We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shelby Gonzales. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shelby below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Shelby with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Absolutely my dad. My dad worked in the automotive field at different car dealerships all around the valley my whole childhood. He worked long days, 5-6 days a week, and had a brutal commute back on top of that to and from Buckeye. My mom, brother, and I were well taken care of as a family because of him, we never went without anything, and my little spoiled ass got damn near everything I wanted. I had a great childhood, and he is the reason why.
I learned from my dad that working hard is okay as long as you can enjoy what you do, do it well, and make time to have fun and enjoy life. Life is too short to be unhappy, but you have to make sure you do what you gotta do to make sure the bills are paid, and you got beer money.
I also attribute a lot of my more surface-level work ethic to my time in food service. No job has kicked my ass more physically and emotionally than working food service. From delivering pizza to managing a store, I learned how to interact with every type of person both behind the counter and in front of the counter. Problem solving, time management, teamwork, delegation, multi-tasking, working efficiently, talking to people – it all stuck with me and contributed to the core of who I am and how I work. I even got a silly pizza tattoo to commemorate that time in my life (it’s actually one of my favorite tattoos).
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a web developer/designer/anything else my business calls for. I love making a beautiful website that works as well as it looks. Taking the behind the scenes coding and set up of a site and a thoughtful slick-looking design, and connecting those two worlds is just something really special, I think. I pride myself on knowing how to do both.
But what really gets me going is the people aspect. I thrive on getting to know my clients, diving into their businesses, and crafting a digital space that reflects their vibe perfectly. It’s like wrapping their business in a warm, virtual hug! Knowing they trust me to do that? It means everything to me.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think those would be: my problem solving skills, my ability to utilize resources, and cultivating a hopeful attitude. These all sound like bullshit answers to a job interview, but I truly think these are the core of how I got to where I am and how I keep going. The first two kind of work symbiotically in that anyone can have all the resources in the world, but no idea how to utilize them to solve problems; and you can be excellent at solving problems but get nowhere without the resources to apply and execute a plan. I have always been constantly learning from everyone I work for and with, that is the most powerful resource you can have. My advice for that is: don’t be an arrogant asshole. Always know when you don’t know, and know that it’s okay to not know, but make an effort to learn. Lastly, be positive. Yeah this is like a quote from a bumper sticker on a Prius but I don’t know how else to describe it. Life is a bummer sometimes and not everything is going to be fun or easy, especially when you’re trying to run a business or do anything really really awesome and scary. Things are going to make you feel bad for as long as you let them. Feel what you need to feel, take a deep breath and hit the gas to keep goin’. One day you’ll look back and say, “oh hell yeah. I am a badass, I went through that and look at me now!”
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
I love working with people who are as driven and passionate about what they do as I am. Someone excited to get out there and show the world what they’ve got. It’s really rewarding to learn about a person and their journey, and work with them to help that come to life. It’s a bonus when I’m already a big fan of the business and what they do before I even meet them as a client and work with them. This is why I focus on and love working with local businesses, specifically breweries. Before I started making websites, I loved going to breweries when I wasn’t at whatever stupid job I was working. They have a unique camaraderie both within each one and among each other that I’ve always really admired. To be a part of that and give my little gift of websites to that world is so cool.
Contact Info:
- Website: channel37online.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/channel37online
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/channel37online
- Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/company/channel-37-online
