Experienced IT & Sales LEader

Mike Buedel

Dedicated and goal-oriented professional with a strong technical background, great customer service skills, and a proven track record of exceeding corporate objectives. Experience working with diverse clientele & c-level management.

Age 16, Working the Wendys Drive Thru

Foundation

A desire to work at an early age

 I started my career working part time at age 15 for a newspaper company. Not delivering but actually selling the subscriptions door to door. This foundation has really built my core ability to provide great customer service and be able to start a conversation with anyone. 

 By age 16 I was working full time at Wendy’s and while most would just write that off, it’s important to me to mention it because I strived to be the best that I could be and set myself apart from the rest. I memorized the whole menu’s pricing with tax so I could multitask my cleaning duties while also taking orders with no delay walking back to the register. This allowed me to get more done without the risk of being too far from the register to provide good customer service to the next drive thru visitor. As a result, I received an award for the fastest drive thru times in my district.

Early Success

Move forward, Move up

 Growing up in subsidized apartments, watching my family work hard but struggle financially, I knew I needed to change the path that was set before me.

 I started focusing on jobs that had more opportunities to grow within and got a job at Best Buy. The only position I qualified for was the sales floor and I started in the house phone isle but quickly proved myself and moved into larger departments. 

 This is where my life changed forever and at age 17 Best Buy promoted me to Digital Imaging supervisor where I inadvertently found a passion for photography that would stay with me the rest of my life. By age 18 I was promoted to Customer Assistant Supervisor (all departments) and I lead my team to 2nd in the country out of all 226 retail stores. 

My first DSLR Photo at a Best Buy Training in Orlando Florida

My friend and coworker Abi working at my company, Award Lawns Inc.

Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat

Work, and then work more

 After my success as a sales supervisor, I started a landscaping company with my dad. I kept my job at Best Buy till we were established enough to go full time also while going to Harper college for some courses in Business Management. 

 The landscaping company was a success but due to some family issues we had to end it just as it was really taking off. This created a desire to work even harder for myself and I started working multiple jobs at once, 7 days a week, while doing freelance photography work when I could fit. 

 This opportunity started and developed my business management skills, accounting, website design, & marketing abilities. 

Starting Over

The future is Technology

After years of sales & physical labor it was time to work smarter, not harder! I did not have the qualifications for a tech job, so I joined Redbox movie company at their entry level administration position. 

This was a simple data entry position taking form information from onsite technicians who repair a machine and filing into the company database. 

I saw how repetitive the job was and created a simple automated bot program to find and fill the data for me. I replicated this bot onto 8 unused computers we had and actually pushed myself out of the job as they deleted our department after! The good news is, they saw my technical ability and I was promoted to Machine Support! (remote technician)

 I was with the company for 3 years and had 3 promotions to their highest level remote tech & also was the new hire class trainer for new techs. 

 I left to join a startup as a remote help desk associate with the goals to grow with the company. I was there for many years but the opportunity to grow never came. 

I converted a gaming bot to do my data entry job for me and led to my promotion. (2013)

Picture I took in the Las Vegas desert at a Range Rover training

All Comes Together

Well Rounded Skills

After 9 years behind a computer and 5 years working back end systems for Automotive companies, I decided to join the front end as a luxury automotive salesman for Land Rover. 

Although I have never sold 1 car before, I used my ability to learn fast & my prior experience with both sales & technology to provide great customer service to luxury c-level clients. I was in the top sales for my dealership my first year out. 

 By this time, I developed my skills on both the front end luxury sales using CRM software, but also in the past as a CRM administrator for dealerships prior. 

This well rounded experience with CRMs led me to my ability to create and sell my own CRM solutions. I currently offer thes services as a freelance agency.