Friday, July 9, 1999
Internet service allows woman to reach out
to community
By ANNA L. DEROCHER
Staff Writer
 Cindi
Love said she felt restricted when she was working for someone
else.
So it wasn’t long after taking a job with the Toro Co.
that Love came up with the idea to start her third business, Ecommune.
The new company was designed to build communities for commerce
on the Internet.
“I was an employee for the first time in many years, and
I found that challenging,” Love said. “I am not a good
employee. I was successful, but I think I am a better entrepreneur.
I enjoy the flexibility, and I am accustomed to setting my own
schedule.”
Ecommune is one of the Internet’s creators and operators
of vertical communities of commerce, often referred to as “e-communities”
or “sticky portals.” These
e-communities are comprised of secured Internet sites, which
support e-commerce, content and community building, Love said.
Ecommune provides a secure connection to scheduling, billing,
logistics, design and other valuable information via the Internet.
Love, an Abilene native, is best known for founding C.H. Love
& Co. It was sold to New Mexico Information Systems in 1990.
Love said it was becoming difficult for Computerland, a division
of the main company, to compete with larger companies like Best
Buy and Office Max.
C.H. Love & Co. had been an INC 500 company at No. 73 in
1981. The company was also named to the Top 40 Industry Remarketers
by IBM in 1990 and the Million Dollar Club by Apple Computer in
1989 and 1990. Love had also been named one of the Top 50 Entrepreneurs
in the United States and Canada by INC magazine, MIT and the Young
Entrepreneur’s Organization in 1991.
An advocate
Between the start of Ecommune and the end of C.H. Love &
Co., Love concentrated on advocacy work that she had already been
doing for some time.
Love, 44, has been the director of a privately funded Advocacy
Program through the West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene
since 1984. She has been volunteering to help people living with
physical and mental disabilities since 1977.
Growing up with a brother with a learning disability prompted
her to earn a bachelor of science in speech therapy from Abilene
Christian University in 1975.
When C.H. Love closed, Love decided to take a position as interim
educational diagnostician for the Coahoma School District.
“Working there let me refresh a whole set of skills I
hadn’t been using for a while,” Love said. “That
re-lit my passion.”
In 1977, Love received a master of arts in education from Louisiana
Tech University. She returned to school in 1984 to earn a doctorate
in educational administration from Texas Tech.
In 1995, Love and Sue Jennings founded the Abilene Community
Advocacy Program to assist families and individuals with disabilities
and/or work related discrimination issues, as well as people living
with HIV/AIDS.
It made perfect sense to Love to start Ecommune Inc. because
it was something that would complement her advocacy work.
The job also allows her more flexibility to see her two adult
children, Joshua and Amber, who live in Atlanta and Baltimore,
respectively.
Love usually helps people who wouldn’t be able to come
to her if she charged for her services. Currently, Love is looking
into helping a man who wants to mow his lawn outside his apartment.
The Toro Co. had referred him to Love.
“He is fiercely independent, but he cannot afford to pay
for someone to mow the grass,” Love said. “But he cannot
grip to turn the mower on.”
Love is working on getting this man a special lawnmower that
would meet his needs.
“Toro doesn’t do turning-off devices,” she said.
“We are trying to find someone to donate a mower and then
someone to adapt it.”
But Love said the problem isn’t simple to solve. She will
have to go through an adaptation specialist to make sure the lawn
mower is still safe to use.
Business life
Love and Jennings co-founded Ecommune, which was originally
National Support Network Central Supply. It was the supplier of
proprietary computer systems to the Toro Co. for more than five
years.
“Ecommune uses the Internet to link together people interested
in the same thing, people who may want to buy or trade products
or want to trade information,” Love said.
Through that relationship with Toro, Love was offered a job
in Minneapolis as director of customer service systems. She was
responsible for managing Toro’s global customer information
systems and its webmaster from May 1996 to Nov. 1, 1998.
It was her good relationship with Toro that helped her start
Ecommune.
“I continued that relationship when I moved back to Abilene
to build another business,” Love said. “Now, they’re
my client again. When I left in November 1988, I agreed they would
be my first client in my new business.”
Love doesn’t think she will ever be out of work. She said
the Internet is driving many businesses and she can help them
reach an audience that doesn’t want to come into the store
to do the shopping.
The revenue goal for fiscal year 2000 is in excess of $1 million,
and with 11 clients, Love believes she is well within her goal.
“I have a very strong faith,” Love said. “When
I first started in business, I would pray … ‘If (the
business) was helpful, bless it, if it wasn’t, take it away.’
”
Anna L. Derocher may be reached at (915) 676-6786 or derochera@abinews.com.
 |
| Cindi Love started Ecommune,
a sevrice for secured Internet sites that support e-commerce,
content and community building. Photo by Crista Jeremiason /Reporter-News |
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