Web Business Freedom

There are a lot of people I have to thank for my consulting company, Web Business Freedom. Ironically, none have a financial stake in it, nor did they help me directly conceive it or build it. But without the following people, I might not have had the courage to pursue my passion, or the strength to carry on when times got tough (which they certainly have been, repeatedly, during the past 12 months).

Kelli Uttley: First and foremost, my wife Kelli. She fully supported my decision to leave my former company, in pursuit of a happier career path. That was no small task, considering we were on the verge of having our second child last August. Not to mention the Niagara Falls drop-off of the economy that I didn’t see coming…(so much for my skills as a futurist).

My wish for Kelli: I wish you much sleep and “down time” at some point in the near future, both of which you deserve so much for putting up with me!

Jay and Sterling of Internet Business Mastery (aka Jason Van Orden and Jeremy Frandsen): I stumbled across Internet Business Mastery early in 2008, after being encouraged by another brilliant marketer and business person, David Baker of Recourses, to listen intentionally to quality podcasts. (I had sort of ignored the power of podcasts before–big mistake). I quickly embraced Jay and Sterling’s easy-going, friendly discussions about how they left their “9 to 5s” and used the Internet to build successful ventures, including IBM. I listened voraciously to all their shows and eventually joined their private Internet Business Mastery Academy for more advanced information. (You can, too, by clicking this link–and in full disclosure, I am an affiliate). It was in the IBM Academy that I met some other incredible folks, like the talented graphic designer (and now my friend) Neil Brown of Brown Advertising, as well as Shaun Noonan of Learning Indonesian, who is super-smart when it comes to web programming and web marketing.

To Jay and Sterling, I owe a huge debt of gratitude. The very name and essence of Web Business Freedom was inspired by what you empower your followers to do, which is to chase after their dreams of entrepreneurship–and learn how to harness the Web to promote yourself effectively. So thank you, guys!

My wish for Jay and Sterling: I hope you continue to dominate with the No. 1 podcast on Internet marketing. But just remember, as much as your listeners enjoy hearing about your adventures in San Diego, Portland, Buenos Aires and beyond–we crave real information. More Quick Tips please!

Wayne Sutton of SocialWayne.com (and virtually everywhere else online): I discovered Wayne after I started to get serious about learning Twitter in the spring of 2008 (having done virtually nothing with my account since 2007). It turns out Wayne had about 10,000 followers at the same (now well over 25,000), and that he lived in the Tar Heel State, too. I remember being blown away by how big a presence he had on Twitter. But that was just scratching the surface. As I began to learn more about social media, it seemed that every place I turned online, Wayne was already there! He became both an inspiration for me to experiment, seek out and join social networks, as well as the first guy (typically) I could find to “friend” on most sites. I considered it a real coup if I ran across someplace Wayne hadn’t gotten to first!

I finally got to start seeing Wayne at meetups and other events like Charlotte WordCamp and BarCamp, and behind his then-ubiquitous cartoon icon, it turned out Wayne also qualified as possibly the best dressed man in social media circles. I was again inspired to see him setting an example for all the young kids in their crappy t-shirts and torn jeans.

The other things that impressed me about Wayne were his willingness to try new things, his passion for sharing knowledge with others and an incredibly prolific flow of information.

Wayne also left a “9 to 5″ last year and is naturally using the web to become a force to be reckoned with in social media. He remains a huge influence on me.

My wish for Wayne: I hope your “social media hustle” (#smhustle on Twitter and smhustle.com) is turning into cash for your new business. I also wish you the patience to ease off the quantity occasionally, and focus on the quality of the content you provide. Finally, I look forward to joining you in any endeavors you might undertake to effect positive social change in North Carolina and beyond. You are truly a star in social media.

Corey Creed of Hippo Internet Marketing: I first met Corey when I hired him to teach me pay-per-click advertising a few years ago. We became friends in short order, and I learned that teaching was more of a hobby for him, and that he also made good money doing e-commerce in several highly-specialized niches. Corey reminds me that it’s not all about the money (he routinely turns down companies seeking his SEO/PPC skills); life is also about maintaining a healthy balance between work and everything else. I feel the same way, which is why we get along so well. Corey is also not afraid to admit when he doesn’t know something, and is willing to dive in and master it. We share this trait; recently, we teamed up to create an information-packed, two-day class on Social Media Marketing that debuted last month.

