The content on my site hasn’t been especially strong in the last week – sorry if any of you are disappointed. I’ve been pretty busy developing a handful of applications at home. What I’m not making up in content, I hope to make up in some plugins. At work, we’re preparing for a major software release and I’ve got a demonstration project that’s going to provide a means to self-demo some of the most important features. There’s a lot weighing on my success and I have scarce resources to get it done so it’s a challenge.
All of the projects are progressing nicely and I’ll meet deadlines, it’s just taking some heavy work weeks. As well, I’m re-evaluating my full-time employment and giving some careful consideration to my future there and weighing it with some strong opportunities on the outside. You hate to leave a great employer, but sometimes work has to come down to simple economics. I don’t like paying attention to money when it comes to a job, but I’ve been working with the hope of catching up to my income a couple years ago when I was consulting. It’s become clear that that’s not going to happen if I stay put. With a son starting University this fall, I’ve got to make some adjustments and make them quickly.
I love change and I’m incredibly optimistic about my opportunities. I almost left for a startup a few months ago, but the timing just wasn’t right. It’s looking pretty good, now, though. Few folks can put on their resume that they’ve assisted corporations from Vancouver Island to Iceland to Australia to implement online strategic marketing objectives, integration, and automation. My clients have been some of the largest in the world, including The Indianapolis Colts, The Home Depot, United Airlines, Icelandair, Liberty Mutual, Goodyear, Hotels.com, A.G. Edwards, and a host of other development companies and agencies in between. Prior to that, I built a multi-million dollar direct mail program for a major newspaper. Success builds confidence, so I’m quite confident I can turn any company around when it comes to Marketing and Technology.
As both an Integration Consultant and Product Manager, my responsibilities have been to consult with businesses, identify the opportunities, and execute on the appropriate solution for them. My current responsibilities focus on CAN-SPAM compliance, User Interface design, Accessibility, Usability, API and feature development. I’m also well-versed in Geographic Information Systems, Analytics and Search Engine Optimization. Heck, I even got my name in print this year with some submissions I made to Chris Baggott’s book, Email Marketing by the Numbers.
I look forward to continuing this type of work – either through my own consulting firm or through a Director/Executive level position in another company. I am also interested in long-term contract relationships. A dream come true would be to begin consulting under my own company again. I can’t leave Indianapolis – my kids love it here and they live close to their Mom. So if there’s an opportunity to work remote, I’m all for that as well. I look forward to diving headfirst into some new challenges, perhaps Search Engine Optimization. I’ve had some fantastic results with this site and know I could do it for any other.
Oh… and I’ll never give up the blog! 😉
Its nice to have a few tempting offers around. A few months ago I was offered 100K to work for one year in Qatar, a small country outside of Iraq, as a network administrator.
That would hav ebeen a tempting offer for me 8 years ago, but now with a wife and a 9 month old son, yo couldn;t pull me out of here if you tried!
I left full time employment 3 months ago to start up a new company, and I have never felt so energised 🙂 because I am free to work on what I like (within some limits!) I am being more creative than I have ever been.
I do have the benefit of a partner who brings in enough cash to keep the company and us afloat which helps!
Oh, and wont your current employer read this Doug and wonder whats going on? 🙂
Doug,
Since you are a good personal friend of mine, I’m going to be a bit critical here and place your post in the category of “airing dirty laundry” in public. Many of us often criticize professional athletes for making this type of statement (e.g. Terrell Owens, Randy Moss). While it is true that they continue to get employed by others and applauded for exciting work at their jobs, their character becomes quite tarnished over time.
Randy
Wow, that definitely wasn’t the intention of the post, Randy. In fact, I have nothing but good things to say about my current employer. There’s no ‘dirty laundry’ in the post at all. I’m still absolutely committed to them and think they are the best I’ve ever worked for.
This was not a post that was pushed in any way to tarnish my current employer or air dirty laundry – it’s a post to ‘test the waters’ and see what opportunities may be out there that I’m unaware of. I’m reaching a crossroads in my life where my goals don’t match my current employment opportunities. That’s as simply as I can put it.
I’d rather be open and honest about my desires than keep my mouth closed. There are those who think you shouldn’t say anything and simply walk out the door. I care too much about this company to do that. They should recognize what my needs are and I should recognize what their needs are. If there’s a match, I’m in! If not, I have to move forward with my life.
Once again… there’s no ‘dirty laundry’ to speak of.
Regards,
Doug
Testing the waters is good. Having the current employer find out about it in a blog post… not so good… but, I’m guessing that you’ve already had some conversation with them and beyond that it’s none of my business.
Good luck.
If you need some part-time assistance, let me know.
Hi Graydon,
I don’t believe there was any surprise on their part – but there is some concern. I’ve always been an open and honest person and have been for quite some time. This post only comes after months of discussion and decision-making.
Of course, blogging brings an entirely new dimension to a situation like this. It’s not something you can look up in a management manual, that’s for sure! We’re working through it, though.
Thanks!