Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Keith Latman: Two Loves, One Success

Keith Latman is a man who enjoys combining his two loves: entrepreneurship and computers. In 1999 he set the computer world on fire when he announced that he was starting a company that would be offering extremely inexpensive PC’s. The Webzter Jr. was going to set the world on fire. It was inexpensive, it came with everything a basic computer should, and it had one year of internet to go along with it. This, unfortunately, is where things started to unravel.

Shortly after the Webzter Jr. was announced, orders started pouring in for the project. It was around that time that Earthlink, the company that was providing the internet connection for the Webzter Jr., pulled out of its contract with Microworkz, the Seattle-based company that Keith Latman had started. To make matters even more complicated, the business had grown so large so fast that the production team was unable to fulfill it’s quota of computers that were already sold. This meant that the company was going to be unable to deliver all of the products that it had pre-sold.

Keith Latman learned a lot of lessons during the ensuing years. Without being asked to by the court or anyone else, he bought a computer for every person who had ordered a Webzter Jr. that was unable to receive one. This amounted to buying 111 computers over a 7 year period. Keith Latman took to heart the lessons he had learned during the post-Microworkz time period and vowed to make his next company stronger and better.

A man of many talents, Keith Latman once again decided to focus on providing services there were needed in the computer world. He began RetailTRAC, which was eventually sold to Minow LLC, and MicroPOS, which was sold to Micros. His newest company is located at iMagicLab.com. iMagicLab is a site that helps car dealers to create a life-long relationship with their customers. It is revolutionary computer software that will help dealers not only to sell more cars, but to keep their dealerships safe from hackers as well.

In the past three years since he created iMagicLab, which was formerly known as iCarMagic, Keith Latman has worked to train thousands of dealers, has published 75 articles, and has spoken at seminars around the nation. He has been a senior manager in the internet industry for over twelve years, but that has not stopped him from learning new things. Just recently, Keith Latman attended ID Tech Camps to get certificates in both Video Game Creation and Web Design & Flash Animation, so that he can further broaden his computer expertise.

Keith Latman is a man who has not let a little adversity get him down. He is a man who has dreams about how the world should be, and is doing his part to make it become the place of his dreams. His drive, determination, experience and ingenuity make him a valuable asset to the IT community.
More Information: http://www.imagiclab.com

Keith Latman: Two Loves, One Success

Keith Latman is a man who enjoys combining his two loves: entrepreneurship and computers. In 1999 he set the computer world on fire when he announced that he was starting a company that would be offering extremely inexpensive PC’s. The Webzter Jr. was going to set the world on fire. It was inexpensive, it came with everything a basic computer should, and it had one year of internet to go along with it. This, unfortunately, is where things started to unravel.

Shortly after the Webzter Jr. was announced, orders started pouring in for the project. It was around that time that Earthlink, the company that was providing the internet connection for the Webzter Jr., pulled out of its contract with Microworkz, the Seattle-based company that Keith Latman had started. To make matters even more complicated, the business had grown so large so fast that the production team was unable to fulfill it’s quota of computers that were already sold. This meant that the company was going to be unable to deliver all of the products that it had pre-sold.

Keith Latman learned a lot of lessons during the ensuing years. Without being asked to by the court or anyone else, he bought a computer for every person who had ordered a Webzter Jr. that was unable to receive one. This amounted to buying 111 computers over a 7 year period. Keith Latman took to heart the lessons he had learned during the post-Microworkz time period and vowed to make his next company stronger and better.

A man of many talents, Keith Latman once again decided to focus on providing services there were needed in the computer world. He began RetailTRAC, which was eventually sold to Minow LLC, and MicroPOS, which was sold to Micros. His newest company is located at iMagicLab.com. iMagicLab is a site that helps car dealers to create a life-long relationship with their customers. It is revolutionary computer software that will help dealers not only to sell more cars, but to keep their dealerships safe from hackers as well.

In the past three years since he created iMagicLab, which was formerly known as iCarMagic, Keith Latman has worked to train thousands of dealers, has published 75 articles, and has spoken at seminars around the nation. He has been a senior manager in the internet industry for over twelve years, but that has not stopped him from learning new things. Just recently, Keith Latman attended ID Tech Camps to get certificates in both Video Game Creation and Web Design & Flash Animation, so that he can further broaden his computer expertise.

