[Hidden-tech] AZ seeking profile candidates for blog - see Shel

[A - Z International]

Hi all,

Long ago I was a profile writer for a newspaper 
(actually many over the years) and enjoy bringing 
people to life. In honor of Shel (and Claudia 
Gere's) program on publishing Monday night I'm 
posting this profile of Shel to my blog at 
http://virtualdream-amyz.blogspot.com.

I'd love to bring the blog alive with lots of 
you. If you are interested in having a short 
write up developed by me, email pertinent 
biographical information to 
az at a-zinternational.com. Trying you hand at 
writing would be easier and I can edit it. The 
aim is to tell us what key aspects of your life 
led you to the virtual work place.

Or, you can call me at 413-253-4124 if you need help.

Here's Shel!

best,

Amy Zuckerman
413-253-4124




         Shel Horowitz was still a teenager when 
he started doing publicity for grass-roots 
community organizations with zero promotional 
budget. With no money available for stamps, he 
used to hand-deliver press releases by bicycle. 
Trained as a journalist, he first became aware of 
the power of the news media when a local paper 
refused to print his meeting notices for a 
controversial group-but gave extensive news 
coverage to its refusal. From this beginning, 
Shel gradually developed into a top expert in 
effective low-cost, high-impact marketing and 
publicity, and has become a copywriter and 
consultant with an international reputation.
             He has also been living the virtual 
American dream by operating a successful virtual 
business owner for the last 13 years -- Accurate 
Writing & More -- from a bucolic farm-house 
setting in Hadley, Mass. He and his wife, Dina 
Friedman, a children's book author and academic, 
came to this lifestyle region in the Pioneer 
Valley of Massachusetts (also known as the "Five 
Colleges" region) "as a compromise between 
Brooklyn and the Ozarks.” They wanted “fresh air, 
clean water and an easy pace. Dina wanted job 
possibilities, friends, others of her ethnicity 
in the area, so we looked at the intersection of 
our needs and came to the Valley," said Horowitz.
             While looking for work, Shel and 
Dian started a term paper typing service. Without 
realizing it, they were experiencing the ups and 
downs of starting a micro virtual business of the 
many that will be profiled in Living The Virtual 
American Dream. First, they bought a used IBM 
Selectric for $176 at a school auction and spent 
$12 each on marketing and supplies. Because Dina 
found a job first, the business became Shel's responsibility.
"It was a real slow start: $300 revenue in the 
first six months, $5,000 in the next year as I 
began to figure out what marketing worked and 
what didn't. Over time, I shifted from typing to 
resumes to marketing materials," all the while 
hoping to continue as a freelance writer. 
Although he sold 87 articles his first year of 
freelancing, he made "a pitiful $2.000 total, so 
I decided that freelancing wasn't going to pay 
the bills and started developing the business more."
             In time Shel got his first computer 
– what he calls his "biggest step toward 
viability" -- along with ordering a dedicated 
business phone line and starting to list in the 
Yellow Pages. By 1987 the business was strong 
enough to be the sole support for the family. 
Dina now teaches at the University of 
Massachusetts out of choice, not because the 
business can't support her. In the meantime, Shel 
started writing marketing books "as a way to 
develop a national clientele for copywriting and 
consulting. It worked, but it didn't really 
happen until I became active online."
             Twenty-five years later he's still 
working at home, but his client lists extends to 
Japan, Cyprus, Belgium and beyond. He has no 
employees, though he had a "virtual assistant" 
for about eight years whom he never met 
face-to-face. "From my small platform I've been 
able to instigate an international movement 
around business ethics; publish and market my 
sixth book – Principled Profit: Marketing the 
Puts People First,  and create a distinct niche 
for partnerships with industry experts," much of 
which will be outlined more fully in the branding 
and marketing chapters of Living The Virtual 
American Dream’s Chapter 5: Colds Calls to the Net – Key Marketing Tool.