My Interview with the Urban Admin

In October of 2010 I was interviewed by my friend and client, Sheryl Snitkin of Urban-Admin.com.  As a Virtual Assistant, Sheryl provides administrative support for a wide array of individuals and small businesses.  She has an infectious “soloprenuer spirit” and loves the color purple!

Below are the questions and answers from Sheryl’s interview, which appeared in-part in the Urban-Admin October 2010 client eNewsletter.   I’ve also added some photo content and links, as this was a great exercise for me in learning where I’ve come from and where I’m going in the future.

Thank you Sheryl!!

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Scott, how did you get into building web sites, and what drove you to start HolisticGeek.com?

In front of my iMac in 2000 while living in Madison, WI

Back in 1993 I had a friend who started an internet service provider company, and I did a volunteer project of creating a web site for Macintosh Support tools and information for his customers. Then I started beta testing html authoring software as a hobby, and creating websites. I’ve had my own web site in some varying shape or form since 1994. I’ve also always been interested in holistic health and alternative medicine (I’ve been antibiotic-free since 1996!). It’s had may iterations, but HolisticGeek.com began as my personal blog in 2000 (when blogs were new!) when I was living in Madison, WI, but eventually transitioned into the site you see now for my web design and content management business I began in 2005.

What makes your approach unique?

On the Willard Munger Bicycle Trail near Hinckley, MN

Having a “holistic” world view allows me to not only be a “techie” who designs web pages, but sometimes a “curious coach” who likes to draw things out of clients, find out not only who they are, but who they want to become. I believe in the power of great questions like, “What’s emerging for you or your business now?” or “Tell me about who you want to be in five years?” - and then my client and I are engaged in a very collaborative and artistic process throughout the building of their site. I believe that to make something that portrays an individual or business, that it requires a collaborative effort, a certain synthesis of deep listening, imagining, and creativity. I let folks know right away when they are interested in hiring me that this is how I work. So of course, I attract a lot of unique businesses and folks who are thinkers and feelers, rather than traditional companies who simply want to hire a web designer to “just do it” for them. In my experience, a client only receives the web site which they are happy if they had a collaborative hand in birthing it conceptually!

Once you create a website for someone, can they easily make edits if they want?

Yes! I design all of my sites now through an open-source content management program called WordPress (www.wordpress.org) Once a site’s design, styling, layout functionality, and initial “scaffolding” is complete, I give each client 30 minutes of training over the phone (or help documents if they choose), and step them through the process of editing text, uploading photographs, and making day to day changes to their pages or to their blog. WordPress is very powerful and customizable. Some clients like to do all sorts of technical maneuvering through the WordPress Content Management System, and I assist them in that. Other times, clients like the ease of making text and photo changes and then leave the more technical things like stylesheet modifications, sidebar widgets, scripting, and plugin add-ons to me. I believe that you shouldn’t have to pay a webmaster every time you want to change a word or two on your web site. Using WordPress as the container for sites I design helps me to empower my clients to be more self-sufficient.

You’re not only a web designer – you’re a massage therapist as well! How do you balance/manage owning two businesses?

That’s a great question! Building websites for folks has definitely taken over about 90% of my working life now, so I’m facing some good choices ahead. I’ve recently put my massage and bodywork business on hold as I re-vision and restructure it. I’m moving more into a teaching, mentoring, and coaching role in my holistic pursuits, as I explore Celtic Druidry, Quantum Physics, a little herbalism, and Energy-based healing. I’m also taking a life coaching class and blogging about my learning experience at my new site, www.northerndruid.net. Stay tuned for more as that transforms!

In many ways, my previous work as a massage therapist helped me to gain a lot of valuable experience into web and internet marketing that I can now pass on to my clients when designing web sites for them. In that business, I’ve always worked freelance, so I’ve always been my own web master, my own graphic designer, my own email marketer, etc. My tech savvy has always helped me with the ‘holistic side’ – and my passion for alternative medicine and holistic health has kept me very grounded and rooted in times like now where I’m growing, changing, and becoming much busier on the ‘geek side’ of life.

However, I wholeheartedly believe that if you derive your vocation out of what you are passionate in doing, that you’ll never “work” a day in your life. It all becomes play and joy! All of us change and grow and discover new things along our path, even in the work we do or the businesses we create. I’m really happy to be connected to this process for myself, and at the same time, very privileged to get to see this happening when someone comes to me needing a web site!

Scott, it’s been great to chat with you. Thanks for taking the time to let us get to know you!

You’re welcome Sheryl! Be well, and have FUN in your business!