I Finally Started Listening To Advice

Early on, I can remember being open to advice. A lot of people do not believe my story but it is true. I was (about 44) when starting this venture. I had lost my job at the tv station (was never really very good at 9-5 coat/tie ventures), so it was no big loss, but....it left me with just a pocketful of change. I had just enough to buy a used IBM clone 386 beat up computer that I WAY overpaid for by some shyshter who "saw me coming"; I book called "Internet 4 Dummies" (I had never used the net), and my stray dog Thor (of whom I still have and love).

I was used to obstacles and issues by then. I had my share. This time, I was to be without a home as I could not pay my rent, even for an old beat up house. It appeared my hometown did not want a 44 year old cartoonist who didn't draw very well and had displayed very little other talent in many arenas.

A friend of mine, a caring social worker and her husband allowed me to live and work in a beat up abandoned warehouse that happened to have a phone line and electricity, but that was it. No hot water, no furniture, nothing but junk in it. I took it.

I bought a dial up Internet service and began recruiting artists. I read the Internet 4 Dummies book several times. I talked to established cartoonists over the Internet. I plodded along, sleeping in a sleeping bag on the concrete floor for almost two years working with junk all around me. I froze in the winter and
could barely breathe in the summer; that was the climate of south Mississippi.
I was determined to create something funny and important. I had no idea what the
outcome would be.

As time went by, illustrators came and left. We were a non-commerce site; in fact I couldn't even afford a domain and got a free one with more popup ads than cartoons.
But as time went by, I found I could write 50 or more concepts on some days, and
the concepts seemed strong enough to lure some very accomplished illustrators
willing to take a chance. I had read enough about Internet businesses to know
to "hang on tight" and "be patient". I had no idea it would be a decade before
the world would ever notice. What they notice is at http://www.londonstimes.us
and has had over 7.5 million visitors since January of 2005. I still can't believe it when I think about it.

Now, I imagine I have worked with at least a hundred illustrators and finished
over 6000 cartoons; probably one of the largest private individual collections of
single panel cartoons on the Internet.

I write about it for two reasons. One is, I am proud and admit it. My ego deserves
stroking. I worked very hard and at times in unbearable environments. But I
preservered as did many of my illustrators, several of them still with me; one
has been able to capitalize on all the attenion by publishing several books of his
own (he is very into Christianity and Scouting and does a terrific job at
using those themes as his cartoons and does so in good taste). His name is
Rich Diesslin and he has also managed the website for a long time now.

In 2006, I met Rosy. We fell in love. She is an attorney on the west coast and she loves the arts and creative projects. She encouraged me to work harder and
manufacturer products. I already was making tee shirts and mugs at Cafe Press but the royalties were somewhat of a joke.

I found another manufacturer willing to take a chance and he promoted us heavily.
Londons Times Superstore was born with about 60,000 cartoon image products on 24
different items in several dozen categories from science to romance to sports to
Star Wars and Star Trek. It is at http://www.londonstimessuperstore.com

Londons Times Cartoons By Rick London Gains Worldwide Popularity

My voyage into cartooning is a funny story (no pun intended). The seed was planted long ago. I believe the year was 1986. I was with some friends in Washington, D.C. who informed me I had been invited to a Gary Larson Far Side exhibit. I remember laughing at his cartoon; and eventually every morning when opening the newspaper going directly to it. I was hooked. I remember saying to myself "I could do that....if I could only draw." Sure, and the next thought was I could re-build the Taj Mahal if I could only build.

Years went by and my life took many twists and turns. I owned my own business in Washington, D.C. at age 39. It was successful. I worked in major media. I did a lot of things. I was very adventuresome. I moved to L.A. to learn screenwriting (didn't do very well, I must admit but at least I tried). The Northridge quake hit about the same time Mom called from Ms. to tell me she was very ill. I returned home at age 44.

It was humbling and educational. I learned to care for someone whom I loved very much, my mother. I learned to take a job that i felt was "beneath me"; I sold ads for a local tv station. I did a lot of things I didn't want to do.

Mom died in 1996. I moved to Hot Springs, Ar a town in which I knew nobody, but had had ancestors here who loved it. They were right.

By that time, I had learned that many cartoons are team efforts, that is, a writer and artist, or writers and artists, and I developed a team. I wrote, created concepts, they drew. We had a fun hobby that had started in 1997.

Artists came and went, but by 2005 Londons Times Cartoons www.londonstimes.us was
rated by Alexa as one of the top 100,000 sites on the Internet with over 6000 cartoons. We were receiving about 4000 hits per hour; we've had 7.5 million visitors
since January of 2005.

There is much more to the story. I will be blogging it soon. I hope to hear
from others, feel free to join and write in the blog and let's keep it going.

Thanks to everyone who made our work popular!

Sincerely,

Rick London
Londons Times Cartoons
www.londonstimes.us

The London Group Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary WIth Unique Products And Services

It started in 1997 in a small metal warehouse in rural Mississippi. Nobody would rent to Rick London because he
"owned a dog". Indeed he did have a dog, but he also had
what Winston Churchill called "His Black Dog" or severe
depression. A friend of London's owned an old abandoned
warehouse with a phone line and electricity, but no heat
or air, and he lived in it, slept on the concrete floor on
a sleeping bag for a year and launched Londons Times Cartoons.

His only assets were app. $100 cash, a very old IBM 386 computer, a phone line with dial up Internet, and a book
titled "Internet For Dummies".

