About Tammy

A seasoned veteran in the high-tech internet world, Tammy Finch comes alive when asked about the technical workshops she offers. While she is well known in the Peoria, Illinois, area, she is respected on the national level.

Finch has an in-depth understanding about internet marketing. Those in the marketing field consider her an authority. The local press often contacts her for background or verification on web marketing.

“These sources like that I am approachable and they can contact me with questions or upcoming interviews,” Finch says. Finch was one of several local businesses interviewed by CNN/Money, resulting in that publication determining that Peoria is among the Top Five places to Launch a Small Business in the United States.

The Journal of Medical Practice Management, a peer reviewed medical journal,  published her article, “Marketing Your Medical Practice with an Effective Web Presence.” The Medical Office Manager has interviewed her about medical website marketing several times.

Finch has always loved working with computers. She loves continually learning something new. Her first efforts were creating simple graphics for her father’s t-shirt shop.

Later, when she was working at Central Illinois Radiological Associates, the group found themselves in need of a web designer. They provided her with time, resources and computer training to learn HTML and much more. Even then, she was stepping onto a world stage.

“I learned things like creating databases for our clinics and research department, to creating macros to compensate for their poor typing skills, to PowerPoint presentations for them to present at national and world-wide conferences,” Finch says. “I soon became the IT support person for that group as well as other vendors.”

She also started taking on a few web clients. “It was just mad money for vacations, back then,” Finch laughs now.

“There were no web editors or WYSIWYG editors back then. All the code was written by hand, usually in Notepad. The websites were pretty plain but very functional and organized. A bad hyperlink was an embarrassment and it was very easy to rise to the top of page one on Yahoo.com. Google wasn’t even around then,” she mused. “You could pick and choose whatever domain name you wanted. There were only about a million websites back then so a search might only call up five pages.”  She also observes that there was very little advertising online. Today, Finch devotes much of her time to internet marketing.

Eventually, in 1998, Finch stepped out on her own, with a few freelance clients, and opened Web Tech Services, Inc. Later, she opened a storefront and added hardware and software support. She currently has a staff of four full-time and one part-time employee. The store is located at 619 Taylor Street in East Peoria.
“Now that the company has an actual location and employees, it’s much easier separating me from the company. I like networking and promoting my company,” she says.

While she has a broad technical background, her passion is website design and web technologies. Her focus is on social networking and internet-marketing techniques, like search engine optimization.

 


Presentations

A regular on the Central Illinois speaking circuit, Finch frequently gives two-hour presentations. “I have presented at national conferences such as EContent in Las Vegas,” Finch said. “It was really fun but I do like doing the local presentations best because I get to hear from others who have put my ideas to work. I love helping people and think of it more as training than presenting.”

Training

Finch also provides one-on-one training to home computer users. She offers training about safe computing along with Microsoft and Adobe software applications.

The Reliability Factor

“I wish everyone knew how sincere I am about wanting to help their business or practice. I do care about my customers and am very happy for them when they succeed. I want what is best for them,” Finch says.

She says has lost count of the number of websites she has been called on to rescue when a website designer has disappeared. “I take care of all my customers website needs from creation to hosting to domain name renewal. People like the fact that they do not have to worry about losing their domain name or their website not being updated or up, for that matter. They know where to find me and how to reach me, even on a weekend.”

Personal Life

Tammy Finch is a Peoria native. An avid movie fan, she adds her own movie revues to her Web Tech newsletter. She and her husband, Chris, head to the beach for fun when time allows. She loves spending valuable family time with daughters, Ashley and Jamie.

MEMBERSHIPS

Tammy is a member of the following associations and societies: