Success Stories: Audrey Kerwood and Andy Jenkins of A2Armory.com
by Kevin Bidwell

I got aquainted with Audrey and Andy recently after taking a look at their excellent book on building a Yahoo store. (You can see it here: Yahoo Store Builder)

They are examples of the GOOD kind of people you meet through online business--they have great goals for their lives, a high sense of values and work hard to achieve those goals without violating those values.

I think they're the kind of people most of us want to be when we grow up.

I had the opportunity to ask them about their various online endevours. If you have ever wanted to start from scratch and get going online, Audrey and Andy and great examples to follow...

Can you tell me a little about both of your backgrounds?

We both have a deep love of films, just like you do. Ever since we were both little kids, we've run been getting into some sort of trouble by borrowing friends and relatives video cameras, scooping up all of our willing and unwilling friends, and trespassing on someone's property to make fun little flicks. We both paid our dues, both at film school and as coffee getters on just about every sort of imaginable Film and TV project.

Eventually, I worked my way into Visual FX, and strangely enough Direct Response Television (Infomercials). Audrey wiggled her way into the Feature Film industry in the prop and production design department, and graduating into bean counting. She was an accountant on the Film Signs.

What was your first site? What sites do you currently own?

When we decided to start a Home Based Internet Business, we had the advantage of having read "Cash flow Quadrant". We knew almost right away that we needed a few different streams of income if we were going to do this full-time. So, Audrey went to work setting up a Yahoo! Store (www.a2armory.com), and running some Ebay auctions. Since I have always been a Home Business Junky, I started an Information site called Home Business Reviews.

We currently have 4 Yahoo! Stores, marketing them depending on seasonal conditions. We also run 4 affiliate web sites, Ebay auctions, and our Information Product Web site, Yahoo! Store Profits.

What motivated you to get into an online business?

Easy Question, and let me just say, we remind ourselves of our intentions Daily. Audrey and I are crazy about each other. So much so that even while we liked what we did in the Film Business, we HATED the hours it kept us apart. Just to give you a perspective, most film shoots are scheduled at 12 hours a day. That's just how they are scheduled! It's not uncommon for a shoot to run 16 hours. We simply wanted to spend more time together. Here's the thing, we made terribly good money making TV and Film. But it eats your soul and your free time. Leaving for work before the sun comes up and getting home after it's sets doesn't leave you much "Human Time".

Seriously, I wanted to learn to play the drums, and Audrey wanted to play the bass guitar - but by the time we ate something at night, it was time for bed.

The world is a fascinating place, and we both felt that the time we spent just making a living was way out of any sort of Healthy Balance. We didn't want wealth, we just wanted some independence. I've always been fascinated with the Internet. I'd be surfing along, see a site that bowled me over and shout out "There has GOT to be a way to make money with this thing!"

One day, we just decided to put some money aside and give it a shot. And now I'm talking to a guy like you!

What still motivates you?

The other day, I got an email from a customer of Yahoo! Store Profits.

She had opened up a Yahoo! Store from scratch, and as a matter of fact, she was one of our first customers. The end of her email, she said, and I quote

"Guys, I think you have just changed my life".

Now, this woman used to write us, asking questions like "What's a Jpeg file?" She's on her way to making six figures with one store.

That's one reason.

I can remember when Audrey and I started writing YSP. We'd been reading other e-books about how we needed to create our unique selling proposition.

We'd sit around with a note book, brainstorming, getting discouraged. Then Audrey hit me in the arm and said "Hey, let's tell the truth and make a good product. I mean, how can we fail if we really want to help people? We can learn all this Internet Marketing crap as we go - let's just commit to helping people. Andy, I MEAN IT!"

I can remember reading a little anecdote somewhere - "And then one day, you'll realize your parents were right". My mom always use to say "Giving is better than receiving". She was right.

All we really need to do is look around at our lives to keep motivated.

We live in a wonderful, comfortable Townhouse that's just the right size and mortgage amount. We love movies, so we built a home theater. And guess what, we can actually watch something in the middle of the day! We're getting close to being financially free as we practically can. Seriously, it's just about all we ever wanted when we first wrote our business plan.

How has that gone?

It's like we're blessed. We've had such success that I sometimes get a little paranoid about it!

Have your sites made money?

Good Grief Yes! All of them have made generated some sort of revenue.

Can you share any specifics?

