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This is the motto that built Jacque Foreman's business. Jacque started her graphic arts business out of her home in 1972, before it was the "chic thing to do."

Before the Internet was even a blip in most people's minds, Jacque was hard at work using her old stand alone IBM Composer for her graphics, networking, and perfecting her skills in face-to-face contact with customers. She didn't know it at the time but these skills were to lay the foundation for the future of her business on the Internet.

I first met Jacque when I posted a question about newsletters to a writer's list. Within minutes, Jacque's reply was in my inbox. I had a three-page email, your basic newsletter how-to primer, answering all my questions and some I hadn't even thought to ask.

She signed her email with "Happiness, Joy & Laughter. We all might have to think long and hard to find better wishes to attach to our emails. She didn't even know me, yet she was willing to take the time to answer my questions. Of course, I was later to learn this wasn't the first time Jacque has given freely of her knowledge.

I asked Jacque what initiated her interest in the Internet and she stated, "My interest all started with email, when a writer friend suggested I join an on-line list as a way of selling my work." Her first email provider was a free service suggested by her brother-in-law. Now that she has become a "pro" with email correspondence, she uses the services of Earthlink as her email and Internet provider.

Quickly realizing the advantages of being on-line, she began receiving input from her newsletter and graphic arts customers stating, "receiving my client's data and text was much easier even than getting a disk with all the information on it."

She produces a newsletter for the Rotary Club in Altadena, California and her work is made much easier when people email articles to her instead of receiving them over the fax lines or as hard copy.

Jacque has always been active in her community and was the president of the Altadena Chamber of Commerce, in 1995. Through the projects of the Chamber, Jacque was able to give to the community-at-large, a community she has called home for 26 years.

Consequently, the firm of Abacus E.S., who specialize in producing websites for artists and local service organizations, approached her to build and set up a website for her drawing business as a demonstration of their website design abilities.

Jacque told me the arrangement has worked out wonderfully: "I gave them my files with my drawings and my logo, it was that easy." As the design of a website can cost thousands of dollars, Jacque appreciates how fortunate she has been. It took a couple of weeks after she handed over her files to the web design company for completion of her first website, which officially debuted in late 1997.

Jacque continues to manage her home-based desktop design and newsletter business and plans on bringing these services on-line through her Internet service provider. Her plan is to link the new pages to her current website that showcases her pen-and-ink renderings of homes, businesses, and industrial properties. This would accomplish what she wants: a more integrated package.

When I visited her site, I was impressed with her pen-and-ink drawings. She is an accomplished artist in her area of expertise and has received a number of commissioned portrait jobs from various businesses leaders in the community. With enthusiasm, Jacque stated, "portraits of people in the business sector and the general public is a new venture I would like to bring on-line."

As far as promoting her business, Jacque stated, "I'm a real newbie on the web. But, I have incorporated my website address in my signature line on my email." She went on to state, "And, as I help people with questions about graphics and newsletters, people gradually become more acquainted with the site."

It didn't come as a surprise to Jacque that linking to other sites is a good idea. After all, she is building on her experience of networking in the community stating, "I will also be placing a link from my website to the Business Network International page in the near future. I already have a link set up with the Altadena Chamber of Commerce site," noting this has been helpful in obtaining name recognition and has helped win her new clients.