“I quickly learned the hard way that success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.”

“Benjamin Klein is founder and CEO of Next Level Internet Management, a Charlotte, North Carolina based Internet marketer of a variety of digital products through both licensing and affiliate arrangements. Mr. Klein modeled his marketing approach based on his extensive study of leading Internet marketers and mentors. Armed with this knowledge and utilizing his sales, marketing and networking skills, Benjamin kick started his successful entrepreneurial ventures without any significant capital investment. Benjamin is a native of Gainesville, Florida, and graduated from the University of Florida in 2004 with a B.S., in Telecommunication News with a minor in business.”

MO: What inspired you and your team to start Next Level Internet Management?

Benjamin: As entrepreneurs, and in everything we do, we are constantly striving to take it to our “next level.” In life and in business, you get what you expect, not what you want. By having the mindset and attitude of continually striving to push yourself to greater heights and taking everything you do to the next level, you are left with only one option: success! With the opportunities the Internet and technology provide, we can automate processes and expand profitability for individuals and businesses through a set of proven and time-tested techniques and strategies. Because we expected something great, and we’re constantly moving toward the goal of achieving our next level, we set the wheels in motion to make it happen. Personally, I was fortunate enough to find my purpose in life at a very young age, which is to inspire and empower entrepreneurs so they will do the same once they have become successful and achieved their “next level.”

MO: How has your career prepared you for this venture?

Benjamin: I’ve always believed that working with mentors who have already climbed the mountain you are trying to climb is the most efficient, and risk-evasive, way to gain success and reach the mountaintop. I began my career selling new homes and learned the importance of beginning with the end in mind. I put a system and process in place to achieve success, sales, and increased profit margins. After I broke away from the chains of the model home to start my first business venture and work for my bottom line, instead of someone else’s, I quickly learned the hard way that success doesn’t come to you, you go to it.

MO: What sets your company apart from other Internet marketing firms?

Benjamin: We always begin with the end in mind, with our eye constantly on what enables increased revenues and profitability. Next Level Internet Marketing can handle traditional marketing needs for a company, such as website design, marketing strategy, and business advisement, but what separates us from your typical boutique agency is that we are intensely focused on website optimization and increased ecommerce conversions. This maximizes entrepreneurs’ ability to run their businesses as efficiently as possible, while continuing to bolster their bottom lines. Where NLIM is going, and what really differentiates us from our “competitors,” is a new, top-secret idea that will change the landscape of how website traffic and online media is bought and sold. But more on that later!

MO: What have you learned during your search for investors, and your preparation to start NLIM, that could help our readers who are starting a business?

Benjamin: It’s important to remember that there are going to be many challenges in starting a business; if possible, rely on your sweat equity and intense execution of your business plan and ideas. One very important thing to remember is that, as a business owner, manager, and salesperson, you have to always help people get out of their own way. You have to give them the necessary information, presented in the best and easiest way for them to understand, so they can feel comfortable about making a smart and informed choice.

The same goes for investors! If you are networking properly and surrounding yourself with great mentors, there will always be someone “around” who will be ready to support your success if you are operating your business with integrity and with everyone’s best interests in mind. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want! Be relentless in your pursuit of success in anything, whether it’s attracting investors, executing your business plan, or even managing your diet and exercise. There’s a reason the Bible says, “Ask and ye shall receive.”

MO: There has obviously been a lot of hype around the Facebook IPO. What do you see in the future for the intersection of financial institutions and the Internet?

Benjamin: We’re at the most exciting time in Internet history, by being able to witness how financial institutions evolve into using the Internet for profitability. As with the Facebook IPO, profiting on the Internet is still in the beginning phase and there is a lot to learn. NLIM is poised to fill the gaps between where Facebook’s IPO was estimated to open at, what the IPO actually opened at, and what it’s trading at now. Financial institutions and the stock market will soon feel the true power of the profitability the Internet offers.

MO: What career accomplishment have you been most proud of thus far?

Benjamin: It’s simple, straightforward, and right out of the school of hard knocks! After filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, when my first entrepreneurial brick-and-mortar venture failed, I licked my wounds, and studied everything I could get my hands on about Internet marketing during the day, while executing with an outsource team from India for $15 per hour at night. I was living in a basement and living off the rental income from my two rental properties, which were slipping into foreclosure. This was when I decided I would not go back to the model home, and I would not go back to a “regular” day job. I am an entrepreneur! From day 31 to day 60, following the discharge of my Chapter 7 bankruptcy, I earned $50,000 in profits – that’s the foundation that NLIM is built upon. As an entrepreneur, they say if you haven’t gone broke once, then you aren’t trying hard enough! This is where Next Level Internet Management was born, and this is where my story began and continues today.