Passion, honesty and learning from mistakes can drive business growth, says Reza Shojaei, founder and editor of CasinoTopp.net

Proverbial wisdom would have it that change is good. Change, however, is difficult especially in the business world, where a centimetre of change frequently has to move metres of years-old processes and status quo. Yet a lot of corporate success stories were fuelled by change, says Reza Shojaei, founder and editor of CasinoTopp.net, Norways biggest online casino affiliate site.

Shojaei refers to Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia as a prime example of change.

Although known for their telecoms equipment, Nokias first foray was making rubber boots, says Shojaei. Nokias rubber boots did not capture the worlds attention and yet, by making the necessary changes, and shifting to a completely different market, the Finnish company became a worldwide phenomenon, he says.

Value Marketing, the company behind CasinoTopp.net, also had a different business model at its outset.

We first started operating as a face-to-face field marketing company, but then changed our business model to the online-based iGaming related marketing.

Nowadays, Value Marketing has grown into a multinational successful company, owning multiple casino affiliate sites that target various markets worldwide including the Nordic countries, the UK and Japan, and with four offices worldwide and headquarters in Malta.

We have a very strong team more and more professionals are recruited continuously so that Value Marketing can reach its goals and fulfil its vision, adds Shojaei.

CasinoTopp has also grown, achieving the status of an international website providing transparent information on trustworthy online casinos, and offering tips, news and guides for players to read, so they can expand their own knowledge.

There is fear of change but the biggest fear is probably taking the first leap, adds Shojaei.

With start-ups, its like trying to take a first leap, but being held back by the fear of making mistakes.

Mistakes are going to happen, and the first thing one has to do is accept this as a fact. Moreover, one shouldnt let past mistakes give direction to the future. I started my first business when I was 20 years old and since then, Ive made mistakes, learned from them, and launched many other businesses. Nowadays, I use my experience and money to help others start businesses, he says, adding how he uses his blog to share his knowledge and experience.

Passion is also a powerful driver. In Shojaeis case, he has always nursed a love of online gambling, well before he started CasinoTopp.net.

What I could see was that a lot of casino affiliate sites were not completely honest with their readers, and did not give true tips on, for instance, which casinos are completely safe, says Shojaei, who also had stints working as editor of some of Norways biggest magazines, including Fremtidens Byggenring and Samferdsel & Infrastruktur.

Therefore, when launching CasinoTopp.net, our main aim was to be honest with our readers. Honesty is not necessarily translated into money immediately. However, honesty brings massive added value to your customers. We put people first and when you do that, money will follow. Its a natural progression. When you put people first and give them a great product or service, they tell their friends and that is ultimately what any business wants.

Honesty is our unique selling point. In the market we operate, I have rarely seen an online casino affiliate website publish the owners name or give readers the option to contact the owners. But that is what we do. And we do so with great pride so that visitors know who is really running the website. It is this kind of honesty that makes people trust us.

Offering something valuable

Honesty, however, is usually quite not enough to bring customers in through the doors, or in Shojaeis case, readers to the website. As in any business, in order to be successful, you have to offer your customers something valuable. When a business can provide something of value, such as a solution to a customers problem, they will have repeat business.

There are many iGaming related affiliate sites out there that provide reviews of online casinos and games. However, oftentimes, these reviews might not be transparent or complete. They might lack certain aspects or points of view, or simply be too positive and praising. This does not really help the reader, as the purpose of reading the reviews is to compare the pros and cons of a online casino site, Shojaei says.

For CasinoTopp.net, the goal is to offer unbiased, transparent reviews of online casinos, so that the players can trust the reviews and find something valuable out of them. They will know the good and the bad sides, so they can easily make a decision based on things that are important for each player.

In addition, CasinoTopp.net offers other valuable resources and tools for the readers, such as casino news and updates. They update the readers of recent changes in the rules and regulations, for instance, which helps serious players to stay on track about the happenings of the industry.

By offering our readers something useful, we can ensure that our readers want to come back over and over again. In most business models, repeat business is the bread and butter, and it also applies here, Shojaei adds.

As CasinoTopp.net aims to be the best in the Norwegian market and its subsidiary, CasinoTop.com, is taking over the other markets around the globe, Shojaei keeps his ear on the ground for any changes in the iGaming world. In addition, the professionals working for said sites keep up with the latest news and updates, so that they can update the readers right on time.

This provides value to players and readers who are passionate about the iGaming world. And as the readers know they can trust the information provided, they will gladly sign up for newsletters and return to the site over and over again.

Working with the readers

As mentioned before, the readers of CasinoTopp.net can easily get in touch with the site. They can send in comments, questions, or suggestions. At the end of the day, the purpose of CasinoTopp.net is to serve the readers by providing them the best possible help and guidance.

It is done best by listening to the readers and their comments. Working together with the readers underlines the transparency and willingness to genuinely help the players. In addition, CasinoTopp.net can even work as a third-party, should a player have an issue with an online casino.

Working with the readers is what makes us different and stand out from the rest. We gladly accept comments and questions, and do our best to respond to all of them. Furthermore, this instills trust in readers, which is what we are going for. We want to be the number one site players and readers turn to whenever they would like to know more about online casinos or about the iGaming industry in general, Shojaei adds.

A worldwide network of professionals and operators

The main goal of CasinoTopp.net and CasinoTop.com is to become the worlds best and most well-known casino affiliate site that provides players and readers with all the possible information they might want regarding iGaming and online casinos. As CasinoTopp.net is already number one in Norway, CasinoTop.com is slowly taking over the world market by market.

We employ only the best of the best around the world, as we want to have the best possible content and news on our site. As we aim to provide the best, we also have to work with the best, when it comes to operators as well, Shojaei says.

Over the years in the iGaming industry, Shojaei has managed to build a strong network of professionals and operators who all have the same goals and same integrity. CasinoTopp.net and CasinoTop.com both only present the best operators and best software providers.

We look at more than just the one casino. For instance, many companies own multiple online casinos and we look through all of the sister sites to make sure there are no red flags. We only recommend, reviews, and present the online casinos that we ourselves would play at, or would recommend to our own friends and family, Shojaei adds.

With the strong network of professionals and operators in Shojaeis corner, he is able to build his sites and businesses and take them further than before. At the end of the day, honesty and valuable services can take you only so far. The business also needs reliable and passionate employees and trustworthy partners. When the business is led with integrity, with the customer in mind, the money will follow and the business will grow naturally. So, it is no wonder that CasinoTopp.net has already taken over Norway and there is more to come.

Look out for the second part of this interview next week.

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Yes, a business can be honest - Times of Malta