Helping you promote your businesses and websites on the Internet.
I succeed by helping you succeed.
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John L. Dilbeck ProfessionalComputer consulting, programming and teachingWhile here on that vacation back in 1984, I inquired about a job at Tri-County Community College and was hired to teach computer programming. I enjoyed teaching people how to program and use computers, and met hundreds of interesting people in the process. After leaving the college, I went back to independent computer consulting (DilbeckConsulting.com), something I've been doing since 1977. Over the years, I learned to program in a dozen or so computer languages on a wide variety of computers from mainframes to personal computers. I watched the profession evolve from well-educated and well-trained professionals practicing their occult craft in the seclusion of the vast controlled-environment rooms that housed the incredibly expensive computing beasts to anyone being able to buy a computer through mail order and set it up in their homes. When Bill Grove told me that Grove Enterprises was going to bring an Internet connection to Cherokee and Clay counties, I told him I wanted in. Little did I know that I'd be spending almost all of my time for a couple of years riding herd over an Internet connection and the computers, routers, and other things that make it work. While it was a draining experience -- due mostly to the hours involved -- I was fortunate to have worked with such a group of creative and intelligent people at Grove Enterprises. Late in 1997, I chose to leave Grove Enterprises because I was totally burned out on computers, and on programming, supporting, and riding herd on them. I enjoyed the opportunity to work there, and I still miss the friends I met there. On January 1, 1999, I closed my consulting business and walked away from consulting and programming. Another life chapter closed. MetalsmithingIn 1998, after taking several months off to rest and recuperate, I spent a year teaching myself how to make maille (also called mail or chainmail) armor and jewelry and I started building a blacksmith/armorer shop. It took me longer to do this than I thought, but I learned with each obstacle. I've been smiting steel for most of this year (1999), and I have plans for a small foundry for casting a variety of metal objects. Things are coming along -- slowly -- but I'm making progress. I've been told that I'm just going through my mid-life crisis, and others say I'm finally losing my mind, but I was a blacksmith before I was a programmer/consultant. I learned from my father, who learned from his father, who learned from his father, and who knows how long this was a tradition in our family. I'm pretty sure that at least the last five generations have been blacksmiths. So, while I may be gambling, and it may be something of a mid-life crisis, I don't think I'm losing my mind. (Well, not totally, anyway.) I hope to make this my next career and was going to operate the business under the name of Dragonscale Armor, but learned that someone in the northeast part of the country was already using that name, and it was a bit too constrictive as I began to discover other things I'd like to make in addition to armor and edged weapons. So, now I'm calling it Dilbeck Metalsmithing, a nice generic name that encompases a lot of possibilities. Eventually, I'll be making leather, chain, scale, and plate armor. I'll be announcing a new commercial web page for this business eventually. In the mean time, I'm learning to smite a variety of items as they catch my interest.
Internet MarketingAs I explain in more detail on my personal information page, I've opened a new marketing company for artists, artisans, and crafters who want to market their traditional skills over the Internet. This is an outgrowth of working closely with the Appalachian Heritage Crafters non-profit cooperative. I realized their was a niche where I could put my computer and marketing skills to use helping folks who wanted to expand the market for their quality hand-crafted arts and crafts. I have been researching just this very thing for nearly three years now, and it feels good to offer a service to others who want to produce their arts and crafts and don't necessarily want to invest months into learning all the skills necessary to market their goods through the web. I think this is going to fit well. In mid-July, 2000, several things fell into place to make this feasible for me. WebWorkz, which owns and operates webworkz.com and grove.net, went to unlimited usage at a flat fee. That was remarkable news for us way out here in the mountains. This opened up my time to seriously research and develop an infrastructure for helping others market their items. Second, I learned about PayPal, which offers a secure method of sending and receiving money to and from anyone with an email address. It means that I can invoice people for my steel roses and marketing services by logging into PayPal.com and sending a request for money. The recipient logs in, makes the transaction from their bank account or by using a credit card, and I receive money in my PayPal account -- which I can then easily transfer into my bank account or use to purchase from others. All of this in secure transactions and without having to get a merchant account. This opened up the way to pay expenses to, and receive compensation from, anyone with whom I might want to work. The third thing that happened and may make it feasible is a little something called affiliate programs. I started paying attention to all the ads I was seeing on websites when I started seeing the same ads in numerous places. That's when I learned that companies would pay to have their ads on my (and your) web site. That was the key that unlocked the door. I know some of you don't like these ads, and some of you may decide to leave, but these banners and buttons are going to pay for my efforts to maintain and expand this website. I urge you to click on them and see what awaits you on the other end of the link. I've been working for weeks building these affiliate relationships with companies I think provide quality services and products that you may want. Many of the links are absolutely free for you. They will never cost you one red cent. You can subscribe to free electronic newsletters, do financial calculations and planning, get news headlines with links to the full story, and more, all for free. I will look for more of these and will add them to the site if they provide any useful content for my niche of artists and crafters who run a home business and want to market their goods over the Internet. Some of the other links will help you purchase gifts for others, find health and relaxation resources, purchase office supplies, art supplies, and more at a discount, purchase entire computer systems, or even a private airplane (!) if you should want to do so. As time goes by, and I have more time to evaluate these programs, I'm going to start dropping some of them. And I'll explain this in one or more of my free newsletters. The main goal is to earn enough income from these links to pay for the site and my efforts to maintain it -- and that will let me to continue to offer services to artists and crafters at lower prices than I would have to charge otherwise. I'm not asking you to purchase anything you don't need or want, but if you find any useful information here, won't you please consider these companies when you are in the market to purchase something they sell? So, that's my analysis of the items that came together in July that gave me the inspiration and motivation to do all this work when I turned my back and walked away from all of this about three years ago. Time will tell if I've done the right thing. In the meantime, I hope I have something here that will help you and your business, or if you are wanting to purchase quality arts and crafts, to find someone who will be happy to make something you will treasure for the rest of your life.
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