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, 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
Internet MarketingIn mid-July, 2000, I opened a business to help other small business owners promote themselves and their businesses to a wider audience over the Internet. In mid-2002, this became my primary way to earn a living as I was forced to close my metalsmithing business in order to become the sole, full-time caretaker for my elderly mother, following the surgery to remove her cancer.While the operation was successful, she suffered nerve damage and was in constant pain and was mostly unable to walk without my help. This left her unable to care for herself. I brought her home and cared for her in the home she loved for over six years. In mid-2008, her condition took a turn for the worse and she had to be hospitalized and then moved into a nursing home. She died just before Thanksgiving in 2008, just a few weeks after her 88th birthday. I still miss her greatly. Fortunately, while I was confined to our house as her caretaker, I was able to earn enough to live off of from affiliate marketing. Otherwise, I would have had to find a job and she would have had to be moved to a nursing home much sooner. I'm happy that I was able to care for her as long as I did. Now that I am able to get out of the house, again, I'm turning my attention to helping local small business owners in Murphy, NC, to market their businesses over the Internet. I have several years experience and I'm looking forward to helping them, especially with the downturn in the economy. Life changes and we have to adapt to it. Thank YouThank you for visiting JohnDilbeck.com. I appreciate it.
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