About Josh Cunningham
If you are considering hiring me to help you handle your online presence (or desperate lack thereof), you might be interested to know a bit more about who I am and what I’m all about. That’s what this tab is for – it’s all about me. This is my resume, if you need it.
I’m a big geek
I’ve been a geek for a long time. How do I know? Technology can frustrate, confound, irritate, endanger, distract, and, at times, horrify me but I can’t get past the fact that I love it and it loves me. I like installing drivers and playing with code I understand (or don’t) and picking out new toys and making things work. I built/build computers and have a great time doing it. I am a total technophile.
In addition to being a general tech geek, I’m also a complete aesthetics geek. A well-executed web site design and interface, a perfectly framed and balanced photograph, an intuitive application – I love learning about what makes this happen and relish having a hand in creating it. There is a special combination of colors, fonts, grouping, and lines that just makes a design work; I’m always looking for that combination
Would you rather hire someone who CAN do it or someone who can do it and loves doing it? Maybe I should change my business name to “Josh Loves to Help.” On that note…
I love to help people solve problems
Something that totally makes my day is solving someone else’s problem. Sure, it’s nice to do things for myself but my real joy comes from having a hand in someone else’s success. Seeing someone else prosper from my work is a great feeling and my primary goal when I start a new project.
I think being “customer-centric” is quite different from deriving great personal satisfaction from the progress of others. I don’t just make decisions for the benefit of others, I derive my professional self-worth from it. I don’t think being in business makes sense unless you’re helping someone else with your work. Call me crazy.
I’m a perpetual teacher
Just being a tech-savvy, solution-addicted nerd does not automatically make a great web strategist and designer. I’m also a patient, optimistic teacher for people of all different skill levels. In a former life, I was a corporate trainer and curriculum designer for a major wireless company. For 6 weeks straight, I would teach a group of 20 people how cell phones and networks functioned, the finer points of roaming, and no less than 10 different software programs. It was tough for everyone involved but I had a great time helping people learn the skills that would make their job easier.
I wrote about this skill/passion of mine… and if you’ll allow me to quote myself, here is an excerpt:
“…I’m not a business development expert, a marketing maven, or a dot com millionaire. I am, however, someone who can explain stuff that doesn’t make sense in a way that does.”
“I am not here to challenge someone to a coding battle or win a design award. I am here to bridge the gap between the gals and guys who know this stuff and teach me and the people who have no clue but want to. I’m here to show you what’s out there and get you set up to start using some of the incredible online technology out there.”
I don’t just teach, however…
I’m a perpetual student.
I’m addicted to learning new things. I’ve spent time as a barista, a bartender, a cell phone support rep, a technical writer, a pharmaceutical lab tech, a chemistry student, a marketing coordinator, a copywriter, and a “web guy.” The technical thread running through the bulk of my positions was not accidental, of course. The real commonality, however, is the need to learn so much for every position.
I love trying out new code and new techniques and I read books about web optimization in bed at night (no kidding). I stuck with chemistry as my degree because the depth of information seemed infinite. I can get stuck in Wikipedia for hours on end exploring how all this information connects. I read about fitness and quantum computing and creativity and the environment and almost anything else I can get my hands on.
I think that’s why I’ve grown to really enjoy working with the technical aspects of the web. There are so many coding languages and techniques and technology to learn and understand. As soon as you’ve got the hang of something, a new, better way to do things comes out and you’re forced to adapt. That’s where I thrive.
I’m all about saving money
I’m not the guy with the newest phone or the newest computer. I’m the guy who wants to use things completely and wants to get the most out of his money. As much as I love browsing Newegg.com, I also like to save money and fix things when I can. I’ve got a small netbook that serves me very well on the road, an older but upgraded desktop that works great, and a fully-featured phone I got for a great deal. I want to know everything a device can do, every feature a piece of software comes with, and every hack to make it all work better.
In my current role, I’ve worked primarily with small to middle-sized organizations. I understand how important it is to save money where you can so I always look for a balance between features and expense. I don’t cut corners on quality but I also know that, more often then not, problems aren’t solved by spending money, problems are solved by critical thinking. I’m pragmatic and proud of it!
