Ron Giles is Zeald.com's most experienced E-Business Consultant and specialises in getting businesses online.
Executive Summary:
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20 years as a Executive in a big Corporate
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20 years running own business
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Author of five best selling books
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Owner of three #1 ranking websites
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Most experienced Website Consultant in New Zealand
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Keen sportsman - cricket, rugby, golf
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Sports Administrator - Board of Control Auckland Cricket
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Mad fisherman - sea or freshwater!
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Grandfather of gorgeous Georgia and cute James!
Want to know more - read on....but be warned, it is the long version!
Ron firmly believes that joining Zeald.com was one the best business decisions he has ever made – he really relishes the challenge of helping people to develop a successful online business. "I just love working with people that have a great idea for a new website - they are so interesting to work with and really appreciate the help I give them," says Ron.
I'm very impressed by what Zeald and yourself offer and you presented it like a true pro...so I'd feel very comfortable with you guys at the helm of my E-business.
Enjoy your weekend.
Regards
Chris Ryan
(Chris bought a Zeald.com website two weeks later)
Ron’s business background includes 20 years of working for the major corporate, Mair & Company Ltd, the biggest exporter in New Zealand at that time. Ron ended up as Managing Director of Mair Industrial Marketing Ltd, a medium-sized importing and marketing company.
Ron then started his own business, Leather Technology Ltd, supplying machinery to the New Zealand leather processing industry. One of the perks of being in the leather business was a trip to Paris for the World Leather Fair every second year – it was a tough job but someone had to do it!
When the leather manufacturing industry began moving offshore, Ron developed a Business Consultancy, specialising in Business Planning and Strategic Planning. Because the Zeald.com process involves preparing a Business Plan for every Zeald website, this experience has proven ideal for his role as a Zeald.com E-Business Consultant. The other great attribute Ron brings to the role is his writing ability.
Ten years ago, Ron started his writing career, penning articles for national fishing magazines. It was natural that he wrote about his greatest passion – troutfishing. Ron has been chasing the elusive trout for 30 years and had always harboured a desire to convey the joys of flyfishing to a wider audience.
This writing soon led to Ron’s first book – ‘Hooked on Trout’ published in 2000.
That book sold 6500 copies - an impressive first effort as a best seller in NZ is
considered to be 3000 copies.
Three more troutfishing books quickly followed and then Ron had the idea to write a book for the one million New Zealand babyboomers as there was no book addressing the critical issues being faced by that generation.
The book, entitled ‘All the f words for Babyboomers’, was published in 2006. Ron developed a large website www.babyboomersguide.co.nz to support the book and the experience of running his own Zeald website has been invaluable in helping Ron understand his clients’ website requirements. Ron’s website cracked the Alexa.com top two million worldwide websites after only 3 months - showing Ron does practise what he preaches! The babyboomer website also achieved its purpose - the book sold out the print run (although some of Ron's new clients often receive a free copy!).
Ron has slotted into the Zeald.com team as though he has been there from the beginning, thanks to his passion for Internet Marketing and his insistence on the benefits of quality content.
Not quite so appreciated by the Zeald staff might be Ron’s irreverent sense of humour but at least that ensures that the office is never quiet when Ron is present!
Ron also enjoys a great rivalry with Hamish Braddick, Zeald.com's Webmaster, about whose website comes up first in Google rankings. So far Hamish is well ahead on points but Ron has had the occasional win. "Hamish had several years start on me but I'm catching up quick," says Ron (he also admits that he is in awe of the extent of Hamish's knowledge on Search Engine Optimisation.)
Ron's writing ability is of great benefit to Ron’s website clients. A critical part of the website process is ‘wireframing’ the main pages and Ron’s clients have the bonus of the services of a professional writer to assist them with the copy, content and layout of the all-important major conversion pages.
This has been commented on by clients such as Martin Albrecht, owner of the highly successful website www.goodground.com. Martin says “I don’t know how we would have got our website together without Ron's help. Not only did he write 40,000 words for our website but his wireframing ability and his expert Internet knowledge has proven invaluable to us ‘online beginners’. Thanks to Ron, GoodGround Ltd has a great website – one that actually sells real estate online!”
Ron is married to Sue, an Office Manager and they have two adult children. They have travelled extensively, including six months touring USA in a 19 foot campervan. Ron reckons his next book should be called: ‘19 feet was not enough!’
They managed to survive that 'close encounter’ and still enjoy visiting new countries, with a visit to Italy on the agenda for next year. Ron has been there many times on business but is looking forward to an Italian holiday.
Ron is a mad keen sportsman having played rugby, cricket, tennis, skiing and golf but only the golf remains.
Ron showing the ball that
gained him a hole in one
Ron's favourite sport was cricket which he played for over 40 years. Ron still misses trundling down those left arm slows (he reckons he actually got one to turn in 1983 but no one has been able to substantiate that claim). This love of the sport led to Ron getting involved in cricket administration at an early age. That eventually resulted in Ron being elected to the inaugural Board of Control of the Auckland Cricket Association – a big achievement for a delegate from a second tier club, as East Coast Bays was in those days.
Ron has a wide range of other interests including theatre, reading, movies, boating, hiking, travel, food & wine - all the good stuff!
Big snapper caught while fishing
with son-in-law Glenn
Obviously Ron still loves his troutfishing and he continues to pursue this absorbing pastime - but not as often as he would wish. Ron still remembers when he travelled around New Zealand fishing all the best rivers and claiming the time as ‘research’ for his books - those were the days ………..
I fish because I love to:
because I love the places where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the places where crowds of people are found which are invariably ugly....
because of all the networking opportunities, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing that I can escape when fishing......
because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is always an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion......
because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience.......
because I suspect that men are travelling this way for the last time and I don't want to waste the trip.......
because, mercifully, there are no 'In Boxes' on trout waters......
because only in the woods can I find solitude without loneliness.......
because Merlot out of an old tin cup always tastes better by the river.......
and, finally, not because I regard fishing as so terribly important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant - and not nearly so much fun!
(with apologies to Robert Traver)
