Any, and I do mean ANY serious Internet marketer knows of Jeremy Schoemaker, even if only by his online handle of “Shoemoney”. He’s the “make money online” guy, running more than half a dozen businesses and pulling in millions a year. I’ve followed and commented on his blog for months now, but you could have knocked me down with a feather when he agreed to give us this interview–I guess sometimes paying attention to what people say works out!
Mogul: What do you think makes a good stripper? A good UFC fighter?
JS: Wow great question… well, I think obviously the ability to generate the most amount of money from people who come to their club. I think looks have very little to do with how much money a stripper can make. A good stripper (like an Internet marketer) really understands the art of getting people to do what you want them to do while giving up as little as possible. A very good stripper at work can be an amazing educational experience for even the most savvy Internet marketer. I mean look at a stripper- they have to be experts at the initial pitch, the upsell, and be able to close all in one. Quite a art.
A good UFC fighter IMO has the ability to adapt more than anything else. The top fighters are experts at many different disciplines and can call on an arsenal of offensive and defensive moves depending on the situation.
Mogul: I know that you enjoy coding. How would you explain to someone who knew nothing about computers why you enjoy programming?
JS: I hate doing the same thing over and over. This is why I started programming. Seven years ago I was searching for ways to properly format images so they would work on my Nextel phone. Once I figured it out I offered to do it for others. I was getting hundreds of requests a day to resize images and I knew there had to be a better way. I picked up some programming books at Borders, slapped some 80% off stickers on them I got from the clearance rack (hey, I was super broke!), and figured out how to resize these images server side. Then I started allowing people to save images and sort them by category (now called tags). Long story short, that (http://www.nextpimp.com) site evolved to make over 10 million dollars in profit in under 7 years and taught me how to make money online with subscriptions, donations, contextual revenue, direct ad sales, and even selling my own products. I leveraged this information to start my own blog at shoemoney.com and write about my learnings along the way, eventually even launching my own advertising network called AuctionAds, which in only 4 short months went from 0 to 25,000+ users making over 3 million a month in net revenue, then we sold the company in 2007 to MediaWhiz.
More than programming, it’s about solving problems (which often programming does). I love solving problems.
Mogul: Of all the websites/services you’ve created outside the blog, of which one are you the most proud and why?
JS: This will probably sound really awkward but I dunno that I would say I am super proud of any of them. They have all been amazing learning experiences, but I think I really missed a ton of opportunities. Nextpimp should have been a 100 million dollar site but I lost interest and did not put someone in charge of it years ago. The same thing could be said about Auctionads too; I mean even though we got a great exit I wish I would have taken it to the next level. BUT all those experiences help us build better companies and services going forward. Plus I am just kind of tough to satisfy…
Mogul: What’s one thing that’s making you angry right now and why?
JS: I have been in a pissed off mood for weeks because while I should be marketing ShoeMoney Tools I am stuck writing documentation which I am REALLY bad at and it takes tons of time and I HATE doing it.
Mogul: What are the business and personal things that you are most excited about right now?
JS: Businesswise ShoeMoney Tools is really exciting. We have been experiencing slow, steady growth and just reached our 2,000th user. I really want to grow the userbase to 10,000 users within the next year and a half and that challenge REALLY excites me. We are implementing somethings like monthly webinars and Q&A’s and tons of other features on top of our industry-leading toolset.
On the personal level honestly I just love spending time with my daughters and watching them grow up.
Mogul: If you got another chance to make one decision you’ve made in your life, which one would it be and why?
JS: The only things I can think of are really stupid things…. like the time in college I smoked so much weed that I couldn’t feel my head (trying to prove to friends that weed did not affect me) …. or the time I lost $1350 on a UFC bet….
Most major “mistakes” I dunno if I would want to correct them because they have made me who I am.
Thanks for the interview!
Yeah right, Shoe–like YOU should me thanking ME! Thank you for being so incredibly generous with your time and energy. See you all next week!
July 21st, 2009 at 10:49 am
Interesting interview. Wish there were a few more questions about what he does, though.
Stefan´s last blog ..Review: The Adventures of Johnny Bunko
July 21st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Fair comment, but if you do a Google search for “Jeremy Schoemaker interview” you’ll find hundreds of interviews where he goes into more detail about his work schedule and businesses. I thought it’d be fun to ask him questions that he might not be sick of answering a hundred times a week.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Thumbs up for that view
July 21st, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Awesome interview! I have always favored Jeremy over John C. Ha, Jeremy taking hits from the bong, love it.
Josh Zehtabchi´s last blog ..The golden rule of website interface design
July 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Cool interview. It’s always refreshing seeing new questions being asked instead of the same ones over and over again. Well done!
