It’s official. I’m no longer offering any usability or search engine marketing consulting services, after a decade of performing customized services.
This picture was taken in 1995 for the first Cre8pc web site, hosted by AOL.
I came on the Internet web design scene in 1995 as a newly single, divorced mom of two young children. My story feels old now and retold many times. The short version is that I had no job, had to move out of my house since I couldn’t afford to stay there, refused child support and alimony and otherwise chose a nearly impossible path with nothing but a deep belief in myself. I lost the respect of many people, who felt I was crazy and not being responsible.
Stefan was 3 years old when I first started out. He’s now almost 19 and a college freshman, heading for the US Marines.
A friend gave me a 25 megahertz 287 PC. I got a 9600 baud external modem and an AOL account. I lived off some financial help from my sister (thank goodness) briefly, while teaching myself web design and web site promotion every second I wasn’t being a mom. Early in the following year, I was hired to design and maintain 13 web sites for a high-tech magazine publisher, beating out a very good programmer.
The first version of Cre8pc was launched in 1996 but had an AOL domain. In 1997, Cre8pc.com was its own domain and the site’s purpose was to be my dump of everything I was learning. People found it and used the information to teach themselves. In 1998, I launched the Cre8pc Web Site Promotion club, which was morphed into Cre8asiteforums in 2002.
My daughter, Arielle, was in first grade. She’s now 21 and graduates from Kutztown University in December.
That was also the same year I left my dream job at VerticalNet in their third round of layoffs during the dotcom crash. Within 6 hours of coming home the day I was laid off, I was sub-contracted to AT&T Worldnet for usability and web design work on a large application. I was officially on my own.
This past year was in many ways harder than 1995. The industries I work in are extremely competitive. I’ve watched people and companies come and go and change. I knew exactly what I needed to do next, but it meant making the painful decision to close my consulting business.
I remarried in 2004. Eric and I have been friends for over 20 years. When I got my first 286 PC, he was the one who upgraded it to a 386, then 486, and then finally, “Kim, you need a bigger computer.”
What’s Next?
If you heard I’m going to PubCon in Vegas in two weeks, you may sense I’m not going to disappear. Next week I’m finally permitted to go public on the next phase in my career.
It’s big.
Thanks for the ride.
With love,
Kim “Cre8pc”
If you see a chance, take it.
I am.
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