Brian Weiss Interview pt. II

I've met with thousands of companies over the years for sales calls. Besides asking about myself, the other person who gets asked about the most is my former employer...Brian Weis. Here is part two of the interview: 

Everet Kamikawa:
You are an avid golfer. You started GolfJobs.com three years ago. Was there any difference in starting a job board now than in 1997 or was it just as easy?

Brian Weis:
Wow! When I started WisconsinJobs.com people questioned if job seekers were using the Internet for their job search. Today, there are tens of thousands of places to post your jobs from national job boards, niche/industry sites to associations, portals, meag sites, etc. The formula is still the same. Get companies to post jobs and drive job seekers to apply. I guess the biggest difference now is I have grey hair, now.

EK:
GolfTrips.com and GolfWisconsin.com are your main businesses now. When did you start them and how have the businesses grown in the last few years? 

BW:
I started them as hobby sites in 2002-2003. I did them initially to do some barter with area courses. Now it is a full fledged business with 2 contract sales people.

EK:
Being an avid golfer, GolfJobs.com seems a natural site to start.
How has that site been growing since you started it and now with the economy ?

BW:
My main focus now is GolfTrips.com and GolfWisconsin.com. GolfJobs.com is a small focus and fills the void of still wanting to be involved in the recruiting industry. Golf courses have much smaller recruiting budgets and many small courses are first getting websites. (I know 15 years behind the times). The site is slowly growing.

EK:
Being a golfer, a web/SEO expert, and an entrepreneur, are you living your dream of running the type of company you always wanted?

BW:
I am not sure always wanted it. I have been lucky to always enjoy what I am doing at the present time. At the moment I am lucky to have all 3 passions involved in my job - internet, web marketing and golf.

EK:
You were on top of understanding what Search Engine Optimization was before it was a hip term. Will SEO always be important or is there something out there that will be the next way employers need to use to get noticed on the web?

BW:
The hard part with companies websites is the main focus is general to sell their widgets or services. If I was looking for a sales job and typed that in google 20 job boards and associations will pop up before a companies employment website. Off course if I searched for Coca Cola Sales job....Coke's site should pop up. They do not have to be SEO geniuses to make that happen.

EK:
You also are the organizer of the Turkey Cup. What is that and who does it benefit?


BW:
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. For the last 20 years I have organized some charity event to raise money for some worthy causes. We used to play football but I am getting to old for that. The Turkey Cup is a foam golf ball tournament on Thanksgiving morning. It is a fun event that raises close to a $1000 to Operation Christmas Child. (a global organization that packs shoes boxes of toys and necessities to disadvantage kids throughout the world.) I think it is important to give back. Operation Christmas Child

Definitely one of the most creative business people I've had the pleasure of knowing and a fountain of inspiration. Thank you Brian and thank all of you for reading!
Ev
"A Heck of A Nice Guy"