Keith Latman is a man who has not let a little adversity get him down. He is a man who has dreams about how the world should be, and is doing his part to make it become the place of his dreams. His drive, determination, experience and ingenuity make him a valuable asset to the IT community.
More Information: http://www.imagiclab.com

Keith Latman 5

What do you get when you add drive, determination, experience, and perseverance together? You get a man like Keith Latman. Before you can understand who Keith Latman is today, you need to know who he was and what occurred in his past. Keith is a man who embraces the past and chooses to learn from it rather than feeling disappointment over it.

The Past
Keith never planned to go into computer programming or the world of the internet. Instead, he had dreams of becoming a famous writer who lived in seclusion. Most famous people fall into their careers. The same thing happened to Keith Latman. In 1999, Keith started and became CEO of a company known as Microworkz. Mircoworkz was out to revolutionize the computer industry by providing affordable computers in a time when many had to sell a kidney to be able to afford one. His computer, the Webzter Jr., was available for only $299. It had all of the essential programming necessary for a person to be able to do word processing and to access the internet. The best part of Webzter Jr., however, was that it came with a one year access pass from EarthLink, meaning that anybody who purchased the computer would be instantly able to get online. That alone was a $240 value at the time.

Things fell through, however, when people started ordering more Webzter Jr.’s than the company had in stock. The production facility was unable to meet the demands of the consumers and the ordering center began billing people for their orders before their Webzter Jr. was even created. This, coupled with EarthLink pulling out of their deal, spelled bad news for Microworkz and for Keith Latman.

Moving Forward
Like any good businessman, Keith Latman did not let the issues of Microworkz stop him from finding his future. He pulled out of building computers and decided to concentrate on programming them. A large lawsuit was brought against Microworkz and Keith Latman wisely decided to shut it down. He spent the next seven years fighting the lawsuit and purchasing a new computer for all of those that were billed but did not receive their Webzter Jr.

Keith started anew, wiser and even more determined, and created RetailTRAC. RetailTRAC became very popular and was purchased by Minow LLC. His next project, MicroPOS, was sold to Micros. Always a man looking for a challenge, Keith turned his attention to the one area that many computer programmers ignored: car dealerships.

To fill the needs of the car dealer industry, Keith Latman created iMagicLab, a place where car dealers could get the programs necessary to be able to relate better with their consumers. This programming is meant to bring more customers in to shop, and to up the percentage of repeat customers. Every dealership that has tried iMagicLab has something good to say about it.

Keith Latman is the kind of man who sheds adversity like a duck sheds water. He does his best to turn bad situations that come his way into learning experiences, and is a valuable asset to both the business world and the IT world.
More Information: http://www.imagiclab.com

Keith Latman 4

Keith Latman is a man of many talents. He is a writer, an entrepreneur, and a very talented computer programmer. Strangely enough, Keith did not set out to involve himself in the internet and computer world. When he was young, he had a vision of becoming a writer and escaping the world by writing on board his boat. Fortunately for the rest of us, instead of becoming a literary hermit, he became a computer programmer and businessman that went for a different type of dream.

Microworkz
In 1999 Keith Latman became the CEO of a company he built called Microworkz. The company had dozens of plans for the future, and many different people believed in his company as he did and gave him the backing to get it up and running. Keith and Microworkz’s first plan was to launch the Webzter Jr. The Webzter Jr. was a revolutionary, extremely inexpensive computer. Every consumer that purchased the Webzter Jr. was to be given a years worth of EarthLink internet access, allowing them to be instantly connected to the world.

Unfortunately things did not go off perfectly. EarthLink pulled out of the deal and the production facility was suddenly unable to follow through with their promise of delivery. Over 100 people were charged by the ordering center and did not receive their computer. In short, Murphy’s Law of, "anything that can go wrong, will", came true for Microworkz.

