BinaryGirl Spotlight: Karrie Langmeier

 
Are you self-employed?

yes

What is your background?

Corporate Sales Training, sales

What types of degrees, skills, experiences are necessary for this field?

Programming experience, marketing

How did you get started in this field?

Here is an excerpt from an old press release...hope that's OK.

The Do A Project network, a virtual clearinghouse connecting independent professionals with contract projects, launches a new, expanded website today. The network was begun in September, 1999 by Karrie Langmeier, who at the time was a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) who wanted to supplement her family's income by doing small contract projects from home such as accounting, data entry and writing.

The network has relied on virtual connections from the start, and true to form, multiplied its user base exponentially in just the first day. It started when Langmeier's husband posted a message to an internet professionals listserv, AZIPA, advertising that he represented a group of SAHM's (Langmeier and a friend) who were looking to perform contract services. By the end of the day, Langmeier had received over 50 phone calls and e-mails from people with services they needed done, and other contractors looking for similar opportunities.

Says Langmeier, "Of course, everyone asked 'What is your URL?' " Within a week she had designed a web site using template software and "we were off." The site was originally called the "At Home Network" but changed its name to the Do A Project Network after finding that Cox Communications had a similar name under copyright.

The site saw immediate growth and, as virtual organization, most of the projects originally received focused on Web/Internet related projects such as web site design, database design and development, graphic art and technical/content/creative writing.

With Do A Project, Langmeier seeks to attract professionals who are "serious about what they do for a living." All members go through an application process where their skills are reviewed to ensure that top notch talent represents the Network. Unlike similar sites such as guru.com, Do A Project charges a fee to its freelancers and not the companies that post their contract projects and positions. The companies post their projects for free. Says Langmeier, "I did not want a "free for all" site. When people pay a fee to join our organization they are connecting themselves with an elite group of freelancers."

None

What are your specific responsibilities?

I completely manage the site from programming to marketing to accounting to business development/partnerships, etc.

Describe a typical workday and workweek. What do you do during a typical day?

Answer close to 150 e-mails a day on average, make site changes/updates, look for advertising opportunities, maintain a bi-weekly newsletter and "Tips of the Month" ezine, process new member applications and enrollment, distribute posted projects, etc.

Name 5-7 job skills that are needed for your job.

Programming knowledge/experience, ability to form relationships with other similar sites, accounting, marketing, customer service, sales

Are you in a team oriented position?

no

Do you have flextime? Vacation time? Work at home? Telecommute?

I work a flexible schedule from a home office.

How many hours per week are expected or warranted for peak performance?

35-45

Are many evenings or weekends required for your job?

Not required, but every little bit of extra time counts toward success in the next week.

How much travel is involved with a job in your field?

None

Could you give me examples of projects that you are working on?

A new database, somewhat unique to the industry.

Could you describe your work settings? Offices, machinery, resources etc.

PC, fax, copy machine, Caller ID ;-)

What personal qualities do you think are necessary for someone to be successful in this occupation?

Dedication and the strong desire to succeed - also, pretty thick skin. People can be pretty harsh sometimes when they communicate through e-mail and not in person or over the phone.

What is the major challenge you face at work?

Operating on a small budget because I am not willing to take on investors or partner opportunities.

What aspects of your job do you find most rewarding (pros) ?

Helping other people find work so that they can have the opportunity to work from home, or at least a more flexible schedule to spend with their families.

Least rewarding? (cons)

I am often stuck at home on the computer for hours at a time and sometimes find it hard to even be gone for a day because of the amount of work that piles up and the people that depend on me to be expedient in processing job postings.

Are you confronted with difficult decisions or situations in your position?

Yes, beings I wear so many "hats" I always have plenty of decisions to make. ;-)

Do you have a lot of interaction with a certain occupation? I.E. media, engineers, etc.

Recruiters, IT consultants/programmers

What is the Female to Male Ratio in your position/field?

Probably not quite 50-50, but catching up quickly!

Has the field changed since you first started your career?

Yes, it has gotten a lot more competitve with new job sites posting up ALL of the time.

Describe the changes taking place in your field. Project future trends?

Women are most definitely taking the Internet world by storm.

Turnover rate?

Because so many of the woman owned sites are small (home) businesses, it depends on what they can make happen to seperate their site from other similar sites, and still continue to keep cash flow up with larger sites taking over every day.

Do you think women avoid technical careers?

Not so much these days. I had absolutely *no* programming and minimal computer knowledge when I started my site. It has just taken dedication and the willingness to learn a new thing.

What do you think can be done to encourage girls to get more involved in the technology field?

Publicize more successful stories of women in technical positions. How they got there and what they've accomplished.

Do you believe that women will be in more technical jobs in the future?

Absolutely.

Do you have any advice for women and girls that are interested in going into the field?

Go for it - if I can do it - you sure can!