Portfolio | Biography
Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Michael Hetman first developed skills in computer programming and graphic design during his early teens. Building upon this foundation, Michael pursued a full-fledged career in web design and marketing, launching his first website in 1995, while the Internet was still in its infancy.
In 1996, he was recruited as a web designer at InterPow, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web design firm based in Hackettstown, New Jersey. InterPow’s success grew rapidly during the formative years of the Internet, and became one of only a handful of options for northern New Jersey residents to get online. By 1999, its coverage had expanded into New York City and eastern Pennsylvania, but much larger competition eventually put an end to many smaller ISPs, including InterPow.
During InterPow’s initial run from 1996 to 1999, Michael was the lead web designer for the company, having built dozens of websites for small to medium sized businesses. From late 1999 until 2002, Michael ran InterPow independently as an online gaming portal, rechristened as InterPow.com.
In 1999, Michael embarked on a new career path with Music.com, soonafter to become a wildly popular destination for pop music news and culture. Michael spent two years at Music.com producing websites and interactive Flash promotions for well known artists such as Danzig, Serge Lopez, Placebo, Kid Rock, Paul Overstreet, Merle Haggard, and Ray J. In addition, Michael played an active press role at the company, interviewing such notable artists as Alice Cooper, the Violent Femmes, King Diamond and Oleander, and also contributed to album and concert reviews.
In 2001, Music.com expanded to a magazine format, published through a partnership with Jazziz Magazine. Although the magazine received wide circulation, it was discontinued after one issue. Music.com's primary investors, Citigroup, decided suddenly to cut funding in reaction to the historic dot com bubble crash. Plans for a second issue were scrapped and the company ceased operations shortly thereafter.
Michael then worked for two smaller companies before co-founding Accelseo in 2003, a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and web design studio. Accelseo was marketed as an all-in-one solution for companies looking to position their professional looking website toward the top of the search engine rankings. During this period of time, many firms focused on SEO at the expense of quality usable websites. Accelseo became an official vendor for ThomasNet, the largest directory of industrial products and services in America, and served its web design and SEO needs for the northern New Jersey and southern New York regional area. Accelseo forged relationships with numerous industrial manufacturers and distributors and pioneereed successful content driven SEO strategies that were in many ways, ahead of their time.
In 2005, Michael joined CMS Forex, an online foreign currency trading company. Acting as the sole web designer and adopting the title of Web Presence Coordinator, Michael commandeered much of the company’s early online marketing efforts, helping to generate a substantial and loyal customer base. For the year 2006, CMS Forex was ranked by Inc. Magazine as the 7th fastest growing financial company in the United States. Soonafter, CMS Forex opened offics globally. Michael also contributed many improvements to the company's proprietary software, VT Trader including its look and feel. In late 2010, a larger firm, Forex.com acquired most of CMS Forex’s assets and subsequently, Michael's employment ended.
Since this time, Michael has returned to freelance work and resurrected InterPow as a full service web design and marketing firm. Under InterPow, Michael was responsible for the complete branding and site design of college portals, College.com and OnlineCollege.com in 2011. From the time of its rebranding in May 2011 until Michael's final efforts in January 2012, College.com experienced greater than a 100% increase in traffic. In 2013, InterPow's company website was accepted into CSS Garden's website gallery at www.cssgarden.co.uk/profile/8580. CSS Garden is one of several destinations on the web that showcase distinguished examples of web design and css coding.
A few months after InterPow completed the design of The Tribe, a website for fitness entrepreneur and Beachbody coach Keith Callahan, Michael become a Beachbody coach himself, under Keith's leadership. Michael now helps others reach their fitness goals and eat healthy through rigorous at-home training and the scientifically designed nutrition product, Shakeology. To join Michael or learn more information, please visit Michael's Beachbody Page or Michael's Shakeology Page.
Michael, along with brother Greg, are also known for founding Iron Miners in 2005. Designed and maintained by InterPow, IronMiners.com is a destination for enthusiasts of American mining history. In 2006, the website received the prestigious Yahoo Pick of the Day award and in 2011, served as an inspiration for the novel Darkness, My Old Friend, by New York Times bestselling author, Lisa Unger. Displaying Michael's talents in web design, photography, writing, and music production, IronMiners.com provides a vivid experience for visitors seeking to discover the rich history of the country's deep mining heritage.
