Way, way back, in an epoch long ago, I started off in my first real job (at age 18) as a phone support technician for a regional ISP. At a time when phones were still dumb, and only real nerds had computers, I was thrown into the front lines of teaching the public how to access The Internet.
Since then, I’ve held positions in many companies, doing many various things, but in the end, the mission for me was the same. I was a builder, a fixer, and a problem solver. I helped extract value where none had previously existed, and have taught others along the way.
I have:
- Volunteered at a small-town public library building free websites for small businesses at a time when only the largest Fortune-500 level companies had an online presence
- Lead a team of phone technical support technicians covering a userbase of over 25,000 dial-up and ISDN internet subscribers
- Built and supported networked computer labs in a public school system
- Provided website troubleshooting and other end-user support services for a medium-sized web hosting company
- Built infrastructure (physical and virtual) to take a 2 person e-commerce business to a 12 person, $14.7MM business in a 5 year period
- Created a modern online presence and search marketing strategy for $20MM music equipment supplier
- Developed and executed online marketing strategies for companies in healthcare, e-commerce, energy, automotive, and more
- Built countless WordPress-based websites and developed plugins (both commissioned and submitted for public use)
One important skill that I’ve learned to do through my career as a generalist is how to take a subject/problem/task I may have no previous experience with, and dissect it to small enough core components that I can quickly learn enough to become proficient at it in a short amount of time. This has helped me many times to take an issue that has been a pain point for a client, and show them how to overcome the issue on their own.
The greatest indication of my success is a client that isn’t reliant on me, but one that I’ve empowered to be self-sufficient.