Ten years later Londons Times Cartoons boasts over 6000
originals that London wrote and his team of artists rendered.
It ranks in the Alexa top 200k and Netcraft top 100k most popular sites. www.londonstimes.us (A subsidiary of Rick London's The London Group)

Last year London launched Londons Times Superstore which features his licensed image items; everything from tee
shirts to mouse pads, to wall clocks to gourmet coffee gift baskets...over 65,000 items in all. www.londonstimessuperstore.com (The London Group)

As if that were not enough, he launched his own private label brand of gourmet coffee gift baskets "Ruth London's Exquisite Coffees" named after his grandmother which include cartoon coasters and mug.

Last week, he launched his own line of cartoon clothing
called Rick Londonwear www.ricklondonwear.com (The London Group)

He also signed with one of the Internet's top digital
content providers www.blish.com. If one does a Londons Times Cartoons on their search engine they can find cartoons for any profession from lawyers to psychiatrists.

London says they work great for journals, websites, ads,
newsletters etc. "Remember, newspaper editors have known for years that cartoons build loyalty. Why else would they devote an entire ad-free non revenue producing page every day? They know why and so should other publishers.

London has also launched his own subscription-based
ecard site "for the high IQ right-brainers" who he says
"simply aren't fascinated with the flash and fast one
liners. Yes, it is a bit erudite but well worth it and
has a 30 day free trial and after that only 8.50 a year,
half of our competitors. http://www.londonstimes.us/ecards/ecards.html

London is a return-to-college adult at 52 living in
the Ouchata mountains of Arkansas and is learning
business. He says most of his focus is on e-business
which fascinates him the most.

He also just created a website with a ticker tape rss
feed which feeds news from major media outlets and
blog feeds from his own site, all worldwide to anyone
who has the ticker tape. It's all free, the membership,
the blog, etc; it even has a chat room and ezine.
In addition Adsense pays bloggers to blog. It can
be found at www.theaffiliatetoolbar.com or
www.seostreetsmarts.com. (The London Group) It also works as a network
solution for affiliate managers and candidates and
to learn SEO from experts often invited in to chat.

"It has been an amazing ride this ten years," says
London. "Everyone told me not to try this because
I would fail. If this is failing, I prefer it to
succeeding...but to be humble, I would be lying to
not admit I had many more failures along the way than
successes. I guess that is how we learn this, and I'm
certain I'll have many more.

Rick London
CEO The London Group
www.londonstimes.us
www.londonstimessuperstore.com
www.ricklondonwear.com
www.seostreetsmarts.com

Londons Times Cartoons In Netcraft 100,000

Well it was exciting to hear from my webmaster that our cartoon site is in
the www.netcraft.com top 100k at number 98,000 give or take a few hundred.

I had never heard of Netcraft but that doesn't mean anything, apparently they
are a well-known site and I'm happy to know the site is retaining its popularity
this long, and frankly surprised.

I hope the same type thing happens with our superstore which is linked to
our cartoon site. That address is http://www.londonstimessuperstore.com and
it is a great place to gift shop. I like the store myself but of course I'm prejudiced.

Single Panel Offbeat Cartoon Londons Times Suddenly Top-Ranked At Netcraft And Alexa

Rick London started Londons Times Cartoons in a metal run down warehouse donated to him by a friend in 1997 for his "studio". He was 43 years old and decided to become a cartoonist (though he didn't draw very well).

London says "People thought me of dubious character at best, first for wanting to become a cartoonist, and secondly because I was not all that artistic. Nobody wanted me as 'the odd neighbor with a vision'.

But that didn't stop him. With $300 (all he had) he bought a used IBM clone computer, a phone line, a lot of rice and beans, a book called "Internet For Dummies" and a sleeping bag. He slept on the concrete floor. He learned the Internet, started recruiting illustrators who would render his ideas on speculation (he had written about a thousand), and got to work.

By 1998, he had a website on a free web server, could not yet afford a domain, one illustrator partner, and about
70 cartoons up (more popup ads than cartoons).

Fast forward to 2005. London, by now was living in a high rise in Hot Springs, Ar, had his own domain, an inventory of about 5000 cartoons; an illustration team of seven
nearly-full time illustrators and was in the Alexa top
100,000 websites on the Internet.

Fast forward again to 2006. London has a worldwide following, about 6500 cartoons, and his site remains one of the highest ranked on the Internet. It receives about 4000 visitors per hour, or 5.6 million hits since January of 2005 (today is December 1, 2006), a superstore
with over 65,000 cartoon image products in 23 categories, his own private label of gourmet coffee gift baskets (complete with gourmet mug and coasters), and much more.
The Superstore address is http://www.londonstimesssuperstore.com and it boasts one of the largest if not the largest collection of cartoon gifts and collectibles on the Internet.

Many have compared the cartoon favorably to Gary Larson's Far
Side, but London says "To me that is a compliment. If anyone was
my inspiration he was...along with Leigh Rubin, Jon Mcpherson, and
Dave Coverly. In fact Dave, Jon, and Leigh spent countless hours
with me on the phone and email showing me the ropes when I started. I'll never forget their generosity."

London also just launched Londons Times Ecard site which
features his cartoons in ecard form complete with music
and a place for a private message for senders. It can
be accessed at http://www.londonstimes.us/ecards/ecards.html . He offers a free 30 day trial and then just charges 8.50 a year, half of other quality ecard sites.

London is also a full-time business student at
Western Governors University, and plans to go on for
an MBA "if my health and sanity hold out," he jokes.

For more information contact sales@londonstimes.us
or call 501-442-0099