Quick Study Weaves Web Into Summer

Like a lot of college students, Mike Peck has a summer job. But he isn’t flipping burgers or teaching swimming.

Peck, a sophomore at Albertson College of Idaho, is working for a Boise-based network solutions firm. He also runs his own Web design firm on the side.

A business and computer science major from Bayview, Peck has joined the thousands of young entrepreneurs who are capitalizing on the growth of the dot-com industry.

He got his start with his own business, Y-AD Web Productions (www.y-ad.com), as a high school student. This summer, he’s operating Y-AD (short for Why Advertise?) from the family ranch.

His parents, Dale and Patricia Peck, and grandparents, Al and Edie Peck, live in Bayview. During the school year, Mike builds Web pages on computer equipment stacked on his dorm room desk on the Caldwell campus.

The business is geared to design and host sites for small businesses throughout Idaho. It is part of the new wave of e-commerce businesses started since 1998. Y-AD clients include Inland Empire Distribution Systems, Lignetics and AmberLodge.

Not many students come to college with their own businesses, according to economics professor Jim Angresano. “Any time there is an economic boom, many students jump to follow it,” he said. “It’s the same with the Web.”

Angresano recruited Peck to create the economics department’s Web site. “I think students know more about computers than staff. I like it because they can help me,” he said, marveling at the ease with which Peck builds Web pages.

Peck’s computer skills will complement the liberal arts education he’s receiving at Albertson College, Angresano said. “Mike has an enormous amount of potential because he will have a technical background to support the things he learns at ACI,” he said.

Peck’s love for Web design is twofold: “It’s fun because you can be creative with Web design, plus once you create a site you have an end product which you can show to others.”

Peck said he can’t imagine student life without computer technology. “Computers save a lot of time, and they remove a lot of waste - energy waste, paper waste and time waste.”

Peck says his success in Web design initially was sparked from his passion for mountain biking. While a student at Sandpoint High School, Peck decided to fill a niche in the market by creating a site devoted to his favorite sport. The site - www.y-ad.com/mountain - quickly attracted attention, and traffic climbed to around 300 Web surfers per day.

A high school teacher heard about the success of the site and asked Peck to create one for his high school. The experience of working closely with the teacher to create an accurate design for the school taught Peck about one of the most challenging aspects of Web design: communication between the designer and the customer.

“I found it tough getting information from the teachers,” he said. Peck learned quickly that people skills are one of the most important aspects of business.

Two years after starting Y-AD, Peck is learning more about the industry as an employee of The Network Group, a Boise-based company that employs about 60 people who provide Web design and technical support for businesses across the country.

This summer, Peck is working from his Bayview home via a laptop and a modem. He’s gained a broader perspective about the industry since starting his job at The Network Group last fall.

“I understand the logistics of my own business much more since I have worked at The Network Group,” he said. At The Network Group, Peck works on a team with graphic designers and a database programmer, along with other Web designers.

Peck says he is eager to become part of a technological revolution occurring at Albertson College. Thanks to a $2 million investment being made by the board of trustees, the college is upgrading equipment and classrooms.

Peck is serving as a student adviser to an overhaul of the college’s Web site. He’s also advising the economics department on its site and is helping students in the college computer labs design Web sites for personal use or for class projects.

Although he’s looking forward to the start of school in September, Peck is happily working on new projects for The Network Group.

“I can’t complain about learning new exciting things and also getting paid for it - all from the comfort of my own home,” he said.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FAST FACT

The business is geared to design and host sites for small businesses throughout Idaho.