After the layoffs in 2002, I figured I’d land a new job pretty quickly, as I had always been able to do. What I hadn’t counted on was the massive number of people looking for work after the economic downturn post 9-11. Although I applied to lots of places, there were dozens of applicants for every job, and many were young, lower-paid yet skilled people. I found out pretty quickly that a 50-year old former VP who had been earning 6-figures was not in demand when companies could get someone in their 30’s who would work for way less. Even my long-time headhunter told me to forget it — at least for a few years.
After trying hard to find something for a few months, I figured I’d try some other avenues on my own, while I waited to find “real” work. Luckily I had a decent settlement from IRI, and also a chunk of IRI share options that I was able to exercise (I flipped them when the stock price was at about $12; less than a year later their stock was under $2)
I had an idea to create a site oriented around the rather new concept of “affiliate links” (common today) in which you got a commission on sales companies made by customers who got to them via links on your web page. There were a few such sites already, but they were unabashedly just tons of links — basically advertising. I wanted to create something that people could have some trust in.
I purchased the URL “BestValueGuide.com”, and proceeded to design my site. Since my concept was trusted referrals only, I created a set of criteria that I could use to rate vendor sites. These included things like how easy it was to navigate their site, how long it took me to find a support phone number, whether they disclosed their actual address, and a lot more that I no longer remember. I created a survey form, and personally evaluated each potential site before I would list their link. Further, I would write a brief paragraph about what I felt were the vendor’s strengths or best products. And if a site failed my evaluation threshold, I did not list it even if it paid good commissions. I wanted to have the only “honest” affiliate link web site out there.
For its time, I think I did a good job of the design and presentation of the site. Where I failed was in actually marketing MY site. So although I did make some money through the links, it was not much, and I slowly lost interest. Too bad I didn’t pursue it harder, because it could have become big. Once again, I was a bit ahead of the times.
I found a few site snapshots on an internet archive site. Just before I abandoned the effort, I had added a parallel “layer” that I intended to be targeted to professionals rather than consumers. So I planned that my Best Value Guide would have a consumer face, and a B2B/Professional face.
Here are the few screenshots I found, including a sample page of actual store listings…