Eric Clickbooth´s last blog ..$5000 Twitter Contest Featured in the Wall Street Journal
July 21st, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Great interview! I’ve always wanted to know how Shoemoney would market strippers!
Arron Lorenz´s last blog ..Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-07-19
July 21st, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Great interview! Definitely going on my delicious links.
July 21st, 2009 at 7:36 pm
That is very cool. To do an out of the ordinary interview with someone who’s done hundreds of them and ask them the questions about something they enjoy is brilliant.
Your point about finding lots of interview where he explains about what he does is solid.
This was really different and really some great insight.
Thanks for taking this approach. Quite delightful!
Thanks.
PaxNow´s last blog ..Laid-Off Workers and the US Stimulus Bill Aid For COBRA Health Insurance Premiums
July 21st, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Wow. That check is coolio. Wish I could take that now!
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:27 am
Wow.. nice interview.
Rahul´s last blog ..Blogging Earn Cash For Life
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Thanks for taking the time to conduct the interview. It was entertaining.
Bakari´s last blog ..Why Jed Clampett really moved to Beverly Hills and why Environment is the forerunner of Success
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Wow.. that big huh! Time to go shoppinggg!
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Hands down with the interview. Wish I had that check now.
July 25th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
This site works good with the interview
July 26th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I too hate doing the same thing over and over. I could relate to the interviewee well. Good thing he has found what makes him hit the pot!
July 27th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Good point about managing mistakes.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
How about asking him how he markets strippers?
July 29th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Great interview with the guy. He’s the man!
July 30th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I’m looking forward to seeing more of his blogging in the future. I’m inspired by this interview.
August 1st, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Wow, an interview with the man himself. I can’t help but remember seeing that cheque for the first time and thinking to myself “Damn.”
…and as for the questions, I think it was a very original selection. Good for you! Keep it up.
Herbert´s last blog ..3 Effective Methods to use Craigslist to find a Job
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:18 am
Great Interview!
I think you went for less conventional questions which was refreshing!
I love how successful people always say they learnt the most from their mistakes. Its very motivating!
Kaizan´s last blog ..How to Eat Less – and Still be Happy
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I agree. Succesful people are the ones who once failed and just continued to rising. It’s inspiring!
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:32 pm
ShoeMoney is the best blog source.
Surender Sharma´s last blog ..Why Blogs fail
August 4th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I WANT TO GET HIS CHECKS
August 5th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
yeah he’s totally the internet “guy”
August 6th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
He has nailed it! I’m inspired by this interview!
August 9th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
oh yeah! youre the man!! fabulous interview!! inspiring!!
August 10th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Jeremy is the one who should we look upto. Cool interview! I’m close to getting his checks soon!
August 11th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I remember when I received my first cheque, it was like heaven!
August 12th, 2009 at 9:06 am
great interview, gotta love that guy
August 12th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Nice questions. Nice way of breaking the ice with the first one lol.
Asswass´s last blog ..New Blog Tip: Get inside the first 5 comment spots.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
I wonder how much is he getting these days now.
August 17th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I was inspired by this interview. I should seriously start marketing my site soon!
August 20th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
and getting your checques like him? Dream on!
August 25th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
It is possible to make that kind of money, so long as you’re focused and determined.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I second. With determination and positivity, who knows.. anytime soon, I might be interviewed and be featured in this site as well
August 28th, 2009 at 8:15 am
It takes more than determination. It also takes skill, time, and the ability to visualize what no one else is able to see…yet.
Great interview. Looking forward to whomever is next.
~R.W.
R.W. Jackson´s last blog ..Quality content for your money making blog – Part 1
September 14th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Amen. Focus, determination and little bit of luck determine the real winner.
September 16th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
This guy is making much moolah. He’s living life to the fullest now.
September 19th, 2009 at 6:21 am
@Ibon
THEN I’LL TAKE IT FROM YOU, OKAY. smile!
NICE INTERVIEW…
thanks
-Nhoel of http://keywordspeak.com
Nhoel´s last blog ..10 Most Common Grammar Mistakes
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Great interview here, I always enjoy reading ShoeMoney’s interviews and thoughts because he is so real and to the point. He doesn’t fill you with fluff and generalities like so many others and provides excellent advice, it’s the reason he’s so popular as well.
BigManta´s last blog ..Making Money Online is a Marathon – Not a Sprint
September 24th, 2009 at 1:59 am
Hey I know this guy…one of the popular bloggers like John Yeo and Amit Agarwal…Good to read his interview..
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October 5th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Great Interview. A nice refreshing set of questions. I agree, I would like to have heard more strategy. But it was nice to see a different side of shoemoney. Maybe try to do a follow up interview with some tips. That would be great.
Jon Scott´s last blog ..20 Powerful Tips on Using Resell Rights