Teen's Autograph Collecting Hobby Explodes Into Million Dollar Business

As a teen, Jordan McAuley enjoyed writing his favorite celebrities for autographs. After compiling their addresses that worked into a database, he began selling his list of celebrity contact information online. Today, his ContactAnyCelebrity.com Web site brings in over $1 million a year.

West Hollywood (PRWEB) November 26, 2008--When Jordan McAuley (http://www.jordanmcauley.com) was a teenager, he found a list of celebrity addresses for sale in the back of a magazine. "I thought it would be fun to write some of my favorite celebrities," he says. McAuley saved up his allowance and sent off for it, but was quickly disappointed. "Most of the addresses were no good--all of my letters started coming back to me from the post office."

Soon, McAuley began compiling his own list of celebrity addresses that worked, offering it for sale in the classified sections of online services like Prodigy and CompuServe. "I was headed to film school in 1996, and knew I would need extra money for college. My freshman year, the Internet really started to boom. So I set up a Web site and began selling my list there--the orders started flooding in."

That site, ContactAnyCelebrity.com (http://www.contactanycelebrity.com) would later become the most recognized source for accurate celebrity contact information among fans, businesses, authors, nonprofits, and the media. Today, McAuley's online database contains the best mailing address, agent, manager, publicist, and production company for over 55,000 celebrities and public figures worldwide, bringing in over $1 million a year. "I never though it would get this big," he says. "What started out as a hobby has turned into a very rewarding full-time job."

Now McAuley has turned his online database into a book, The Celebrity Black Book 2009: Over 55,000 Accurate Celebrity Addresses (http://www.celebrityblackbook.com) so anyone can find the contact information for their favorite celebrities and write to them for autographs like he used to. But be warned--it's large, weighing in at almost four pounds with 776 pages.

"It's a great hobby, especially today when everyone is emailing and texting," McAuley says. "To actually sit down and write a letter to someone you admire is a great way to say 'thank you,' especially during the holidays. Whether it's your mom, your dad, a friend--or a celebrity."

###