It seems that everywhere you look today, someone is starting a new Internet based business. With the resurgence of online commerce pulling in thousands of new startups, competition levels are at a new high. The owner of one online-based design company is well aware of the difficulty of standing out in what seems to be a completely-saturated market, and has done something drastic about it.

The 29-year-old entrepreneur has tattooed his company website address, bsleek.com (http://www.bsleek.com), on his forehead.

After reading about a publicity stunt done by GoldenPalace.com when they paid a man $1,999 to tattoo their website address on his forehead, bsleek.com owner Stephen Allen decided he could do the same thing, but due to a tight budget, instead of paying someone else to adorn their forehead, he'd do it himself.

"I started marketing my company on a shoestring budget and the business was growing at a turtle's pace," Allen said, when asked about the method behind his madness. "I needed to do something drastic to get the word out about my company."

And Allen admits he was initially wild about the idea. "At first, I was really scared about it. I thought that everyone would think I was crazy--and I was right! They do think I'm crazy, but it's great because when someone meets me they tell all their friends about me and they tell their friends and they tell their friends, and so on. It has been a marvel in viral marketing."

The logical question that arises when examining this method of advertising is--Has he gone too far? Is this marketing brilliance or complete lunacy? I think the answer is that it's a combination of both. Yes, Allen will be bound to finger pointing and endless conversations about the tattoo for the rest of his life, but on the bright side, he'll have no shortage of traffic to his web site based on the public's curiosity. Since being permanently branded, traffic to his site has gone through the roof. He went from a two-man company to a 10-person team in less than a year.

With the Internet making it easier for anyone to start a business these days, people will have to start thinking outside the box and coming up with new methods of advertising. After seeing the recent gain in popularity of Google Earth, which gives people a bird's-eye view of our planet, Target decided to strategically place big red "targets" on rooftops around the globe.

Allen has also been enjoying the media attention he's been receiving for his innovative approach. Whether you think he's crazy or consider him a pioneer who's leading the way for a new generation of marketers, you must admire his passion to stop at nothing to make his business a success.

Spencer Powers is an Internet marketing expert and VP of Marketing for:

Daterade.com (http://www.daterade.com) and WittyShirts.com (http://www.wittyshirts.com)

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