Web Diva
November 2004's Diva
Amanda Formaro of FamilyCorner.com
The Interview
Girlposse.com: Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Amanda Formaro: My name is Amanda Formaro, I am married, 12 years now, to Tracy. We have 4 wonderful children, Tony, Kristen, TJ, and Dominic. We live in Henderson, NV. I love horses, I’m an artist (I paint folk art and country primitives), and I love pets (we have a German Shepherd and a cuddly cat).
GP: Do you consider your site a: hobby, part-time business, full-time business, or other?
AF: It has swaggered back and forth between hobby, part-time and full-time. Right now, I am focusing on it full time. The holidays are always very busy on my site, so it’s important for me to be on top of it, continuously adding new content etc.
GP: Was that always your intention?
AF: I always intended for the site to be my sole income. That was the whole reason I started it, but it blossomed into so much more. I have a very creative side and FamilyCorner allows me to express that side. J
GP: Was it always your plan to run a website?
AF: I stumbled across the idea in 1997, when I got my first computer and logged on to the internet.
GP: What made you decide to run a site?
AF: One of my first destinations on the web was a very busy message board community. After chatting with people there, I found out that you could create a homepage with free web space. I was, at that time, with AOL. They offered free web pages for their members, and a program that would allow you to generate HTML without knowing anything about it. So I created a home page to share with my family and friends. Then I stumbled across different affiliate programs that screamed “earn money with your website!” So, I started adding them thinking I was going to make tons of cash. HA! Little did I know that I would need to get people to my site, and then once they were there, have something “sticky” enough to keep them coming back. That’s when I started “Family Links”, which was just a website directory of sorts, that linked out to other places. I joined web-biz discussion lists and started networking with other webmasters. I learned quickly that link directories are not the way to go. I started adding articles, began a newsletter, and then eventually bought my own domain name in 1998, thefamilycorner.com (familycorner.com was still not available, it was several years later that I obtained that domain).
GP: Had you had computer experience before this?
AF: Yes, but not internet or publishing. I worked in Corporate America in the northern suburbs of Chicago for many years. I was in finance and had a good career. I decided to stay home with my kids a few months after my third child was born, hence being at home to create this website.
GP: When I first meet people and they ask what I do - they don't always understand it. Some don't think of it as a "real job" and others want to know the ever nosey "Do you make money?" How about you?
AF: Isn’t it funny that when you have a home based business, no matter what type it is, people don’t seem to have a problem asking how much money you make? If I walked up to a coworker in the office and said “Hey Jan, I was thinking about applying for a position like yours, how much money do you make?” she would be appalled! (laughing) As home based business owners, people are fascinated by the entrepreneurial spirit, and inside, they wonder if they could do it too. There’s a lot of it going on now, more and more home businesses pop up each day, so I guess I have just gotten used to that question now. Usually, if we are having a conversation about children, crafts, parties, etc, I’ll hand them a business card and say “Check out my website, there are tons of ideas on there, and a huge message board community of parents just like you and me, they have great ideas!” That often sparks the question “Wow, is that a business for you? How do you earn money with it?” So generally, instead of asking how much, they just want to know if it actually generates an income at all!
GP: How many people are involved with running your site?
AF: Well, for quite some time it was just me. A very dear friend of mine, Cindy Sanchez, now owner of MomsMenu.com, has been with me for years. She was a member of a parenting discussion group that I had and one day she offered to help me. She started off doing data entry and helping me with adding recipes. Then, as time went by, I made an arrangement with Cindy to share affiliate revenue in exchange for helping me promote affiliate offers in my newsletters. She keeps my affiliate links up to date, and sends me the links to promote. Cindy is wonderful, I could never have done as much as I have without her help.
On my message boards, I have several amazing volunteers. People have come and gone over the years, but there are more moderators and assistant moderators now, and they are all wonderful. Tami Rose is my Assistant Administrator, she handles tech support issues and is in charge of everything on the boards. She has administrative capabilities and I would never be able to keep the boards up without her! Cindy Hebert is my Head Moderator. She helps out all new members, answering questions, welcoming them, showing them around, etc. She is also in charge of all the moderators and puts together the weekly newsletter. Another one I could not do without! There are currently 6 Moderators, and 8 Assistant Moderators that cover all the different areas of the boards. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the time that they commit to FamilyCorner, they make that community shine! Many of them can all be seen on our staff page (still waiting for some bios!):
http://www.familycorner.com/services/staff.shtml
GP: Do you work from home?
AF: Yes
GP: What are the challenges to working: online? (From home?)
AF: I guess the biggest challenge is balance. FamilyCorner is my passion, I love working on it, and I hate housework! However, housework is still a necessary part of life. So I have to look at it like a job outside the home. There are aspects to your job that you love, and some that you hate. You don’t get to pick and choose, you just do your job and get it done. I try very hard to be consistent and keep to a regular computer schedule so as not to neglect my children when they are home, after all, that’s why we stay home!
GP: What changes have you seen in the internet since you first came online as a visitor? As a site owner?
AF: Wow! Huge changes. As a visitor, I guess the biggest changes I have seen have been the advancements in technology, such as flash and other scripted websites. Also in the advertisements, amazing how we went from little buttons to massive banners to get the viewers attention. As a site owner, I have seen advertising revenue go from amazing down to pathetic. It is doing much better now, but still nowhere near the amount that advertisers pay for exposure on television or radio. Hopefully, advertisers are beginning to understand the internet market and this scale of revenue will continue to improve.
GP: How has your site changed since the beginning?
AF: There’s been many changes to FamilyCorner since the beginning. The design has changed numerous time, I don’t even remember how many times, maybe 5 or 6? The content categories have changes as well, as I learned to be more focused on my audience. I’ve gone from plain text newsletter to all HTML, the site is now 100% on the screen instead of 600 pixels, and the navigation has improved tremendously. Of course the traffic is a lot different now too. This month FamilyCorner will topple over the 3 million page view mark, a definite record breaker over previous months.
GP: Who are your visitors?
AF: Mostly parents and grandparents. Women are the majority, though there are some men that frequent the site. Most of the people that visit are out of the “new parent” stage and have settled into the “seasoned parent” role, having 2-3 or more children, some in high school, some in junior high.
GP: With all of the sites around today, what makes yours such a popular site?
AF: I think the focus is a good one. Quality time with our families is a huge thing these days. It’s not like it was years ago, we focus on our children, our families, even the workplace has become more family friendly allowing for telecommuting and job sharing to accommodate working parents. People need balance in their life. Hopefully, FamilyCorner has been able to help find that balance.
GP: What is your favorite feature on your site?
AF: Wow, I’ve never been asked that question, and frankly, don’t know how to answer it. I love FamilyCorner, all of it. I guess if I had to pick my favorite part, it wouldn’t be a physical part of the site, it would be the people that frequent it. If you visit my message boards, you will find the friendliest people on the planet talking there. I love them all. J
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FC's WebMom, Amanda, has been named Girlposse.com's Nov. 2004 Web Diva!! 
I am so thankful for FC and for you! This is a perfect accolade for you! I am so thrilled that you have received this!
Congratulations, Amanda!! That is awesome!!
me so much to see that you did win... Way to go...
this website. You are always coming up with new things, such as the New ,
icons. 
