John James and Nate Thomas (right) have launched an Internet welding distribution business.

Going from Dr. John James to John James, e-tailing entrepreneur almost happened overnight.

As a physician in family practice, Dr. James nearly found his calling. That is, until his older brother called him one day with an idea: “Wouldn’t it be great to sell high-end barbeque grills online?”

Well, yeah.

Why not?

That was the beginning of an on-line retailing business venture that has led the brothers to create nine websites, including their newest one: ToughWeld Industrial Supply, an online seller of welding supplies and equipment.

The website is to open in mid-January under (www.toughweld.com). Its parent company, Egora Group, is a catalog and Internet retailer and distributor.

So why a welding supply Website?

“It really fits with what we’re doing – welding seems to be under served as far as catalog retail welding. It fits with our model. Our ultimate goal in the business is to provide the level of education you can’t get through a catalog or online retailing,” James said.

He added that the website will be served by knowledgeable service people, and will include “frequently asked questions” about welding for customers who don’t know what they need.

James said he has never given up his love of medicine, but his entrepreneurial nature comes first.

James said he met Nate Thomas about a year ago, and combined Thomas’ knowledge of the welding supply business with James’ Internet retail business acumen.

Today Thomas is the category manager in charge of ToughWeld’s online e-tailing site, provides the welding supply know-how, and brings experience in the welding supply business. Thomas’s dad has been in the welding supply business in the Little Rock, Arkansas, area for 20 years, and Nate worked there growing up and while going through school.

With welding being a decades old business, will e-tailing catch on in such an old-school industry?

“That’s the cool thing about it. The Internet is going to happen whether we like it or not. People like my dad don’t have time, resources or knowledge even to do online sales as well as their bricks and mortar stores. We have our advantage of coming from the Internet world that we’re comfortable with,” said Thomas.

Toughweld is in its infancy, and is focusing on hard goods currently, Thomas said.

“At some point we might be looking at distributing gases as well. Right now, we plan on having gas apparatus, small cylinders, regulators and gauges. We’re set up with helmets, gloves, torch kits, and welding equipment when we open for business inJanuary,” he said.

Thomas is still in the process of negotiating with the various manufacturers with respect to the lines that will be carried.

He still relies on his father’s industry knowledge, however: “I don’t have the experience my dad has in the welding industry, so I get free consulting from him.”

In addition to selling things like arc welders and cutting torches that have been mainstays in the manufacturing industry for a long time, the Egora Group also sells everything from boat covers to medical scrubs.

“We’re working on several brands, the big name brands and we’re about 75 percent there with about 15 manufacturers on board right now,” explained James. “We’ll be carrying everything from machines to safety gear, to consumables,” Thomas said.

“We’re a marketing concept in search of a product, which is a bit backwards, but so far, it’s been successful.”

James is equally upbeat about his new website: “We’re excited about it. It’s such an underserved market – the online retailing of welding equipment. There are millions of searches every month for welding products. Our company knows how to gather those searches and make them work for us,” he said.