In New Dot-Com Flourish, Copper Wire Sparks Silver Shoestring Philosophy

Newark, NJ - Any real estate agent will tell you that "it's all about location," but of late this has become less and less true for new internet startups. As the technology sector finally restabilizes 5 years on from the double disaster of the late 90's bust compounded by 9-11, more and more new business ventures are opting to avoid the traditional overhead costs of maintaining a business and to head to their local "rent-free district," the internet.

Christopher Lotito, President of Lotito Media Group (http://lotitomediagroup.co.nr/), calls it the "silver-shoestring" philosophy, and he would know. Lotito Media Group's wide variety of services are all handled with the sort of minimalistically efficient approach, reminiscent of a German how-to manual for creating traditional Japanase home designs. The company's flagship product, a career enhancement course aimed at recent college graduates, was written and published using the free software OpenOffice.org, its desktop publishing and IT consulting are done mainly via a refurbished Pentium 4 with high speed internet, and much of the other day to day operations are carried out via independent contractors. Mr. Lotito is even able to take his work on the road with web based software and sales statistics downloaded to a Sony PSP modified to act as a tablet PC. The company is even able to offer several prescription discount plan options free to its employees and independent contractors via creative affiliate agreements. All this on the cost of electricity, internet service, and a small advertising budget.

An increase in no-overhead business models is hardly a surprise these days however, the signs are literally all around us. Both Lowes Home Improvement stores and Staples office suppliers, two stores we don't normally associate with one another, sell several do-it-yourself advertising kits pitched at consultants, entrepreneurs, and even home based businesses. Some of the biggest players of Web 2.0 started in their parents' basements, the traditional Microsoft success tale aside, both Brad Fitzpatrick of Livejournal.com fame and MySpace founder Tom Anderson started their now epically wealthy companies as tiny affairs. These days you can even rent a mailing address and a secretary, far better and more reputable than the days of Post Office Boxes and indistinguishable from the office of any traditional rent-paying business, a technique recently detailed in "The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit" (Peters, 2006).

Mr. Lotito is familiar with their stories as well, not just because he can commiserate, but because Web 2.0 websites like Livejournal, MySpace, and Facebook feature greatly in Lotito Media Group's business management certificate course textbook as platforms for the new wave of marketing as well as in an upcoming publication from the company that will focus more exclusively on marketing campaigns and advertising materials generated on a low-budget with the help of Web 2.0 resources.

In addition to career enhancement courses, Lotito Media Group specializes in IT Consulting, Web 2.0 Marketing Consulting (including Guerilla and Viral Marketing), small run publishing, and Educational Services. The company's website is located at: http://lotitomediagroup.co.nr/