Welcome! I launched this website to showcase my work and give you a chance to learn a little about me.
Mission: Transform the way small businesses promote services.
Brand Vision: Serve 100 business accounts.
People Vision: Create personal, professional, and financial opportunities for 1 employee.
Revenue Vision: $100,000
Core Values: Impactful, Discipline, Accountable, Transparent, Aligned, Results-Oriented
I grew up in a very small town among the corn and soybean fields of central Iowa. There may have been just shy of 300 residents at that time. The town had an agricultural cooperative, library, post office, auto repair shop, tavern, and a gas station/convenience store.
My high school was actually in another small town, only 2 miles away. It probably had 1,100 or so residents and my graduating class was less than 50 students. I participated in football, basketball, wrestling, track & field, and band.
Growing up in such a small environment, surrounded by farming, didn't give me much of an exposure to discover what the world had to offer. My parents grew up on Midwest farms and ranches but they weren't farmers and I had little knowledge of what I wanted to be when I grew up. When it came time to decide whether to go to college or not, I felt that not having a clear direction wouldn't help me focus in a college setting and there wasn't much for employment opportunities for a high school graduate outside small business and farming.
Right after high school I enlisted in the United States Air Force where I was trained as an aircraft mechanic and served 10 honorable years both overseas and here in the United States.
(1988-1996) I was responsible for the entire maintenance effort on specially modified C-130 Hercules aircraft like you see here. When I was stationed in England, the aircraft I worked had a special operations mission to refuel helicopters in flight. During this tour I deployed to several European countries including: Iceland, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Italy, Sicily, Crete, and Turkey. I also participated in Desert Shield and Desert Storm which has provided me with protected veteran status.
Here in the United States my aircraft was specially modified to jam enemy communications. It is difficult for the enemy to communicate when they loose all their electronic communications to "our interference."
(1996-1998) After 8 years on the flightline working aircraft I was chosen to manage the Operations Group's Quality Improvement office. During my last two year in the USAF, I learned many quality improvement techniques that help an organization become more efficient and reduce waste and rework. Concepts like strategic planning, continuous improvement, and team development were the foundations of my work.
Today, I'm a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) whose mission is to empower individuals and communities of the world to achieve excellence through quality.
Backing up a little, in the early 1990s while serving in England, I came across a laptop that none of the other mechanics knew how to use. After my daily aircraft maintenance duties where complete I would spend another couple hours learning how this heavy, clunky laptop worked.
Later, in Arizona during my last assignment, my supervisor asked me to learn HTML (hyper-text markup language) so we could build an intranet website for the organization we worked for and share the quality improvement focus we were working on. After a few months of study and tinkering around, I was able to launch that first website in 1996.
(1996-Present) After departing the military I worked in software development, pension administration, software support, and residential mortgages. However, in 2007, I started my own LLC and in 2009 I began working with WordPress and created a nice freelance business helping self-employed people, non-profits and micro/small businesses create beautiful and effective websites.
Over the years I've created dozens of websites, sent hundreds of emails, and designed countless other forms of digital marketing pieces.
(2021-Present) My solo freelance business hadn't funding my family's budget like I expected. So my wife and I decided that me getting a commercial driver's license and hitting the road was a good way to boost our finances.
In October 2021 I attended Commercial Driver's Licensing school in Tucson, AZ and received my Class A CDL. I currently drive most of the lower 48 states delivering freight for a national carrier.
With the boost in income from truck driving, I've been able to afford LASIK surgery on both eyes and my wife and I were able to afford a new home. Thanks to trucking!
I love driving the big rig across the country but it can be quite an isolating experience. Plus, I desire to get back to digital marketing. There is virtually no time on the road to expand my digital marketing consulting practice. I'm typically on the road for 3-4 weeks with 3-4 days at home.
I've decided that after a good time on the open road in trucking and a long time freelancing in digital marketing that I want to become an integral part of a local service business providing my digital marketing experience or other leadership/management skills.
