Tri-County Grad Has Number-One Listing on Yahoo's Search
Directory for the Perfect Car Seat for Your Favorite Pooch

CONTACT: JACK GREGORY, 260-9779

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11/6/2003
(By Lisa Garrett)

ANDERSON --- When Jack Gregory got his Computer Technology degree in December of 2000, he was fifty-something, embarking on a new career, and the computer world was smack dab in the middle of the dot com bust. Times were tough in the computer business and by graduation, jobs were few and far between.

He had entered Tri-County Technical College in the late 1990's -- several years after retiring from a 27-year career in the Air Force and chose to study computers because of the booming job opportunities at that time. But, he remembers, by graduation, the job market was headed south.

Gregory, who now resides in Anderson, worked as a public affairs officer at assignments all over the world and holds a bachelor's in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. At 58, he pursued an entirely new career in technology– specifically Internet retailing. It was a far cry from his military background and education in journalism, not to mention scary.

He says the classes at Tri-County, and especially an Internet-related course, gave him confidence in creatively securing employment when it was difficult for a retired professional in his fifties to shift careers.

Before entering the Computer Technology curriculum, an uneasy Gregory sought counseling from then-department head Janis Cox (now an instructor). "She convinced me I could do it. I don't know if I would have signed up without her encouragement because it's so technical and such a rigorous field. I had a liberal arts background, not a math and tech background. I was especially afraid I would not do well with the computer programming courses. Janis would not let me off easily. She told, me, 'Nonsense, programming is just another language. You've already learned one -- English -- you can learn another,' and had me sign up right then and there -- no excuses."

Shortly after taking a course titled Internet Communications, he began a part-time home business, Quality Pet Supplies (August 1999). Today he is an Internet retailer for Snoozer Pet Beds and Other Pet Supplies. "That Internet course got me to open the business. It gave me the basic knowledge to create the web site for the business," said Gregory. He got busy, right after completing the course, designing the home page and writing the copy. Definite advantages were his prior work with the company, whose product he sells, and his writing and editing expertise.

"I experimented, I made some big mistakes, and I learned," he remembers. And, I quickly realized that getting a good position on the Search Engines was critical.

Persistence paid off.

If you're searching the Internet for the perfect car seat for your favorite pooch, the number-one listing on Yahoo's search directory is www.snoozer-dog-beds.com. You'll find 15,000 sites to match the key words "dog bed" or "dog car seat." Gregory's site is listed as number one on Google and Yahoo's search directories. "If you list well on Yahoo and Google search functions, you have an extreme advantage over the competition," he said.

His biggest-selling item is a Pet Car Seat Lookout, but it was not well known when he first started on the Internet. However, Solutions Catalog, which has a worldwide circulation, also was featuring the Pet Car Seat Lookout in the late 1990's. That, plus a growing presence in other catalogs and Gregory's website, gave this relatively unknown product more visibility. Now, more than 20 Internet sites carry it, or similar booster seats, in competition with his site.

The lookout is a car pet seat that boosts small dogs to see out of the car window comfortably and safely. It gets rave reviews from its users, who are predominantly women. "It's a unique item for a specific market. On the Internet, it really caught on," he said.

The Lap part of the car seat belt holds the Lookout secure to the car seat. A safety strap (provided with order) is attached to seat belt and hooks to the pet's harness.

Gregory had worked in sales for the company, O'Donnell Industries in Greenville, the company that makes Snoozer dog beds and the Lookout, from 93 - 96 and was familiar with its products and reputation. "I knew the product, and I had confidence in it. I knew there is a market for it."

When his Internet business started, sales were slow. "But Instead of going bust, my business began to grow. In the beginning, the business was small – the web page was free, and I really didn't have any money to lose." The first month he says, showed sales of $150. It kept growing and today, sales run $24,000 – $30,000 per month and increase more during the holiday season.

"I give credit to Tri-County. My business took off after taking one of (Computer Technology Department Head) Phil Smith's classes. I did a research project on integrating a shopping cart and credit card capability on the website and Internet. Once they were on the site, business just took off," said Gregory.

"If not for the initial course at Tri-County, I couldn't do what I'm doing today," he added.

Another plus was an accounting course he took at Tri-County in 1991- 92. "I was impressed with the College and its instructors. The accounting classes were a big factor in giving me confidence to start the business," he said.

"Jack is one of those students who is successful because he ''sticks with it," said Smith, his instructor in the Internet Communications class. "After completing the course, he continued his research and does so to this day. He is self directed and very serious about his work. In addition to honing his computer skills, he understood the importance of good writing and editing in his work. Jack looks at the final product."

"Almost everyone dreams of owning his own business and being his own boss," Gregory said. "But it's not easy, and there is a lot of risk. The great part is you get to make all the decisions. No one tells you what to do and how to do it. But the downside is there is no one to give you advice, to double check your decisions, confirm or rebut them. There's nobody to blame but you," said Gregory.

Every day is an adventure, he says. "I get up with a lot of anticipation in approaching the day's work," he said. (He works out of a home office which houses a computer, a printer fax machine and telephone). Orders are either phoned in or received by e-mail. "I know there will be business and problems to solve that I have to figure out by myself. It's a real joy," he said. "The most fun I ever had in work was building and growing this business from zero to nothing."

"You have to work at it – be flexible and persistent. I wasn't an immediate success. It took a year at least to be anything near successful and two years to be a genuine success."

Gregory gives credit to Tri-County and other community colleges. He was familiar with the small college setting and personal attention from instructors because his first college experience was as a young man at (then) Pembroke College in N.C.

"Actually," he said, "the toughest teachers I ever had, and in my opinion, the best because of that, were at Tri-County and Pembroke State. I particularly remember the accounting instructors I had here, because that, too, was a really tough field and a new one for me. They really made me work for a good grade. No one ever handed me a grade at Tri-County."

He continued: "A community college is an excellent way to start out and to get a lot for your money. I knew I would get a quality education. It's been my most enjoyable career. I couldn't have done it without my education at Tri-County."
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