Name:
Jeanne-Elise M. Heydecker
Title:
Proprietor
Company:
Traditional & Internet Marketing for the New Millennium
Location:
Aurora
Company type:
Web design, development, marketing and consulting
Founded:
2003
Employees:
1
Web site:
Working in high-tech marketing for about 18 years, I kept taking the risky option, working with small companies and start-ups because I like watching them grow and succeed. Sometimes I bombed, but most times I did so well that I worked my way out of a job during a buyout or merger.
While at Lycos, I met Lee Neubecker, who persuaded me to move to Chicago so we could start our own Web media firm.
We started BuzzBoltMedia.com and BuzzBolt.com in 2000, and we were right on track until Sept. 11, 2001. After that, many of the companies decided not to spend the money, while other projects in the pipeline became dramatically shorter.
Then, interface design became a commodity, which made charging thousands of dollars difficult to explain. Our profit margin and cash reserves quickly dissolved. And the supervision of the growing staff kept me from the creative work I loved.
Then the Enron scandal became big news. During this time, we had been working with a number of law firms, and they were asking us to recommend someone to find evidence on the opposing sides’ computers. We decided this was the direction to go. The market potential was exploding.
This side of the business quickly eclipsed the Web development, and in discussions with my co-founder we agreed it wasn’t for me anymore.
Lee changed the name of the company to Forensicon.com to more accurately reflect what the company does now, and he is building a very well-respected business. My mistake, some people would say, was walking away from this opportunity. As a single mother and sole provider, some would say I was crazy.
But what may look like a mistake from the outset has brought me fulfilling work, a more peaceful life, closer ties to my son and better health from losing more than 100 pounds.
I hated handling any of the management side of the business–watching the cash flow, being involved in the hiring, reprimanding and firing of staff, laying off people I cared about. I just wanted to build Web sites. That is my passion.
The hours were tough, and I was spending far too much time away from my son. I had him warehoused in what I would consider less-than-desirable day-care situations. Bottom line, I needed a more creative, more stable job, and my son needed a better quality, more challenging school.
I happened to be cruising through the job openings online and applied for a school district’s public relations position in Aurora. I interviewed with the top administrators and I kept pushing the benefits of the Internet and how a school district could take advantage of its potential. I didn’t get the job because I was so focused on Web stuff, but they noted my passion and experience.
They decided to hire me as their coordinator of Web services for the district, where I manage all projects involving the Web. It may have been a significant decrease in salary, but the job is stable, 1 mile from home and near my son’s school–so life is much better than I could have expected. I’m ecstatic.
I also started on the Atkins diet after my first required physical, because the doctor said I was borderline diabetic. I lost over 100 pounds. I bought a bike this spring and regularly ride with my son. We do a lot of stuff together. We have pets, we volunteer saving greyhounds and have enjoyed watching our life become sane.
After being with the school district a year and fulfilling my promise to redesign its 40-plus public Web sites within a year, I realized that I was going to be in maintenance mode soon. I still needed that creative edge, so I decided to run a freelancing business on the side.
Sure, it would have been great to have had the Web media company succeed and have the wealthier lifestyle, but more money didn’t bring me happiness. Working for people who respect me, having time to raise my son and spending time with him–that means something–and being creative, these things have made me happy.