Rebuilding
Instead of laying low and worrying about the lawsuits that were plaguing him, Keith Latman stepped back, reassessed the situation, and decided to learn from the past instead of regretting it. He built RetailTRAC, which became very popular and sold to Minow LLC. He then created MicroPOS, which was sold in short order to Micros. The whole time that Keith was creating invaluable programming, he was paying back his past mistakes. It took seven years, but Keith Latman purchased a brand new computer for every single person that was billed by Mircorowkz but did not receive a Webzter Jr. This amounted to 111 computers purchased. The most interesting part of the story is that there was no court order that demanded he purchase a computer for all of those people. He did it on his own.

iCarMagic
Keith’s latest venture is iCarMagic.com. iCarMagic.com is a place that car dealers can go to get computer programs that are integral to keeping their business running smoothly. The programs allow dealers to print worksheets for their potential customers, as well as allowing them to keep in touch much more easily with the customers that they have. iCarMagic.com is a system that all car dealers should have in place so as to further their business.

But Keith hasn’t stopped there. Just recently he completed the Video Game Creation and Web Design & Flash Animation training at ID Tech Camps in order to further his computer experiences so that he can bring bigger, and better, computer programs to the world.
More Information: http://www.imagiclab.com

Keith Latman 3

You may hear the name "Keith Latman" and believe that it sounds familiar. It probably does. Keith Latman was born Richard Keith Latman. He became known throughout the world when he created the first extremely inexpensive computer system in the hopes to make a computer available to everyone. Unfortunately his first dream fell through, but that hasn’t stopped Keith from pursuing others, and from changing the world, one program at a time.

Difficult Times
Keith Latman’s first company was Microworkz. This company became extremely popular and found very wealthy backers when it arrived on the scene, in part because of the design and plan Keith had for selling the world the first $299 computer, which was called the Webzter Jr. He worked with EarthLink to add a years worth of internet connection to the computer, which cost about $240 by itself.

Things slid downhill quickly, however, when production problems and issues with EarthLink caused the company to be unable to fulfill the orders that were pouring in. Over 100 people’s credit cards were billed and no computer was sent out. Keith Latman has acknowledged that this was an oversight in the ordering center and has spent 7 years purchasing a computer (one per month) for everyone that did not receive the Webzter Jr. that they ordered.

Moving On
Keith took the lessons that he’d learned from Microworkz and created a new company, called iMagicLab.com. iMagicLab.com is a company and program that focuses on helping car dealerships develop a lasting relationship with their clients. The product starts with Dealer CPM, which is a piece of technology that can help car dealers to report on the performance of a dealership very quickly. Dealers can look at the profit in their dealership and can create worksheets for their clients that will help them to understand the value of the vehicle that they are getting.

The best part about Dealer CPM is that dealers will be easily able to stay in touch with all of the customers that they have sold a vehicle to. It allows dealers to schedule follow-up calls or letters so that the next time the customer needs a new, or previously owned vehicle, they will go to purchase it from someone who has remembered them and has kept in touch.
iMagicLab.com also has a system in place for dealers who sell their vehicles online! This program allows these dealers to contact their buyers, either by e-mail or by mass e-mailing, extremely easily.

Never Giving Up
Keith Latman is a man who knows what he’s doing when it comes to internet technology. He is always furthering his expertise, and has just recently received certification in Video Game Creation and Web Design & Flash Animation so that he can create even more amazing programs. Keith Latman is a man who hasn’t let adversity get him down. Instead, he has risen like a phoenix from the ashes to become a valuable asset to the IT community.
More Information: http://www.imagiclab.com

Keith Latman 2

The computer industry is swiftly becoming like the plastic surgery industry: any teenager who has opened a tower believes that they can become the next Bill Gates. Computers, however, are much more complicated than the mechanisms that run them. They require the correct programming, the right hardware, and someone that knows what they are doing. Keith Latman is just that man.

A Big Bang
Keith Latman has stated that he never dreamed that he would be working in the IT industry. In fact, he was planning on going the creative route and becoming a writer. Many professional and famous people state that they never tried to achieve the career that they are in; that they simply fell into it. This is exactly what happened to Keith Latman. Keith became enamored with computers in a time when computers were still outrageously expensive. He wanted every person to be able to have a computer in their home, so he focused on creating a system that would be cheap enough to allow that, and powerful enough to do what it needed to do.

Webzter Jr. and Microworkz
Keith Latman’s first company was called Microworkz. It had a number of different projects in the fire, and found some big-time backers that believed in the company as much as the CEO did. Keith and his engineers created the Webzter Jr.: a small, extremely inexpensive computer that came complete with a one year connection to Earthlink. This setup would allow just about anyone to have a computer in their home, which was Keith’s dream.

