offs you face running your businesses and balancing life?
Being a mom has to top that list. My daughter was only six when I wrote my first book, and my success was tough on her as she had competition for my time and attention. I have said no to so many traveling and speaking opportunities over the years as a result, but it was all very challenging and continues to be so, even though she’s now a teenager. I’ve really tried to tailor my work so that I can in our home town, and succeed most of the time. It was a lot harder when I was starting out though, and building a name for myself. Sadly, that was a very tough time for her, and that has weighed heavily on me.
* What are your plans for the future?
We hope to continue to grow our training business. It’s my passion, and my gift, and there is nothing that I’d rather do with my life. Our business has grown just about every year we’ve been doing it (except for during the dot com bust), and we’ve never had an unprofitable year – even then. So, perhaps it sounds anti-climactic, but I love what we do, and feel lucky that there’s an audience and a business model that supports it. We have no plans to change, though we are growing and adding new staff and offices, and I see that trend continuing forward. If anything, there will be new ways to deliver the training we create, but we will always keep the quality and effectiveness as our core pursuit.
* How important is it for a business to establish and maintain business connections?
You know, our business is built on customers, not so much business connections or partnerships. Over the course of the past ten years, we’ve touched well over a million people worldwide with our training. It’s our goal to produce training that our customers find helpful and effective. We’ve kept our eye on their needs, and they’ve rewarded us by coming back again and again. I have always reached out to a large audience, not a few business partners, though our educational materials are respected by individuals, corporations and partners alike.
* What things do you find personally satisfying as an entrepreneur?
To build something that is so much bigger than me. To think that what I started feeds the mouths of so many employees, and royalties for so many trainers, and that customers get so much benefit from what we produce.
* What advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur?
Stick to your core competencies – don’t just start a business to make money or leave a job you don’t like. Find your passion. Follow it, and the universe will open!
* Could you suggest the three most important lessons you have learned in order to run a successful technology and internet-based business?
1. Listen to your customers, and always keep their needs at the forefront of your goals.
2. The quality and effectiveness of your product is the most important asset you possess
3. Keep your attention on how technology is changing so you can stay current to meet the needs of your audience.
For more information about Lynda Weinman and her business please visit www.lynda.com.