I’d always loved photography, but when I started high school I joined the photography club and discovered the fascination of darkroom work — developing film and printing my photos.
Withing the first two years, I actually did a bit of “semi-professional” work (in that I charged a small amount for my portrait services). I convinced a local boy scout troop to let me do portraits, and sold a few to their parents. I also did a few school teacher portraits, and (although I no longer seem to have them) several small jobs photographing other cottages and gardens at Battle Lake where our cottage was.
Having dabbled for a few years in the fledgling micro-computer field, I decided to see if I could turn my knowledge into some sort of business, advising companies in ways to use these new micro systems to help with some basic business tasks. Of course this was very part-time, as I was working for Litton Systems those years.
Remember, there were no computer graphics yet… so I picked the name MicroDyamics, and created a logo using Lettraset (rub-on letters and lines). Then I printed a business card. I still have samples of the last two iterations of these cards: the first showing our Carling Avenue apartment address in Ottawa, then a second version at our York Hill Blvd. address in Thornhill (Toronto).
Although I did approach and speak to a few small businesses, I don’t believe anyone took me up on my suggestions. It was simply too early to turn this into a business. But I had fun creating the name and designing the logo. Years later I was approached by some firm in Vancouver asking permission to use the name MicroDynamics (which I had registered in Canada). Since I had no plans for it, I said OK. (The concept of selling URL’s — which didn’t exist yet — wasn’t applicable, and I didn’t ask for any compensation since they planned to use a different name if I said no.)
Small ad run in the Ottawa Journal December 28, 1979
In late 1984 Hewlett Packard released its first entry into the fledgling PC market — only about a year after the original IBM PC was released. It was a fascinating device, light years ahead of anything else on the market. Here are a few reasons why:
Number one is that this machine had a TOUCHSCREEN interface! In 1984! Now it wasn’t like today’s sensitive touchscreens; this was a crude array of crisscrossing infrared light beans in front of the screen that would sense your finger position when it broke the beams… but still, way ahead of its time on a personal device!
All other PCs of that era had an integrated disc drive, meaning that you could get different storage capacity only by buying a different model device. The HP150 chose a smarter path: The computer was integrated with the monitor, but storage was a separate unit connected via an HP-IB cable. This allowed for all sorts of configurations simply by swapping or adding storage units.
In a feat that I don’t think was ever repeated, HP used space in the top of the display unit to house an (optional) thermal printer!
Being privy to the internal technical documents, I discovered that — even though no color PC monitor yet existed — the operating system had all the support calls and routines to drive a color monitor! Clearly the engineers felt that color monitors would be a consumer demand, and in the hopes that HP’s software would survive, they planned for it.
Leveraging HP’s long standing as an engineering company, the device was wonderfully serviceable, with easy access and a number of modular, replaceable components.
Finally, even though the device was powered by MS-DOS, HP built their own user-friendly interface on top of it (much like Microsoft did with Windows years later, albeit much simpler.) This was called P.A.M. (Personal Applications Manger), and it presented all loaded applications as a table of boxes — like the icons on today’s cellphones! To launch a program you simply touched the appropriate box.
Understanding that HP’s target market was corporations more than personal users, the engineers made sure that the device could function as a full-featured computer terminal connected to the corporate mainframe or mini computers. This was a brilliant move that encouraged many companies to purchase the HP150 line.
I was blown away by the concept and the execution. Unfortunately for HP, where they were brilliant in engineering , they were very poor in marketing. Although MS-DOS based, the system was NOT compatible with the IBM PC, and the same programs could not run on it unless they were modified (much like IOS/Android apps are not interchangeable). Personally, I believe that had they engaged the right marketing talent, they had a chance to blow away the IBM PC market. But their marketing failed to promote some of the main advantages that I outlined above, and so within a few years the HP150 line had to be abandoned.
In any case, I was excited about the possibilities that I saw in 1984, and decided that I wanted to try my hand at becoming one of their software creators. I chose an application that (1) I had some familiarity with, (2) was understandable and useful to most corporations, and (3) that adapted very well to the touch interface. (Unfortunately, I was so convinced that this was the future, that I designed my program such that it REQUIRED the use of touch). The application I chose was calendar management (setting, moving, deleting, notating appointments on a calendar and finding available time slots across multiple calendars, etc.
