Connect
To Top

Meet Hector Soria

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hector Soria.

Hector, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
 I’ve always been creative and enjoy puzzles. I was into drawing and writing in high school, after graduating high school, enrolled in “PTI” Pittsburgh Technical Institute for graphic design. I took on graphic design freelance projects while still in school and continued education after I graduated and hired at a publishing company in Pittsburgh. Worked for Pennysaver and Gateway Press for 3.5 years. I learned a lot about business and leadership there. I managed electronic press software and machines, trained staff on software, and standard operating procedures. While working hard to advance in the printing press field, I had a secret desire for web design and marketing. At this time, the .com era was blowing up and I wanted to be part of it. I had taken some basic HTML and web design software classes but I was inspired to learn more from a close friend I met at PITT, university of Pittsburgh. He was a student to be a computer software engineer and even worked at PITT managing websites. I asked him for help and he said he would provide tutorials and point me in the right direction. Every couple of weeks or so, I would show him what I was working on and been learning. Back then, I couldn’t afford a computer but my girlfriend had a really old computer she didn’t use and said I could use it. I couldn’t upload any web design software so; I used the source code from text editor from Microsoft explorer. I learned to make websites by reverse-engineering the code I got from other websites. This was really exciting for me and learned as much as I could. I worked on small web projects for friends until I got my first professional freelance project. I had a small network of computer geeks and we would help each other on web design projects.

After graduating from tech school, took some college courses, gained work experience in Pittsburgh, I was asked to join my brother in Colorado. He was returning from the military and to my surprise was getting married and starting a family. Being the oldest of three, and not feeling quite satisfied in PA, I decided to move to Greeley, Colorado to help raise my brother’s son. Six months later, my younger sister moved to Colorado to join us. I am extremely close to her, and she wanted to join this new life chapter with us. This was a really important time for all three of us to be together. The economy wasn’t doing well and hard to find work. But I had part-time freelance work and decided to take a position at a gas station. My downtime was helping with family, studying, and working on freelance project. It wasn’t till 2011, living in Denver, I decided to start my business, naming it “Denver Web Guy”. I decided my skills/portfolio was strong enough to really get my name out there. One of my first bigger projects was working for the Villager Publishing Newspaper of Greenwood village. I had met Patrick Sweeney, the son and IT director through mutual friends. Because we both were computer geeks, we became friends and he was able to provide me web projects. While still learning in some areas, he gave me a chance to really prove myself. This family publishing company is very caring and amazing. They helped me get to the advanced levels of my skills and business management level. This is something I will never forget and always appreciate.

In the past 4-5 years, I have worked full time in my own office or at home. This was something I had dreamed of for a long time. Even though I have tons of experience with print design, my main focus is a web design, marketing, and SEO. I have had the privilege to meet and work with a lot of other business owners and even develop friendships. The industry is constantly changing and I love being a part of it. When I am able to gain trust from other companies and help them grow, this is very rewarding for me. 

In the past few years, I have partnered with local SEO and web design firms. They usually will contract me when they have an overload of work or a lower budget to work with. I take pride in being a lot more affordable than another web/SEO firms in Colorado. Currently, I am partners with a Texas computer repair/marketing company and receive web design and SEO projects monthly. I’ll admit, being a business owner is not easy and there will be many growing pains. But this is something I am dedicated to and truly enjoy. I believe if I remain honest and hardworking, the sky is the limit of my marketing skills, business opportunities, and life goals.

Has it been a smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? Absolutely not, lol. Life, in general, is full of rocky roads, but. learned being persistence and dedication will smooth things out eventually. I think the hardest part of being a business owner, is taking that first true step of faith into the great unknown. Especially, if you don’t have anything to support your fall. But, hopefully, even if knocked down, it’s a must to keep pushing forward, and not be too hard on yourself, if this is your true dream. I learned quickly; you must have more than talent to run a business. You must be able to communicate with people, multitask. Learn from your mistakes and be humble. I have been lucky to have met some great business mentors and given great advice, even if they didn’t realize they were helping. As a business develops, there will be challenges in time and project management. Growing pains is a real thing and it’s important to find a solution that works. I’ve been able to find software that helps with my projects and also hiring a team to delegate communications and sales too. I absolutely enjoy talking with business owners and being personal but being a creative and web developer, sometimes working behind the curtain, like “wizard of oz” is a needed peace to get things done.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Denver Web Guy LLC is a small marketing firm that provides professional internet marketing services. We can assist start-up to small and mid-size businesses, develop effective web design and marketing solutions. Discussing your current business status, goals, and budget will allow us to present a marketing path for growth. We provide professional and affordable services compared to most marketing firms in Colorado.

My goal is to build lasting and trusted business relationships. As technology changes, I can help your business stay on top with the latest trends and effective ways to retain and gain new clients. We keep up with web design standards for desktop, mobile, and tablets. It’s important to provide engaging content, stunning graphic design, colors, branding, and usability. In addition to affordable web design, we offer SEO marketing that engages your social presence, educates your target audience, and helps you be found online locally or national.

I am proud to provide honest marketing services and value without deceiving as many “sales” people or unexperienced freelancers will do. It’s a shame, that I have had to help clean up big messes that previous web companies created. I always try to educate why things should be done in a certain way. Overall, I know I am able to save businesses thousands compared to other companies. Our job is to help a business get the exposure they deserve without overpaying.

Is our city a good place to do what you do? I believe marketing Is needed for all cities. But Marketing companies or freelancers are pretty saturated in Colorado, I feel. I would tell a startup marketer that it isn’t easy but worth it to fight for your spot. It’s all about the opportunities you can get to prove yourself and find a network of people to keep promoting yourself. Work does not come from just your local areas. Web design and marketing requests come from referrals and many online sources. I believe the city will remain to keep growing and marketing will be needed.

Pricing:

  • SEO Marketing: Starting at $300 to $1500 a month
  • Web Design: Starting at $500 3 page wordpress website

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in