In 1996, he was recruited as a web designer at InterPow, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web design firm based in Hackettstown, New Jersey. InterPow’s success grew rapidly during the formative years of the Internet, and became one of only a handful of options for northern New Jersey residents to get online. By 1999, its coverage had expanded into New York City and eastern Pennsylvania, but much larger competition eventually put an end to many smaller ISPs, including InterPow.During InterPow’s initial run from 1996 to 1999, Michael was the lead web designer for the company, having built dozens of websites for small to medium sized businesses. From late 1999 until 2002, Michael ran InterPow independently as an online gaming portal, rechristened as InterPow.com.
In 1999, Michael embarked on a new career path with Music.com, soonafter to become a wildly popular destination for pop music news and culture. Michael spent two years at Music.com producing websites and interactive Flash promotions for well known artists such as Danzig, Serge Lopez, Placebo, Kid Rock, Paul Overstreet, Merle Haggard, and Ray J. In addition, Michael played an active press role at the company, interviewing such notable artists as Alice Cooper, the Violent Femmes, King Diamond and Oleander, and also contributed to album and concert reviews.
In 2001, Music.com expanded to a magazine format, published through a partnership with Jazziz Magazine. Although the magazine received wide circulation, it was discontinued after one issue. Music.com's primary investors, Citigroup, decided suddenly to cut funding in reaction to the historic dot com bubble crash. Plans for a second issue were scrapped and the company ceased operations shortly thereafter.
Michael then worked for two smaller companies before co-founding Accelseo in 2003, a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and web design studio. Accelseo was marketed as an all-in-one solution for companies looking to position their professional looking website toward the top of the search engine rankings. During this period of time, many firms focused on SEO at the expense of quality usable websites. Accelseo became an official vendor for ThomasNet, the largest directory of industrial products and services in America, and served its web design and SEO needs for the northern New Jersey and southern New York regional area. Accelseo forged relationships with numerous industrial manufacturers and distributors and pioneereed successful content driven SEO strategies that were in many ways, ahead of their time.
In 2005, Michael joined CMS Forex, an online foreign currency trading company. Acting as the sole web designer and adopting the title of Web Presence Coordinator, Michael commandeered much of the company’s early online marketing efforts, helping to generate a substantial and loyal customer base. For the year 2006, CMS Forex was ranked by Inc. Magazine as the 7th fastest growing financial company in the United States. Soonafter, CMS Forex opened offics globally. Michael also contributed many improvements to the company's proprietary software, VT Trader including its look and feel. In late 2010, a larger firm, Forex.com acquired most of CMS Forex’s assets and subsequently, Michael's employment ended.
Since this time, Michael has returned to freelance work and resurrected InterPow as a full service web design and marketing firm. Under InterPow, Michael was responsible for the complete branding and site design of college portals, College.com and OnlineCollege.com in 2011. From the time of its rebranding in May 2011 until Michael's final efforts in January 2012, College.com experienced greater than a 100% increase in traffic. In 2013, InterPow's company website was accepted into CSS Garden's website gallery at www.cssgarden.co.uk/profile/8580. CSS Garden is one of several destinations on the web that showcase distinguished examples of web design and css coding.
A few months after InterPow completed the design of The Tribe, a website for fitness entrepreneur and Beachbody coach Keith Callahan, Michael become a Beachbody coach himself, under Keith's leadership. Michael now helps others reach their fitness goals and eat healthy through rigorous at-home training and the scientifically designed nutrition product, Shakeology. To join Michael or learn more information, please visit Michael's Beachbody Page or Michael's Shakeology Page.
Michael, along with brother Greg, are also known for founding Iron Miners in 2005. Designed and maintained by InterPow, IronMiners.com is a destination for enthusiasts of American mining history. In 2006, the website received the prestigious Yahoo Pick of the Day award and in 2011, served as an inspiration for the novel Darkness, My Old Friend, by New York Times bestselling author, Lisa Unger. Displaying Michael's talents in web design, photography, writing, and music production, IronMiners.com provides a vivid experience for visitors seeking to discover the rich history of the country's deep mining heritage.