In order to become a certified HP software development company (and get huge equipment discounts and access to internal technical information) I had to write up a detailed plan and submit it to HP. I was successful, and received their approval.
So I purchased the original HP150 (a couple of years later they came out with the 150B) along with all the “trimmings” — hard disc drive unit, double floppy drive unit, internal printer, etc. and got to work on the detailed design and programming. Most was written in Fortran since there was a Fortran compiler available.
Since I did not have financial backing, I did everything myself: Program design, coding, testing, writing a user manual, all aspects of product packaging, designing and producing a marketing flyer, publishing ads, creating sales incentives, and doing sales!
Just as an example, the packaging alone required seven vendors: (1) a box, (2) a foam liner, (3) a plastic diskette box to hold the required 3 discs, (4) a die-cutter to cut a hole in the foam liner to hold the diskette box, (5) a commercial printer to print and bind the user manual, and to print a box wrapper, (6) assembly of all the components in the box (discs, manual, warranty card, feedback postcard), and (7) shrink wrapping of the final packaged product.
I will let the attached documents speak to the actual program capabilities. Although laughable by 2020-era applications, this was unmatched for its time. It sold in very small numbers — probably several dozen total — but in more than 4 countries! I gained experience working with computer stores, various corporations (a branch of General Electric in Texas comes to mind; also a couple of hospitals and doctors.) By the time it came to market in mid-1986, the HP150 had already lost way too much ground to the IMB PC, and within 2 years had to be discontinued by HP. So my market was doomed from the start because the program REQUIRED the HP150 PC.
I’ve attached the marketing flyer, the full user manual (produced on my own text printer and a small HP graphics plotter that I also purchased), a magazine review and some ads that I placed. I was particularly pleased when the reviewer heaped praise on my user manual, because I personally hated the way most program manuals of the day were impossible for an average user to understand or use effectively. I also pulled out the actual computer (which I still have, in pristine condition) a few years back and found it to still work perfectly — and have attached a couple of photos and a short video clip showing the touch function.
Also attached is the cover of a user guide for a second application that I didn’t write, but marketed for another software author. This was a very simple program that allowed the creation of signs/banners created on a character printer by converting the words to huge sideways characters. I used this to print all of the kids’ birthday banners (one attached.)
To this day, I value all of the vast experience I gained from this project. Although it cost me a lot of money, I would not trade that experience for anything. This could not be obtained in any school.
Cover feature, Byte magazine Testing the system after it had been packed away for 30 years, still working!
The touchscreen interface from 1984Example of banner created using Wideways-150
After the collapse of the HP150 computer line, I decided to try my hand at consulting. At Litton Systems I had gained much expertise in UNIX and the Hewlett-Packard Unix (HP-UX) server line. I had also developed some good contacts at HP both from my software development venture and from dealing with the local HP sales reps for Litton.
I decided to recycle the (already-incorporated) Soft-Touch name as a consulting venture specializing in HP Unix systems. I initially got a couple of referrals from my HP sales rep, and slowly built up a few customer contracts. I don’t recall all of the company names, but Black & McDonald Electrical, and Four Seasons Hotels were two of them. There was also at least one real estate developer. I probably had only about 4-6 clients at its peak, before we decided to relocate to Chicago.
The way it worked was that I helped in some cases as these companies installed or switched to HP servers, and also was their “on-call” technical support if they had problems. I set up backup systems for them, and also helped them with communications and networking.
A very notable event was when I got a call from the head office of Four Seasons Hotels (in Toronto). They were opening their first hotel in Chicago, and their local IT guy was not too comfortable with the HP systems. An HP sales rep referred them to me. After meeting with them at the head office, they arranged to send me to Chicago to assist with configuring the system after the installation. Although it only required a couple of days onsite, I did get put up in a nice brand new Four Seasons hotel room! Afterwards I assisted the local staff by phone as required.
A friend that I knew from Chabad contacted me to try to interest me in a multi-level marketing opportunity. At the time I had zero interest in it as a business, but agreed to try the product mostly to help him out.
The product was a 75-year old recipe of botanicals in a liquid form that many people claimed did amazing things for them, especially in terms of increased energy and oxygen levels. I figured there was no harm in trying it.
