10 Reasons Why You Should Hire Me

1. I can write.

   We can’t get any good work done without clear, honest communication. As a poet, I spend a lot of time figuring out how to say a lot in the fewest words possible. That translates to my email, tweets, blog posts, and other writing on the web. I write in clean, plain language that’s easily understood.
   Read more about why you should hire great writers→

2. I can draw.

   Drawing is all about intense looking, seeing the connections between things in the world, and synthesizing disparate parts into a coherent whole. As a visual thinker, I’ve found that there aren’t many problems you can’t solve with a Sharpie and a sketchbook. That’s why I carry both.

3. I can code.

   Sure, I can do wireframes and Photoshop mockups, but the real nitty-gritty magic happens in the browser with standards-based XHTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript. My specialty is designing for the WordPress and Tumblr blogging platforms.

4. I don’t love the web, I love what it can make happen.

   Building websites is not my passion. My passion is spreading ideas with the clear, uncluttered presentation of awesome content. If you just want pretty ornamentation and whiz-bang effects without any substance behind them, I’m not your man.

5. I was a librarian.

   For two years, I worked the reference desk at a public library, trying to zap the distance between people and the information that they needed and wanted. I learned how to think like a librarian: how to organize, label, and tag, how to navigate and build information systems, and how to research and find anything. Oh, I also learned how to handle irate patrons and punk kids. (Compared to policing internet stations, handling clients is a cinch.)

6. I love to read.

   I believe the way to be interesting is to be interested. I’m hungry for understanding, and reading feeds me. I read, read, read, read, read. Thomas Jefferson said it best: “I cannot live without books.”
   Some of my favorite books →

7. I love to teach.

   Ideas are nothing if they aren’t shared. Some artists are frightened by the idea of giving away their secrets, but I look up to folks like Ed Emberley, Lynda Barry, and even Martha Stewart—they not only make things, they help others learn how to make things. When you teach, you find out what you really know and don’t know.
   See more of my speaking and teaching→

8. I’m an ENTP.

   That stands for Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving. I’m a “big picture” guy—I get my energy from talking about big ideas with smart people.
   Learn more about the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator→

9. I’m from a small town in Southern Ohio.

   I grew up in the middle of a cornfield. I took hogs to the county fair, built a barn with my dad, and sang in the church choir. I try to work hard, stay modest, and keep a good sense of humor about life. I might live in Texas, but at heart I’m a Midwesterner.

10. I’m a family guy.

    I have a beautiful wife and a little dachshund to go home to at the end of the day. I like to maximize the time I spend with them. That means when I’m at work, I work.

Sound good? Let’s work together →