My VOBox is a Case Study in Perseverance

Our latest website build project well illustrates the importance of perseverance in turning an idea into an operating business. Case in point: My VOBox is the product of three years of planning, programming, testing, refining, retesting, and repeating the process while knocking down multiple technical, legal and security issues, one after another. It could be an HBR Case Study on perseverance as the key prerequisite for building a business.

The My VOBox concept sounds simple: Scan every piece of your incoming mail (both the outside of the envelope and whatever is inside) and make it available anywhere, anytime, by means of a secure, web portal. It's a solution ideal for road warriors, full time RVer's, truck drivers, snow birds, or anyone inconvenienced by a daily trip to a PO or mail box.

And while the concept sounds simple enough, execution turned out to be quite another story. That's where the founder's perseverance (and "fire in the belly") ultimately turned adversity into opportunity.

Strategically, the new MyVOBox.com site is the marketing "front end" of the business where we'll focus our long-term SEO and related marketing efforts to build brand awareness and drive targeted traffic to the top of the funnel. It's where the service is explained through an Infographic, screen shots, an FAQ page, with info on subscription plans and special offers. Choosing one of the subscription levels takes you to a separate, secure website where subscriptions, payments, log ins and web portal access functionality are segregated behind a robust firewall.

Looking at the MyVOBox website visitors see no sign of the three years of "blood, sweat, toil and tears" that went into turning this simple (but great) idea into viable business. But working with and getting to know hundreds of business founders over the years, I can't remember a single instance where they didn't point to dogged, never-give-up perseverance as a (or the) key factor in their success. My VOBox is the latest example and our nominee for an HBR Case Study.