My wish for Corey: I hope you realize the real value of your courses, and branch out beyond physical classes to offer them online. You deserve more money for your sweat equity, while maintaining a sweat-free lifestyle.

Sam Wazan of [off-the-grid]: My friend Sam is a genius on many levels. He started and sold a very successful off-shore IT company several years ago, became a highly-paid consultant, then chucked the daily grind to take a year off writing a fictional book from his perspective of a Lebanese-born American transplant. Sam is a larger-than-life guy with a laser-like focus and a big outlook. He was one of the first people I told about wanting to start my new business, and he encouraged me wholeheartedly.

My wish for Sam: I hope your new book is a runaway bestseller and helps you reach the next plateau.

Lisa Hoffmann and Scott Hepburn: It is hard to separate these two in my mind; they used to be colleagues at the PR Store, before Scott was ignominiously dumped–which fortunately allowed him to pursue his passion as social media director with an up-and-coming agency in Charlotte.

I met both through Twitter last year, and we subsequently became friends. They cemented for me the idea that social media is, at its best, a catalyst for connecting people in the real world.

Lisa and Scott are talented writers, thinkers and marketing strategists. Lisa especially had an enormous impact on me. It was through watching her “tweets” that I learned that the real value in Twitter (and other social media channels) is sharing and caring about others–not talking about yourself (or your company and products) all the time. When I lamented to Lisa that I only had about 100 followers, a couple of tweets from her went out and soon enough I was breaking the 300 barrier! From that point on, I followed her lead and remain in awe of her genuineness and kindness. Ditto for Scott: he was (and is) a Twitter Jedi, as well as an astute blogger.

My wish for Lisa and Scott: I hope you both continue to ascend as social media experts and go after your passions in demonstrating to others how to be authentic online.

Jason Keath of Social Fresh: Jason is a guy who almost single-handedly put social media on the map in my hometown of Charlotte. Not only did he start the city’s largest online network of social media afficionados, but he also started a monthly social media breakfast club. He was the driving force being organizing the first Charlotte WordCamp in Charlotte. And he’s in the process of launching the city’s first big social media conference, Social Fresh, which he hopes to expand to other cities.

My wish for Jason: I hope Social Fresh is a smashing success, and that it advances you further as a leading authority on social media. Next stop: big consulting gigs for corporations who need fresh voices like yours!

Justin Ruckman of CLTBlog: Justin, along with a handful of his college friends from UNC Charlotte, is turning the traditional world of journalism on its head, starting with their flagship site, CLTBlog. He was also the man behind Charlotte’s first BarCamp. I always enjoy hanging out or talking to Justin, because he is a frenetic ball of fire and a real genius (which was duly noted by Charlotte Magazine). He inspires me with his youthful spirit and attitude of seeing way beyond the typical norms into what the future holds.

My wish for Justin: First, I wish you would eventually graduate with honors (what is it, seven years and counting now, I believe?) so you can take your talents onto the stage of the real world. Second, I hope you also buck the trend of moving to Silicon Valley, and instead opt to remain in Charlotte and serve as a primary force to propel the city forward.

Chris Brogan of ChrisBrogan.com: Chris to me is THE MAN in social media. Not only does he know his stuff, but he is phenomenally outgoing, highly prolific (giving Wayne and others a run for their money), insightful, warm and caring. After Wayne clued me into the burgeoning field of social media, I immediately found Chris at the pinnacle of national experts. The other key thing about Chris for me, unlike a lot of the young pups with tons of time on their hands (as I once had), Chris has a wife and kids and from what I can tell devotes a lot of time to them in addition to his wickedly busy schedule.

My wish for Chris: I wish you would find a way to come to Charlotte–the social media community here would welcome you with open arms. Otherwise, I look forward to meeting you elsewhere someday and thanking you in person (even if you did browbeat me the other day for daring to suggest an alternative tool to your daily RSS reading “drudgery”). To paraphrase John Lennon, “All I am saying is give Feedly a chance.”

Photo credit: PSD