Zen Garden > Linda Caroll

Linda Caroll from Toronto, Canada.

Linda is an amazing woman who creates spectacular websites and is soon to launch a brilliant series of educational books and tutorials. These products are set to revolutionize how ordinary people and everyday businesses on a budget can go about getting an online presence for themselves. They are written in a manner that anybody can understand.

She has 25 years of experience in marketing, and has been developing websites and web strategies for 10 years now.

Gary Simpson - Hello, Linda and welcome. I am so pleased to be getting the chance to interview you today.

Linda Caroll - Hi Gary. Thank you.

Gary Simpson - My pleasure Linda. I have had the distinct privilege of seeing some of your forthcoming books and I can honestly say that they will really help so many people. So, let's get down to it. What is the principal aim of your websites and what do you hope to achieve with them?

Linda Caroll - Once upon a time, I would have said the aim of my site was to sell my website design services. And, it still does. But, it has evolved. Today, the aim of all my websites is to provide information, a slice of sanity and solid, verifiable information to those who just don’t know what to believe on the Internet anymore.

Gary Simpson - Whew. You can say that again. There is so much mis-information on the web, particularly in what you specialize in - search engine compatibility and design. I might just point out to our readers, at this very early stage, that Linda has just recently completely re-built my own crippled website from the basement up. Already I am getting brilliant results. So I have a very good insight into what Linda is capable of.

Linda, what do you think is different about your website that makes it special?

Linda Caroll - One of my clients answered that best. He said “Most designers and marketers talk above my head so I feel stupid and they feel superior. Your site didn’t make me feel stupid, it gave me enough information to help me understand.”

Gary Simpson - I agree completely with that comment. Your knowledge is so vast it completely amazed me how you built my site the way you did. Every time I needed any reason or answer you were able to tell me in terms that I could easily understand. And your books are exactly the same. So, thanks for that. I really appreciated your patience and understanding.

On a personal note, what do you consider to be your "crowning" achievement to date?

Linda Caroll - That’s like asking what would people would say at my funeral, isn’t it? Part of me wants to say raising my daughter. Yet another wants to say seeing my name in the New York Times, or having sites I’ve created featured on TV and in Forbes Magazine, etc. But those aren’t crowning achievements.

I’d say my crowning achievement is that, despite the not always fair world that we live in, and plenty of opportunities to have become jaded - everything I do, I do with all my heart. I’d say my greatest achievement is not any one thing I’ve done, but how I do what I do.

Gary Simpson - Linda, that was such a beautiful answer. I can honestly say that you over-deliver on everything. Rarely can I ever say that about anyone. These days so many people and companies just want to remove as much as they can from my wallet as quick as they can, for as little as they can. Your service was outstanding.

I'm sorry if this embarrasses you but I just wasn't used to that. My first web host was so damn awful. I was just about ready to give up when, through a mutual acquaintance, I decided to give you a call. You have restored my faith in the web. So let me ask you this - have you always operated like this?

Linda Caroll – Yes. I believe in the saying "that whether the job is big or small, do it well - or not at all."

Gary Simpson - Well said. Linda, let me ask you now about the challenges you have had to face. We all face challenges. Would you like to share with our readers the greatest difficulty that you have ever had to overcome?

Linda Caroll - Challenges? Being a single parent. Ending up destitute after divorce. Starting over with a child depending on me. But, a lot of people do those. They are difficult, but not the most difficult. Fear, I guess. That is the greatest difficulty for me. For everyone, really. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is feeling fear and taking action to do what needs to be done anyway.

Gary Simpson - That was such a powerful answer - not what I expected. Great stuff! Moving along the same lines - what are three personal attributes you possess that help you to win?

Linda Caroll - Tenacity, determination and persistence. It’s more the trait I don’t have that helps, though. The word quit isn’t in my vocabulary. Change, yes. Quitting isn’t an option.

Gary Simpson - Wow! Another powerful answer. I'm really enjoying this. I'd like to probe that a bit but we're running out of time and I still have a few more questions to ask. So, let's change tack. The response to my next question always fascinates me. Are you a reader and, if so, what books do you read?

Linda Caroll - Devour would be a better word. I read business, marketing, psychology, human behaviour, alternative health, horror, mystery, true crime, anthologies, biographies, hobby related books and anything else that catches my eye.