After just a few days using this black liquid concoction (called Matol in Canada, where it was made, and marketed under the name “Km” in the US), I found that I did in fact feel a rush of energy. This made me want to know more about it, so I attended some local meetings and got hold of all their marketing materials.
Short story is that I was sufficiently impressed to want to try my hand with it — not so much as a business, but to let others know about this amazing natural product. Over several months I attended a few training seminars, read lots of materials (including videos of the inventor), and got a number of people to try the product. A few even signed up to attempt it as a business once they too felt a positive response to taking it. One fellow even told me that it cured the frequent migraines that he had had all his life!
When we moved to Chicago in 1992 I continued with this on a very part-time basis for a while. I wasn’t really too interested in it as a business, but a few people did sign up to try it, and several people reported amazing results with the product. I continued very casually until I landed my job at Abbott. Once working full-time I really didn’t have the time or interest to pursue it. I did, however keep taking the product myself for many years.
Although multi-level businesses were not really my thing, I found that I learned a lot of valuable marketing and personal business ideas from their trainings. They had a different way of looking at things, because in MLM, the more successful you make those recruits under you, the more successful you become. This is in contrast to most corporate managers who are usually more interested only in getting the best value from their subordinates for the least investment.
I leveraged those ideas (and others) as I got more into management roles, because I believed this was the best way to manage. When I hired people in various specific technical roles, I chose people who knew those areas better than I did. I might have had a greater over-all view of the technical and business situation, but I wanted those working for me to each be experts in their narrower field. Much later, as I read management books, I discovered that this was considered the essence of good management. I have MLM philosophies to thank for putting me on that “best practice” management path.
Sometime around 1991 I was put in touch with a guy in Chicago who had developed an innovative product and was looking for people to help market it. Being in Canada, it was an opportunity to have my own territory if I was interested.
First it is necessary to understand that at this time small portable cellphones didn’t exist for the general public. The only cellular options were built-in car phones, and something called a “bag phone”, which was a fairly bulky and heavy cellphone-and-batteries in a bag.
The product was basically a car phone built into a rugged aluminum briefcase. The large required batteries were under a false bottom in the briefcase, and a charging connector was on the outside of the case. A small metal antenna was mounted on the top of the case, as were some status lights and switches.
So basically this was like a super large and heavy bag phone. Where it differed greatly was that it came with a computer terminal that attached in the case on velcro strips and could communicate through the cellphone. Also available was a portable fax machine that could attach to the same velcro (in place of the terminal).
The target market for the fax machine were professions such as lawyers, real-estate salespeople, etc — anyone who in those days relied heavily on FAX communications. The terminal market was hoped to include all sorts of areas that could use a rugged and portable computer terminal connection — like for example on a construction site, law enforcement, etc.
I liked the concept even if I was unsure if it would take off. So I got a unit (including both the terminal and the fax machine), and tried my hand at marketing it. Again, I re-used the Soft-Touch name. I recall that I did bring it to several businesses for a demonstration, but although they were all impressed, none turned into sales.
One interesting story: Shortly after getting my own unit, I received a support call from the Four Seasons hotel in Chicago. They were experiencing a computer problem and it was affecting their operations so it was considered urgent. Having given them my “cellphone” number, they contacted me on this device. I was driving on the 401 highway in Toronto at the time.
When they heard that I was driving, they figured that they would not be able to have my help until I got to my destination but I told them I would try. I pulled off onto the shoulder of the highway and used the computer terminal to access their system in Chicago via the built-in cellphone. I found and corrected the problem in about 10 minutes, then called them back to let them know. They were astounded! No one else had the capability in those years to do that while on the road.
As innovative as the system was, it was probably a bit ahead of its time. In any case, small portable cellphones were commercially available within about a year, so this went nowhere. Once again, I showed my tendency to jump into something that was a bit too innovative for its time.
The attached photos show the terminal, and also a couple of construction site photos that I took for potential marketing purposes.
After the layoffs in 2002, I figured I’d land a new job pretty quickly, as I had always been able to do. What I hadn’t counted on was the massive number of people looking for work after the economic downturn post 9-11. Although I applied to lots of places, there were dozens of applicants for every job, and many were young, lower-paid yet skilled people. I found out pretty quickly that a 50-year old former VP who had been earning 6-figures was not in demand when companies could get someone in their 30’s who would work for way less. Even my long-time headhunter told me to forget it — at least for a few years.
