[vc_row type="in_container" full_screen_row_position="middle" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" top_padding="50" overlay_strength="0.3"][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_position="all" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" width="3/4" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413390509{margin-bottom: 12px !important;}"]
It All Started with the Boy Scouts
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]My first experience with leadership started when I was in the Boy Scouts. I joined when I was 11 and was assigned to my first Patrol. I eventually was elected as Patrol leader to the Beaver Patrol.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474412076846{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]The Boy Scouts also introduced me to the art of selling. At the age of 11 I went door-to-door selling light bulbs. The brilliant thing about light bulbs is that everyone needs them. If they don't need them right now they will eventually.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474412084371{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]The Boys Scouts was my first, self-selected tribe.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413409410{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 12px !important;}"]
From Lightbulbs to Newspapers
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Eventually, the Boy Scouts prompted me to get my first job (I wanted to go the Scout Ranch in New Mexico) and my parents said I could go if I earnt the money to pay for it.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413163694{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]So at the age of 12 I signed up to deliver newspapers on my bicycle for the Philadelphia Bulletin. I took my light bulb sales experience and applied it to my newspaper customers.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413184721{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]Soon my weekday customers were also signed up to get the Sunday paper and the Sunday subscribers were getting the paper 7 days a week. Afterall, who wouldn't want to help a hardworking kid pay his way to Scout Camp ????[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413211535{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]I didn't realize it at the time, but newspapers were my first taste of subscriptions.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413428082{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 12px !important;}"]
M&M's, London and Martial Arts
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]My sales experience continued during high school where I sold M&M's to fellow students, friends, neighbors and strangers to raise money for school clubs.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413288238{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]After graduating with a BS in Computer Science and working my first real job (developing software for circuit and county courts) I returned to England to work for a large US multi-national in London.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413308982{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]This is where I sunk my teeth into subscriptions. I worked with clients on both sides of the Atlantic, developing and managing a financial subscription product that was over $100,000 per year for a license.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413327625{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]Along the journey I have managed to study Tai Chi and Wing Chun, which helps me understand the discipline it takes to run a successful membership and community.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413476406{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 12px !important;}"]
Back to the USA
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]When I returned to the US in 2006 I quickly found new local tribes to join on Meetup.com. I also discovered WordPress and started working with it on version 2.0.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413508041{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]After writing my own, custom-built, membership platform in php I discovered WishList Member in early 2009 and I haven't looked back since.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413586793{margin-top: 25px !important;margin-bottom: 12px !important;}"]
Memberships and Subscriptions
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]I've been working with subscriptions and memberships since 1997 (not counting my days delivering newspapers). I have helped clients exclusively with memberships and subscription websites since 2007, logging in over 11,000 hours to date.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1474413641433{margin-top: 20px !important;}"]I have developed sites using the following software:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_position="all" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" width="1/4" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default"][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id="blog-sidebar"][/vc_column][/vc_row]
