Early 2009 may seem like an inopportune time to start a business, but a threesome of friends in January launched a product development firm to help businesses improve their online presence and strategy.

So far, 3Ones has lined up some pretty impressive clients, including Oprah.com, SportsFanLive.com and People Media, which operates specialized online dating Web sites.

“I can say we’re profitable already in month two,” says its co-founder and president, Kelly Abbott. “We’re all pulling down salaries that we want and we’re able to put away a little at the end of the month. The business covers overhead and expenses where we need to comfortably live.”

Abbott, who didn’t disclose sales, said 3Ones has about five or six major clients and gets other business from firms via word-of-mouth among clients and former colleagues at consulting firms PBJ Digital and Red Door Interactive, where he worked. He’s also trying to meet venture capital firms that may pair 3Ones with early stage companies to develop products — such as social networks and mobile phone applications.

Online product development is still an evolving concept, and entails more than Web development, says Abbott.

“I think it’s a critical niche for successful Web companies,” says entrepreneur Mike Jones, who founded and sold PBJ Digital and Userplane. “People who are good at design can make pretty things, but you have to find specific people that make pretty things functional. Kelly has a good understanding of putting together form and function.”

Jones, who is now CEO of Tsavo Media, introduced 3Ones to People Media, where he sits on the board.

People Media operates religious-oriented and ethnicity dating sites, the largest being BlackPeopleMeet.com. The company competes against Match.com and eHarmony, and has more than 1 million customers, says Jones.

“They’re huge,” he said. “BlackPeopleMeet.com is the biggest African American dating site in the world.”

Abbott said that his team redesigned 32 dating Web sites for them.

“They had an existing product and needed it to be more social and reputable,” he said. “We gave them a design and strategy to increase total lifetime customer value, increase acquisition rates and ultimately the revenues.”

Boosting Traffic

Oprah.com hired 3Ones to boost traffic on its Web site, which among other things streams “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and allows users to interact via video Skype with Winfrey’s guests.