After trying hard to find something for a few months, I figured I’d try some other avenues on my own, while I waited to find “real” work. Luckily I had a decent settlement from IRI, and also a chunk of IRI share options that I was able to exercise (I flipped them when the stock price was at about $12; less than a year later their stock was under $2)
I had an idea to create a site oriented around the rather new concept of “affiliate links” (common today) in which you got a commission on sales companies made by customers who got to them via links on your web page. There were a few such sites already, but they were unabashedly just tons of links — basically advertising. I wanted to create something that people could have some trust in.
I purchased the URL “BestValueGuide.com”, and proceeded to design my site. Since my concept was trusted referrals only, I created a set of criteria that I could use to rate vendor sites. These included things like how easy it was to navigate their site, how long it took me to find a support phone number, whether they disclosed their actual address, and a lot more that I no longer remember. I created a survey form, and personally evaluated each potential site before I would list their link. Further, I would write a brief paragraph about what I felt were the vendor’s strengths or best products. And if a site failed my evaluation threshold, I did not list it even if it paid good commissions. I wanted to have the only “honest” affiliate link web site out there.
For its time, I think I did a good job of the design and presentation of the site. Where I failed was in actually marketing MY site. So although I did make some money through the links, it was not much, and I slowly lost interest. Too bad I didn’t pursue it harder, because it could have become big. Once again, I was a bit ahead of the times.
I found a few site snapshots on an internet archive site. Just before I abandoned the effort, I had added a parallel “layer” that I intended to be targeted to professionals rather than consumers. So I planned that my Best Value Guide would have a consumer face, and a B2B/Professional face.
Here are the few screenshots I found, including a sample page of actual store listings…
While I was dabbling with web-based income possibilities, I decided to try to go back to one of my main passions — photography. I had been going out and doing landscape photography for my own enjoyment for a few years, but in order to make money I had to change my focus (pardon the pun!)
Combining my passion for photography with my love of kids, I decided to try my hand at kids portraiture. Starting with word-of-mouth, I got a couple of bites, and was immediately successful — my first client spent several hundred dollars on portraits of their kids!
I created a very simply web site, then over the next few years, re-invented to website a few times to improve on it. I found a few screen shots on an Internet archive site, included below. Although I called myself “Hershel Belkin Photography”, I took the URL “belkinder.com”, which I thought was cute, combining “belkin” and “kinder”.
I posted the first few business cards that I created (starting with a really horrible one!), and I found a few sample of my early work, posted here as well.
On the first web page I actually had a GIF that demonstrated the merging of “belkin” and “kinder”:
Found this archive of my very first photography web site. Featured image is missing…
As I developed and marketed my photography website, I dug deep into SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques, and even purchased some tools to help with those efforts. Over a short time, I seemed to get quite proficient, at least with terms that were fairly well focused.
Having achieved first page organic listings for myself on most major search engines, I though that maybe I could do the same for others… so I purchase the URL SEOmaven.com, and build a simple web site.
My first client was someone I knew in Chicago, and within a few weeks his site was getting MUCH better listings in Goode, etc. and he was seeing increased sales. He was thrilled!
I did a bit of SEO work for a few places, but decided it was more work than I was really interested in doing — not that the SEO itself was that complicated, but dealing with clients who really didn’t understand my requests for various simple changes to their sites was annoying.
Searching web archives, I found a few samples of my old SEOmaven site…
Still looking for other possible streams of income, I decided to try creating a site for Jewish stock photos. Although there were a lot of big stock photo sites, finding good Jewish-content images was difficult — and, as my graphic designer son told me, there are designers working for Jewish organizations that need such images.
My concept was not just to try to shoot tons of Jewish content photos, but to invite other photographers to submit their stock images to the site and to take a small percentage of their sales as well.
So I built the site, shot a bunch of images, and actually got about a dozen photographers to contribute images. I didn’t charge much, and sales were very slow. Don’t remember why, but after about a year or so I lost interest and eventually shut it down.
Searching the web archives, I found some site snapshots (mostly missing the images)… just to give an idea of what it looked like.
