Long before the Internet Calvin Klein knew it, Ralph Lauren, even Famous Amos knew it, as did so many others. Think of all the brand names you buy. Have you ever wondered how they did it?

Most of us think of ourselves as "the underdog" when it comes to private labeling; the Calvin Klein's of the world had millions backing them. That may or may not have been the case, but, since the Internet was created, it really doesn't even matter any more.

Information on branding used to be a very well-kept secret. After the Internet was founded, the cat was let out of the bag.

Depending on your style, you might want to start small, buy some lables with pretty graphics and your name, and bottle or serve to your heart's desire in your own community. You may want to outsource it all to a manufacturer. You may think that is expensive. It is if you pay outright. it is not if you "make a deal" to split the keep. You better have a good idea to pitch that. And you want know how good until you pitch it. I had to pitch to almost 200 of them before one said yes. And it was a big fish.

You may be an artist and think you have nothing to offer but art. Nothing could be further from the truth. Image licensing, though a relatively uknown business in the U.S. is one of the biggest with about 50 billion dollars changing hands each year.

You can do it yourself, you can go to a local manufacturer or screenprinter, or you can find a manufacturer online who makes your kind of product and will private label it for you. I did all three.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Though I wanted my Rick London label on everything, I was not a trust fund baby. And like many entrepreneurs, my dreams were a bit larger than my pocketbook, but I still felt I had the right to dictate quality control. So until Cafe Press got their act together, which admittedly they finally did, I began using a Denver print-on-demand named Printfection to launch several niche stores including RickLondonwear . It turned out to be a good idea.

As time went by, I got really brave. I already had nearly 8500 cartoons up on my Londons Times Cartoon site and I was ready to take them to market in a big way. I already had nearly 60,000 gift and clothing products up at my Londons Times Supertore, but I wanted something very different, the world's first and only private label cartoon gourmet coffees. Ruth London's Exquisite Coffees was born and sold at the superstore. Each basket includes 5 blends from around the world, an oversize cartoon mug and four cartoon coasters. They are top-sellers at nearly $50. I bartered the whole deal, with my leverage being my cartoons. Ruth London was my late maternal grandmother who I loved so much, and she loved coffee so much, hence the name.

Personalization and corporate gift-giving are "the big thing now". There is no reason not to offer personalization. It is inexpensive and the customers love it. I decided to offer it for $2 on every product at Londons Times Superstore. Each buyer gets his/her company name and URL on the product. So, say it is a coffee gift basket or mug, their name and a funny cartoon is the first thing their client sees upon awakening. Not bad psychology.

This may sound a bit manipulative, and I agree, in a way it is. But it is also providing a product and service that people want, and an ideal way for a company to personally get their name to the right party. And it works and it works very well (is the feedback we get).

If not for the Internet, who knows if I could have done all these projects, all branded under my name Londons Times Cartoons, RickLondonwear, LTSuperstore, RickLondonCollection and others. Maybe on a much smaller scale, but in my rural hometown of Hattiesburg, Ms, the laughter market was slim. A dream, some energy, and taking action. That's the key. See you at the top.