For you Kevin, absolutely. When we started, we evaluated our finances and decided that we could still keep a roof over our heads, eat, and keep the lights on if we generated a little less than $5,000 a month. Now, please understand that that number is less than half of what Audrey and I made in the Film Business.

But, we were serious about this, so we set a minimum goal. It took us 5 months to get there. But then something strange happened.

On month 6, we doubled our Home Business Income. 2 months before that, we really started to approach our business as Marketers, not as box movers. We decided that we needed to have 2 points of focus, Selling and/or Creating products of the highest quality that we were proud of, AND learning as much about Internet Marketing as we could. We started optimizing our web sites, e-zine advertising, and what I think is the best strategy of them all - Planned Failure and Recovery. We plan on failing, but we fail in a forward direction. I know it sounds a little strange, but in the simplest terms, we keep an eye on just about every customer comment, email, vendor communication, and web stat that we can. When something goes wrong, we have so much information that we can usually fix it. That's part of our Internet Marketing philosophy - After our commitment to create and/or sell great products, we know that the internet can be boiled down to 2 things - Numbers and Psychology. So, we keep a close eye on both of those things.

Hey, it might not be the best strategy - but you know what, it works for us!

We're now doing about $24,000 a month from all of our web business's.

How long did it take for you to show a profit?

If you were to factor in time, about 5 months. But we stopped paying out more than we were earning in about 3.

Have any of your sites lost money?

Oh yes! We had a Yahoo! Store that sold Fiesta ware. It tanked. There was so much competition and our vendor was totally unreliable that we closed the store after 4 months.

How much do you work on the sites? How do you split it up?

Right now, we're in a growth phase. We're about to release a few new products, and we're looking to invest in some real estate, so we're working hard! If we just wanted to maintain the status quo, we could run the whole thing in about 2 hours a day. But, we've got some long term goals that we want to hit this year, so we're burning the midnight oil, so to speak.

Audrey manages the Yahoo! Stores and the Auctions. I manage Yahoo! Store Profits and our Affiliate Web Sites. Lately, Audrey has been experimenting with the Search Engine Optimization duties, which suits me fine. I'm now known as "Content Boy".

How do you advertise and get traffic?

The better question is "How don't we advertise and get Traffic?" Well, we don't use classified ads, and we don't use bulk mail or Spam. We spend about $600 a month in the Pay-Per-Click engines, and at the moment, we're testing some e-zine advertising heavily. But more and more, we're looking for folks to forge relationships with.

What is the best strategy you have had so far?

Joint Ventures. Look, even though part of the lure of owning your own home based internet business has been it's anonymity - I don't think that you can really prosper unless you have a support network of Like-Minded folks that you can share ideas with. We've both met some fantastic entrepreneurs online, and most of those relationships have generated opportunities and often income for us.

What has been your best "lucky break"?

I owe a lot of credit to my JV partners. One in particular creates a monthly income of about $4,500 for me.

What future plans do you have for your sites?

We're really focusing on creating products that we have a passion for. We're not interested in becoming Internet Marketing Gurus, so we're focusing on Direct To Consumer Information products, How To Videos, and Membership Web sites for very niche markets. We're also creating relationships with manufactures overseas for some exclusive products that we'll sell in future Yahoo! Stores.

What advice would you give to someone who is wanting to get into an online business?

I learn by doing - so do most people. It's terrible to see folks continue to buy e-book after e-book and system after system and not do anything with them. Look, Audrey and I are forever students of our business. We are always educating ourselves. But, we have made a commitment that we will implement at least one strategy from every Internet Information Product or System that we buy BEFORE we purchase another one.

I used to suffer from Paralysis by Analysis. I wanted to learn, think, consider.and then learn some more. Audrey on the other hand, is afraid of nothing. She learns a little about what she wants to do, plunges in. We compliment each other in that way. The point is, there IS information out there that will show you how to make a living on-line. You need to have it, more importantly, you need to USE it! For me, making mistakes is part of our business strategy.

Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

I could write a book! But, if I had to summarize, the real essence to on-line success can be boiled down into just a few key ingredients:

1) Do what you love
2) Educate yourself, constantly.
3) Build RELATIONSHIPS
4) Be around long enough to be successful!


Thanks Andy and Audrey for being such a great example of how to have growing online success.

You can find out more about Andy and Audrey by visiting: Yahoo Store Builder

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