This week I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Chuck Lasker of MerchantAnswers.com. Chuck has been a part of the Miva Merchant Community for a number of years. He recently sold his Miva consultancy business to NetBlazon to focus full time on his new project MerchantAnswers.com. It is Miva Merchant tutorial website focused on how to videos, tutorials and Miva tips and tricks.

MVC: Thanks for doing this interview. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background in Miva Merchant?

Chuck Lasker: I started as an end user of Miva Merchant uncompiled in 2001 when, as the VP of Marketing & Operations of a health products company, I created their online store. I had been doing Web design for a few years on the side, so the job of creating the company’s site fell to me.

As I participated in the Miva user list (this was pre-forums), I learned, and then I started “giving back” by answering other users’ questions when I knew the answers. Eventually, I knew enough that people started asking if I’d do work for them, and I began taking on projects. I’ve never once advertised or made sales calls, yet my Miva Merchant project load grew, and I grew to love it. Over the next 6 months or so I phased myself out of my job and went full time in 2003 as a consultant.

I’ve never gotten into creating modules, focusing on using what was available to make sites do what the client needed done. As often as clients would listen, I’d make marketing and usability improvement suggestions, as marketing is my passion. There’s no bigger thrill than to hear a client say that their sales had increased due to my efforts.

This past November, I sold my consultancy business to NetBlazon, one of the top Miva Merchant developers in the community. I do work for them, especially on my old clients’ sites, but now I’ve been focusing on taking what I know and reaching out to benefit hundreds or thousands of sites, instead of a few dozen.

MVC: You have a new website coming out in January of 2008, called Merchant Answers. Tell us how the website works, and why you created it.

Chuck Lasker: I’ve always tried to help my clients be self-sufficient, instead of needing me for things that they can learn to do themselves. One of my favorite tools for teaching how to work within Miva Merchant’s admin has been video tutorials. It’s like I’m sitting right next to you explaining how to do the work, and people like it. Also, a tutorial can be viewed over and over, so if you haven’t done something for a while, it’s easy to watch it again.

Over the years, I’ve assembled quite a few tutorials, as well as a myriad of code examples, tips and tricks. With my goal to educate as many people as possible, I’ve compiled these tutorials and code, as well as created dozens and dozens of new ones. I’ve created MerchantAnswers.com as a subscription service to access all this information for a setup fee and a small monthly fee to cover my costs of adding new tutorials, code examples, templates, etc.

MVC: MerchantAnswers seems like a great concept. There is definitely a need for detailed tutorials and how to guides for Miva Merchant. Who is the site targeted towards and why should they become a member?

Chuck Lasker: Very simply, the site is targeted to all Miva Merchant 5 users. I doubt any user on any level would not get their money’s worth. There are answers for beginners, such as, “How do I add a product?” and answers for more advanced users, such as, “How do I get rid of Bill To/Ship To and just have Bill To?" The setup fee is less than $200, and the monthly fee is only ten bucks, so only a few good tips and it has paid for itself.

MVC: I've looked at a few sample video tutorials on the site, and they are very good. They are very easy to follow, and informative. How many tutorials are you planning on writing, and how much is it going to cost to be a member?

Chuck Lasker: At launch, there will be at least 84 questions answered, most with tutorials. I would imagine a month later it will be close to 200, and I will continually add as I get new questions and develop new information. When Miva Merchant 5.5 comes out, I will update what needs to be updated, and add information about all the new features. Finally, I have contacted most module developers and they have kindly agreed to provide all their modules to me so I can demonstrate how to install and use them. I hope to have training on every MM5 module available as soon as possible.

I’ve got some surprises in store for subscribers in the upcoming months that will add value to current subscriptions, but will cost extra for new subscribers after they’re announced. It’s a good time to get on board!

The regular rate is $199 setup and $9.99 a month. I have Charter Subscriber rates until launch on January 3rd. Charter Subscribers get all of 2008 at no monthly fee ($120 savings). At launch, I’m going to discount the setup fee by $50 for a limited time. I’ve added a Basic Subscription for novice users for $99 a year, and consultants/developers can contact me about special bulk rates for their clients.

MVC: You have been around Miva Merchant for many years now. How do you feel about how Miva has progressed and where it is going in the future?

Chuck Lasker: To be honest, after FindWhat bought Miva, I was very disappointed with their direction and I explored other opportunities, some of which I am still pursuing. If the company had remained on that path, I would not have been involved by now. When I heard Rick Wilson and his team were buying Miva Merchant, I perked up, as I’ve known Rick to be a man of vision and integrity.

I am very excited about what the new owners have done so far, and the direction they are going. They understand the power of Miva Merchant’s third party developer community, and the value of the Miva Merchant brand. I sincerely believe Miva Merchant could be one of the top five shopping cart platforms within the next two years. It’s because of my belief in the new management team that I’ve invested so many hundreds of hours into MerchantAnswers.com.

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