Jacob Gower is the creator of the Bloggy Network. He gained a fair amount of fame for buying up some really well known websites, and since then has been creating a network of blogs and blog services. He has been able to keep his network under the radar for the most part as there are many people that are reading his blogs, or using the services of the Bloggy Network, without even knowing they are connected to a bigger entity.

With his experience as both a business owner, and someone who has taken many financial risks, I knew he would be a great person to interview.

1.) Why run a blog network when there were so many other such networks appearing online around the same time as you started yours? Were you worried about its success?

I owned a lot of blog related sites, so it just made sense to start a network. I wasn’t really worried about it’s success in the least. All the network really meant is that I was putting all the sites under 1 roof as well as starting some new sites. The rest of the people starting blog networks don’t really concern me. I am only concerned with what Bloggy Network is bringing to the table.

2.) If you had to pick a favorite site from your network, either due to its content, design or both, which one would it be?

Well, Blog Flux is definitely one of the sites that I’m most excited about. It just has so much potential that it’s ridiculous. It’s already got a lot of good stuff, but there’s so much more that can be done with it still. It’s hard not to love a site like that. The growth of it already in the first 8 or 9 months has been exceptional. I love the design on pretty much all of the sites, it’s something I think that our network is doing quite well. I especially love the new homepage design at BloggyNetwork.com

3.) What would be the three most Important things to consider before attempting to run your own business?

That’s a tough one. Well, it’s definitely important to be able to support yourself while things get going. I was lucky enough to have been in college while I got started, so I didn’t have to worry about supporting myself completely at first. By the time I graduated, the revenue from the network was able to support me.

Second, you’ve got to have an environment that’s easy to do work in. It can be hard to work from home sometimes with all the stuff going on. Friends coming over, TV, significant others, etc…

Third, you’ve got to be able to be self-motivated. Some people can do this by themselves, other people have to have someone on their case. However, I would imagine most people with the initiative to start their own business aren’t going to run into this problem much. I go through slumps sometimes, but who doesn’t.

4.) What would be your best general productivity tip? What do you do to stay focused, or organized?

Hmmm, well, I’m not a very organized person in general. Nor am I the most productive person in the world at times. However, one of the best things for me to do is shut down the e-mail, the feed readers, the IM products, so on, and just focus. It helps keep out all the distractions for a while.

Thanks again for taking the time to let the world into your mind. If you’d like to know more about Jacob Gower, head on over to the Bloggy Network and check out everything his company has to offer.

*Interesting Fact: Jacob Gower recently graduated from Middle Tennessee State University, but while in University managed to aquire sites like the CSSVault, ForeverGeek, and BloggingPro, which are well known major websites. I don’t know about you, but when I was in school, I was a broke student with very little business drive.