The Locals Go Here Interview Name of your website?The Locals Go Here Your name? Ron O'Hara Your Location (city, etc) Amarillo Please give us a short summary of your website? Reviews, menus and directions to West Texas Panhandle restaurants. We also prestnt the history of Amarillo and Canyon as well as area events and attractions. ~~ What inspired you to launch your own website? Was recovring from major surgery and needed something to maintain sanity. Will never be able to walk great distances so I need something to do where I could sit down. When did you launch your first website, and what was it? This is the first I have built but had someone build "Munchie Gifts.com" in 2001 to 2003. Sold it. How did you decide on a name for your website? Searched for several urls consistant with the theme we wanted. Original idea was "Where The Locals Go" but the url was taken. I actully like "The Locals Go Here" better. What makes your website different from other, similar offerings? Almost all websites that offer restaurant reviews publish what viewers email. The reviewer may be the owners or family or in the case of critical reviews, someone the owner has offended. Our reviews come only from my wife and I. We've tried them all. We do not present negative reviews. If we have a poor experience we simply do not review that restaurant. What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?) Keep it for income. How does your investment of time and money balance against your success? Too new to answer. We do not expect a great return but the effort is rewarding and all our dining out is tax deductible. If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site? Nothing. We have no desire to go beyond our geographic area. We could not personally review more restaurants and would be just like other websites that accept reviews from anyone. If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand? In the West Texas Panhandle, yes. What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with? Nothing except having to learn how to build a website. I am very pleased with High Power Sites website builder...a computer idiot can build a website and the cost is exceptionally low compared to others. What has been your biggest challenge? Getting listed in many directories. What method has been most successful for promoting your website? We offer better local hotels a listing on website in exchange for allowing us to place our brochures in their lobby rack or our business cards on their check in counter. How has running your website differed from your expectations? Didn't really know what to expect. It has been time consuming but very rewarding. How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity? It is just now being completed. Hope to keep it up as long as my health holds up. Do you review national chains? Only if they have local ownership. We do several, but try to concentrate on unique out of the way restaurants about which we would like visitors to our area to learn. Locals also need to be reminded of restaurants they went to years ago and have forgotten. There is a reason they have remained in business for years and years. What is your website address? The Locals Go Here | 