Gary Simpson - Well you did say devour. That was a real smorgasbord. Horror? That's a bit of a strange one in that list. You certainly surprise me at times. Do you have a favorite quote or saying and what is it?

Linda Caroll - Yes. "Discontent is the catalyst for change." There’s a lot of power in those words, and they can be applied to both business and personal life.

Gary Simpson - There's a lot of truth in those words. Thanks for sharing that. Along the same lines, what is the one thing about the internet that annoys you the most?

Linda Caroll - On the internet? We could start with the fact that anyone can say anything and someone will believe it because it was, after all, posted on the internet. Or the number of depraved denizens. You know - the dark side of humanity.

Gary Simpson - You don't need to remind me. I have suffered that so many times. I've been slugged big time by so many scam artists all promising me dreams but delivering only nightmares.

I mentioned the first web host - if you could call them that. They were absolute rogues. It amazes me that they haven't been shut down. But what they do is invent a new name then just zoom off on their merry way, creating havoc for the next group of unsuspecting people.

Then I could tell you about all the "search engine optimizers" and web-traffic con-artists. I've fallen for a few of them too. Ha! Now I know the truth. After reading your books, that is.

OK. I've had my whinge. Let's go positive. What, in your opinion, is the most advantageous feature of the internet?

Linda Caroll - The reach. It’s an equalizer. A small business can have the same impact as a big business. A college kid can become a millionaire and a big business can go belly-up, both because of how they run their businesses. And that one human being can reach out and comfort another even if they’re in another country. Definitely, the reach.

Gary Simpson - I agree. So, Linda, what project or projects are you currently working on?

Linda Caroll - I’m writing. Books, tutorials and training courses. In the last ten years, my clients have been featured in Forbes, the New York Times, People, Playboy, Home and Garden, Television and more.

And, as you mentioned, I watch website owners struggling with over-used and under-effective techniques that just don’t work anymore, if they ever did. So, I’m putting ten years of experience into writing. The first is my Website Voodoo series, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Gary Simpson - Linda, I'm so glad you mentioned that. I have had the distinct pleasure of reading several of your books and I must say that they have been the most informative, insightful books that I have ever read on website planning, design and search engine compliance.

Like I said before - I have had a tough education in that regard. I have spent thousands on useless junk. It's not hard to do. Every rogue out there will sell you their tired old garbage. None of it works. But they sell it over and over again to every newbie that enters the world wide web - and there are tens of thousands of people trying to make their presence on the net every week. So, I'm so glad that somebody has finally written something that is so easy to understand and - best of all, is the truth that really works.

I have no doubt that you will soon become the "authoritative voice" on this. Your books certainly are a breath of fresh air.

I can honestly say that if people do not avail themselves of your knowledge then they are kidding themselves. I encourage all our readers to contact Linda and see for themselves. The knowledge that they contain is priceless.

OK. Time to wind up. This has gone so quickly. Is there anything else you would like to say or add to the interview?

Linda Caroll - I can rant?

Gary Simpson - Rant all you want. Go for it!

Linda Caroll - I hate the dumbing-down I see online. Too many products out there lead people to think they don’t need to learn anything. Just click something. Most are sold with the old cliché of not reinventing the wheel.

Do you think Sergey Brin and Larry Page used a blueprint to invent Google? Did Pierre Omidyar use a push button pack to create Ebay? Real entrepreneurs start their business for the same reason Stephen King writes - because he has to. It’s in his blood. It’s the true entrepreneur that I personally enjoy working with most. They are rare, but delightful people.

Gary Simpson - Linda Caroll, thank you so much for your time. I wish you every success with your work and your books. They're brilliant - I've experienced much of what you do first-hand and I cannot recommend you highly enough. I am tipping that your books on web planning, design and search engine compatibility are going to be best sellers. I wish you every success. You deserve it simply because, unlike so many others, you tell the truth.

This interview was conducted by Gary Simpson of Motivation & Self Esteem For Success.

Gary Simpson is a 7th Dan karate master who teaches self defense, motivation, self help and wealth building to students around the world through home study courses. You may reprint this article as you include this author credit and an active link to his web site. Finance - Self Help - Motivation - Self Defense - Personal Growth MotivationSelfEsteem.com