Having my own business was nice, but it came at a cost. I'm ready to start enjoying more time with family and friends, so I'm looking for a full-time job as an employee or contractor.

I'm available for remote, hybrid or onsite positions that can utilize my talents, experience and skills. If you need onsite, then I am willing to relocate for the right position.

I'm not the kind of person who brags, and I also realize that you won't know these things about me if I don't tell you, so I humbly present the following facts about my skills. Feel free to ask about anything you might want to know.

Operating Systems - I have extensive experience with all versions of MS-DOS, all versions of Windows (both workstation and server editions) and Linux Ubuntu, Debian and CentOS distributions. I also have experience with Unix, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, macOS and Novell. Additionally, I have setup and configured on-premise Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server.

Computer Hardware - I have built countless workstations and servers, using quality components from top-tier manufacturers. I understand everything "under the hood" needed to maintain quality and performance of the hardware itself. I've also recommended and installed many server systems from Dell, Compaq and HP.

Networking - I've worked with computer networking since the NetBIOS days, using hardware-of-the-day, and have configured, troubleshot and repaired countless TCP/IP wired/wireless/VPN/whatever networks.

Sales and Lead Conversion - I have extensive experience in advising/consulting with my clients about the need to invest whatever funds necessary to accomplish their objectives. I never recommended investments in cheap, low-grade equipment. I was proud to stand behind my recommendations, and never had to apologize for cheap, flimsy workmanship or hardware. I received many calls from potential clients who had heard of or been referred to me, or just found my company by an Internet search and I had an excellent "close" ratio for those contacts.

People Skills - I developed excellent people skills in my business, allowing me to speak with management and janitor alike. I am comfortable dealing directly with decision makers, office managers, C-level and mid-level executives. I was complimented often about how I made technical issues understandable so that decision makers were able to make informed decisions. I don't try to convince anyone, only educate so they can make the decision they need or want to anyway.

Customer Service - Customer service was always the highest priority in my business. I worked hard to get my clients, and harder to keep them. I was rewarded with an amazing level of patronage and long-term loyalty by my clients. Many of them stayed with me for 10 years and more. I never used long-term contracts with my clients, even for their managed service, online backup or webhosting business... my clients stayed with me because they were happy, not because they had to. I enjoyed having them as clients, treated them like royalty, and they repaid me over and over.

Managed Services (and others) - I used Kaseya and Syncro in my business to provide managed services to my clients, personally managing about 300 endpoints. I also used cPanel for webhosting and Ahsay for online backup services. I used VNC, TeamViewer, RDP, Splashtop and other "single-use" tools to provide on-demand, just-in-time assistance to clients around the country.

Leadership - I've led small teams of technicians and software developers that I employed from time to time. We always met our objectives, delivering results to our clients in a timely manner.

Software Development - I taught myself many programming languages, frameworks and tools over the years, driven by requests from clients for applications, webhosting and interfacing, and the desire to develop in-house tools for my company's own use. I've used Perl, Python, JavaScript, Assembly, HTML, CSS, jQuery, Bootstrap, C#, VBA, Visual Basic, PHP, MySQL, SQL Server, Laravel, Wordpress (including plugins), Expression Engine, C++ and others, as well as associated development tools such as Netbeans, Postman, VSCode, Visual Studio and good ol' Notepad. I enjoy learning new languages when needed and pick up skills quickly,

Design and Troubleshooting - I have a background as an electronic hobbyist and technician. I can read schematics for almost any system out there, use a variety of tools for troubleshooting, have repaired exotic electronic equipment from all over the world, and have even created computer hardware of my own design. My core strength is the ability to walk into almost any situation and ask enough good questions to be able to recommend or implement a resolution that works in almost every instance. I don't "try" and I don't guess. I am focused, experienced and methodical.

Personal Objective - I'm a people-person, which is not the norm in the tech industry. I understand the 1s and the 0s, the bits and the bytes, but I really like people better. I've often described myself as "a people-person trapped in a nerd's body". This trait has allowed me to excel at my craft *and* be able to relate to people in a way that makes them comfortable working with me. I've been told many times by clients and others that I am the only tech they ever worked with that didn't make them look or feel stupid. I want to find work that continues to use that unique trait in my personality.

Hobbies - I enjoy reading, playing chess, ham radio, cooking, visiting with almost anyone over coffee and spending time with my wife and our pets.

Read what some of my customers had to say about my work.

Give me a call at (870) 214-9009 or email me at leslarson@westriv.com