TheCareerCreator.com Interviews Alex Andon, Founder of Jellyfish Art
July 9, 2009 by careercreator
Hi Readers!
We’re back from vacation and ready to bring you more awesome interviews with some truly creative and successful entrepreneurs!
Alex Andon, Founder of Jellyfish Art
Alex Andon, owner of Jellyfish Art created his own job by solving a problem for potential customers–giving people what they need to safely and creatively enjoy live jellyfish in their homes.
In this interview, Alex shares some practical tips and resources for getting your small business up and running!
TheCareerCreator.com: What is your “job”? Please tell us a bit about
your company and what you sell or what service you provide?
Alex Andon: Jellyfish Art makes jellyfish tanks and supplies them live
jellies from a global catalog. I started this business making
high-end custom installations but I just started selling a desktop
jellyfish tank online for $249.
TheCareerCreator.com: How long have you been in business?
Alex Andon: Since September 2008.
TheCareerCreator.com: You had a natural interest in ??? that is now
the basis of your job?
Alex Andon: I studied marine biology in college and wanted to be a
marine biologist for a while. Scientists only recently discovered how
to breed jellyfish in captivity, so I wanted to push the envelope in
jellyfish research.
TheCareerCreator.com: Tell us a little about how you got
started…give us a bit of your Once upon a time… What was the
turning point where you decided to turn your interest or hobby into a
career?
Alex Andon: I started Jellyfish Art with the full intention of turning
it into a business from the beginning. People were getting a huge
kick out of the jellyfish exhibits at public aquariums, but you
couldn’t have a jellyfish in your home. It seemed like if I figured
it out, jellyfish could be the next big thing in ornamental aquariums.
TheCareerCreator.com: What were some of the materials or technology
you needed to get started on a very basic level?
Alex Andon: I worked out of my cousin’s garage, tinkering with tank
designs from parts I picked up on craigslist. I kept the jellyfish
breeding tanks in a shed in her backyard. There are solar-driven
algae ponds on my roof right now, which I use to make food for the
jellyfish.
TheCareerCreator.com: The best part about creating your own job? (Or
any really cool moments that made creating your own job completely
worth it?)
Alex Andon: If I don’t have any meetings, I don’t have to wear a shirt to work.
TheCareerCreator.com: What’s the toughest hurdle you’ve encountered in creating your own job…and how did you overcome it?
A Jellyfish Art Tank
Alex Andon: I was installing a large custom aquarium in Seattle right before Christmas so I had to meet the deadline in order to make it home for the holidays. I had to drive all my equipment through mountain passes during a blizzard with triple the maximum payload in my truck.
Once I got to the install location, I slept at the renovation site to save time and avoid the icy roads. I finished the installation just in time to drive 23 hours back to San Francisco and make my flight by half an hour.
I kept my resolve by remembering that every hurdle makes a good story. (See above paragraph.)
TheCareerCreator.com: Any words of wisdom or encouragement to anyone wanting to create their own job?
Alex Andon: It’s a lot simpler than most people would have you believe. Simple, but not easy. I hope you like roller-coasters because you can go from the highest highs to the lowest lows in a few hours.
TheCareerCreator.com: Any favorite resources you recommend to other entrepreneurs? (Products, supplies, tech tools, etc?)
Alex Andon: There are tons of great free resources out there and it’s
worth using them before you jump into starting a business. Everything
is online:
http://www.sba.gov/
http://www.tannedfeet.com/
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/
http://www.guykawasaki.com/
http://www.workhappy.net/
http://www.elance.com/
More About This Company:
Company Name: Jellyfish Art
Founder: Alex Andon
Products or service offered: Jellyfish tanks and live jellyfish
Website: www.jellyfishart.com
Twitter: @alexandon
Facebook: Alex Andon (San Francisco, CA network)
Thanks, Alex for sharing some good really good advice!
We think it’s really cool that Alex found a niche that could use his expertise and offered mainstream consumers a cool product that they might not have the luxury of being able to own before Jellyfish Art came along! If you’re starting a business, don’t be afraid to focus on a small niche and go from there.
And, if you haven’t already, check out this video of Jellyfish Art’s desktop jellyfish tank!
More to come…stay tuned!
~TheCareerCreator.com
