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 About
Me: Wayne Holtzlcaw
Why
do I say "About Me" and not "About Us"?
Well,
quite simply, I am an independent freelance web designer and web
developer; I don't have anything against other designers or developers, in fact, I have several colleagues that I bounce ideas off of from time to time, I just like to be completely immersed in a project.
Why
be an independent designer and not work for a development firm?
First,
I have been a member of teams of multiple designers and developers for
various advertising and web development firms in the past, but felt these
projects were lacking one very important element. This missing element was
face-to-face communications with the client. Typically an account manager
was the only liaison between the client and the team. While this may seem
like a good method for keeping requirements strait, often times the vision
relayed to the team by the manager was nothing like the vision the client
had described to the liaison. This leads to rework, missed dead lines, and
unhappy clients.
I also
found that while I was part of these teams, the team members were
separated by literally thousands of miles. Now, I must confess, I enjoyed
telecommuting, but working with a team of freelancers on a single project,
separated by not only distance, but by time schedules as well, lead to
more headaches than results, and I prefer to have
happy clients, and to know that my work is appreciated by the client, not
simply by a firm whose primary interest was to make a buck.
Finally,
these big firms couldn't care less about small local businesses; myself, I
believe that small businesses are the cornerstone of our economy, and that
all businesses should have equal rights and ability to get on the web. In many
cases, the cost of having an employee dedicated to web development just can't
be justified, nor can the cost of having a large firm providing the solutions. My solution to this problem is to provide an economical solution for
the now and into the future. Alas, I made the decision in 2007 to begin
doing solo freelance design work, and Saint Lucie Webs was created.
My
Vision: To be the provider of choice to local businesses and
organizations for economical, reliable and effective website design,
website development, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and E-Commerce
Solutions.
My
Motto: Web solutions here today, and into the future.
My history with
computers and the internet; Born in Northeast Florida in the early 70's, my
first experience with the personal computer was at the age of 10. It was merely a year later that I began programming
computers. My first programs were simple text based games, then I progressed into database oriented programs, and
finally in 1984 I began running a Bulletin Board - the predecessor to a website.
In 1989, after having graduated highschool at the age of 16, and having completed a
semester of college, I made the decision to join the United States Navy, and began my
service in 1990. During my service in the Navy, I continued to work with computers as
often as I could, becoming proficient in windows based programs and applications,
including SQL Server, the complete Office suite, photoshop, etc. Though my primary duties
were not directly computer related, I was awarded several letters of commendation for
work I had done on various projects involving computer software and hardware.
After nearly 10 years of service, I made the decision to end my duties, and return to
Florida, where I began working for an industrial equipment distributer as a service
technician. Again, I continued to work on the computer as often as I could, though my
primary duties kept me on the road. I finally made the decision to finish what I started
before I joined the service, and began the journey to complete my degree in Software Engineering.
During my college days, I maintained status on the Deans List. I began doing freelance design
work in 2005, and made the decision to focus on independent development for local businesses and
organization in 2007. Today, I continue to work as the Senior Service Technician for the
company I started working for in 1998, but focus my after hours and weekend time to
develop internet and website solutions for local businesses and organizations. |