Unfortunately things happened much too quickly, and the production facility was unable to keep up with orders. When that was coupled with mistakes that were made in the ordering center and EarthLink pulling out of their deal, it made for the swift end of Microworkz. Times got dark for Keith Latman then. He was being sued from a number of people and he found that he had to focus on fighting his court battles instead of working on software, which was his true love.

Out of the Ashes
Keith decided to take this as a lesson rather than as an utter defeat and began creating software once again. He created RetailTRAC, which was purchased by Minow, LLC. He then created MicroPOS, which was purchased by Micros. After that, he realized that there was one industry that needed his programming help desperately: the automotive industry.

iMagicLab.com
With his team of engineers, Keith Latman created iMagicLab.com, a company and program that was designed specifically to help car dealerships cultivate a good relationship with their customers as well as to keep their information safe from the public. He has worked with hundreds of dealers to help their dealership sell more cars and retain more customers than ever before. Keith Latman is definitely a man who understands the IT industry, from the inside out, and has valuable experience and talent to add to any industry he joins.
More Information: http://www.imagiclab.com

Keith Latman

There are many men and women who believe that they know how to revolutionize the computer and internet world. Most of them, however, talk big and never follow through with their promises. Keith Latman is a man that not only talks big, he has the experience and the expertise to follow through with any words that come out of his mouth.

Humble Beginnings
Keith Latman was born Richard Keith Latman. He has stated that he never intended to work with computers, but instead wanted to become a writer. He told reporters once that he had a dream of writing a novel while he lived on board a boat. Instead, he fell into working with software and hardware. In 1999 he did something that no one had ever done before: he created and offered an inexpensive personal computer in the hopes that every home would be able to be connected to the outside world via the World Wide Web.

Webzter Jr.
He called his computer the Webzter Jr. The Webzter Jr. was advertised for $299, but the best part was the connections that it came with. The Webzter Jr. came with a full year’s worth of internet access via EarthLink, one of the most well-known internet providers at the time. This access alone was valued at $240. Unfortunately the computer took off much faster than anyone anticipated it would and problems in the production facility meant that Microworkz, the founding company that Keith Latman was the CEO of, would be unable to fulfill many of the orders that poured in for the Webzter Jr.

Troubled Times
Things became disastrous when EarthLink pulled out of their contract, leaving Keith Latman and Microworkz in serious trouble. Things got worse when allegations started surfacing that Microworkz had charged peoples credit cards without giving them any product. Keith Latman later acknowledged that the company had unknowingly broken the consumer protection act, which culminated when a suit was brought against him and the company.

Keep Going
But Keith Latman didn’t let this setback keep him from fulfilling his dream to make the computer world a better place. He learned a lot from his first company, and first disaster, and took the lessons to heart. He purchased 111 computers for all of those consumers who did not receive a Webzter Jr. that they had been promised. The act took him 7 years to complete. He then started RetailTRAC and MicroPOS. Both companies were sold to established businesses.

Keith Latman how now set his eye to the car dealer industry, and has created iMagicLab.com. iMagicLab.com helps car dealers keep track of all of their customers. It also allows them to have a much more comprehensive relationship with their current, and potential, customers. The company has taken off and is being used around the country by all sorts of dealerships. Keith Latman is a man who doesn’t take "no" for an answer. He is a man who knows what he wants, and does everything he can to make sure that it happens. M

More information at http://www.imagiclab.com

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Richard Keith Latman

Richard Keith Latman is a serial entrepreneur who has started 11 companies in the last 20 years including iMagicLab, RetailTRAC, MicroPOS and of course Microworkz.com.

He is always at the cutting edge of technology and pushing the envelope to bring new software advancements and hardware to the marketplace. An avid writer and columnist, Keith brings a common-sense and fresh perspective to technology and its usage in today's fast paced environment.

For the past few years Keith has been Chief Software Architect and CEO for iMagicLab. a California based software company focused on the auto industry. He has trained thousands of car dealer personnel, written over 75 published articles and helped design and sell the fastest growing industry CRM tool in the marketplace