Mayberry

Born and raised in a small town up north, I grew up in a world filled with simplicity and possibility. By the time I was 10 years old, I had freedom. We had the freedom to ride our bicycles around our small town. There were no fears of bad people. They didn’t exist in Mayberry. Kids were allowed to roam pretty much freely, as long as your were home by the appointed hour.

Grade school, junior high and high school were no challenge for me academically. Although, I did have some personal growing pains in junior high. By my second year of high school, I was on a better track. Unfortunately, my high school provided zero career guidance. We were on our own to figure out what was next.

Off to College

I ended up attending one college and two universities, yes that’s right, not all schools were universities back in the day. I graduated from an excellent state university – Michigan State University. With my business degree in hand, I was ready to tackle the world. But wait, I had to get a job first. I was from Podunk. People from Podunk don’t know how to get a professional job. How does one manage to get a professional job?

The Big Job

Well, I managed to get some help lining up job interviews because my on-campus interviews went for naught. I landed the big job and went to work. Boy was I surprised by the corporate world. And disappointed as well. The people were great. The products were very well made. The services were top notch. I actually ended up with a job that paid great, had great benefits, had great products and services, but required very little from me. I was bored out of my mind.

What to do? What to do?

Another Degree?

So I decided to get another degree. Certainly, another degree will make the world my oyster – more jobs, more money, more everything. After a couple of years of demanding computer classes, I bagged that M.S. in Computer Science. Now, I would conquer the working world. I wanted to teach business people how to use computers in their business.

Before graduating, I read a book about the 100 best places to work in America. With some help from a family member, I was able to wrangle an interview and landed a job at one of the 100 best places to work in America. I was in the fast lane now!

The Big Job that Wasn’t?

Yes, this had to be a job that would mean something. Too bad the book didn’t tell you that only the happy people are allowed to fill out the questionnaires that determine the 100 best places to work. Companies don’t let the unhappy people fill them out. Hey, it wasn’t a bad, good old boy, network. It was, well, a good old boy network. If you weren’t one of the good old boys, you were just a team member.

Marriage, Step Kids, Many More Jobs and a Business of My Own

About twenty years, 10 jobs, a marriage and 2 step kids later, I finally saved up enough money to invest in a business. It was definitely a wonderful time that first year of business ownership. But, after two years I realized the business I bought wasn’t really an enjoyable business to run. So I decided to sell it. I was disappointed in my decision to buy that specific business, but not with business ownership.

Four years later and after losing a chunk of sales, I finally sold the business for substantially less than what I had paid. Ouch! Yes, ouch. Big ouch. Live and learn as they say. I was relieved that I no longer was responsible for the business. It was tough having employees, paying the bills and saying no to people who were important to me. But that’s what a business owner has to face.

Did I tell you my wife worked at the business with me? Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!

Sabbaticals Rock

I planned on taking a year off to reflect on my life and think about the next chapter. If you have the opportunity for a sabbatical, take it. You’ll never regret it! My wife and I had a fun and relaxing year off. We went on a wonderful vacation. We spent a lot of time with friends and family. We also spent time talking about our lives and what we should do next. Fortunately, we can’t see the future. Otherwise, I would have been scared silly.

Bad Stuff Happens (aka, Shit Happens)

Our wonderful year was rudely interrupted. One day my wife came running up the stairs yelling, “I found a lump.” She was holding her neck. I felt her neck and silently cried. We both knew what it was. As the dutiful husband, I advised her that she shouldn’t get worked up until seeing the doctor.

I was glad I was able to help her through the cancer treatments. The treatments were awful. My wife looked horrible after weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. She was somewhat normal 3 months after the treatments stopped. Her hair was back although no longer dyed a youthful color. She was gaining weight back and her color was good. The doctor declared her cancer free! I don’t know why, but neither my wife nor I was excited by this declaration.

More Bad Stuff

Sixty days later and one fall on the carpet, my wife was told she had a brain tumor. The brain surgeon said no problem, I do this every day. The one thing my wife and I learned from her illness was that the doctors only know what worked on others. They don’t know for sure if it will work on you.

We also learned that some doctors are full of crap. The brain surgeon was one of these doctors. He came out of the brain surgery and told me that he really couldn’t tell what was tumor and what wasn’t. He speculated he got most of the tumor. Huh? I thought you did this every day? Piece of cake. Yeah, right.

It went downhill after the surgery and my wife was gone a little over a month after the surgery. It’s incredibly strange, even after more than two years, to not be married to my wife. I miss her every day. Sometimes it’s a little thing. Other times it’s big things like holidays. Some people think they understand how I feel. Let me assure you, you don’t.

Nirvanna (well, almost)

What’s the point of my rambling? Why should you care? I work with WordPress because I’m a geek. WordPress is a really interesting proposition. It’s free, it’s easy to use and very flexible. WordPress is presented as a do-it-yourself solution. However, if you do much with it, most people run into problems they can’t solve. That’s where I come into the picture. WordPress allows me to use my geek talents and also my creative side as well. I do it because I love it and I want to help others enjoy the benefits of a great website.

If you hire me, you’ll be hiring someone who understands what it means to be a professional. You’ll be hiring someone who’s been around the block with experience in many industries. You’ll be hiring someone with small town values – honesty, fairness and hard work. You’ll be hiring someone who understands that the work we do and the money we make have little value in comparison to the ones we love.

Professional Geek Dude

If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, I’ve been in your shoes. It’s important to focus your time on what you do best. Outsource the rest.

I’ll relieve you of the geek stuff. It’s not embarrassing if you can’t do-it-yourself. I’ll save you time and money. I’ll free you to concentrate on your products and services. You’ll be able to focus on what you do best.

You’ll be free to create.

Isn’t that why you do what you do?