My name is Gary Warren and I live in beautiful Atlantic Canada.

Few of us started our careers online; right?

Firstly I'd like to give you my history (Hopefully in a nutshell.) 


Throughout my working life I’ve enjoyed some great and somewhat unique experiences. From a very early age I was involved with the family business. My dad had started a little shop in my home province of Newfoundland and we also had a modest farming operation as well. I essentially worked where and when I was needed. That could mean “trying” to round up some wayward cattle, offloading a tractor trailer or ship load of PEI spuds (Prince Edward Island potatoes) or even storing a load of hay bails in the loft of the old barn.

We also delivered groceries all over town and at Christmas we would always deliver a store calendar and a free turkey to our many customers. [Beat that Amazon!]  Astonishingly about 80 years later this business is still in operation and being run primarily by my brothers and one of my two sisters.

 Its sad and ironic that I should try to tell my story when its my father’s story that really deserves attention. He truly came from humble beginnings where as a boy he would knock on doors to find ANY work to make a nickle (Remember the nickle?) He later bought a horse and cart and would line up to make that nickle from some local merchant who’d make them wait for hours and hours and my dad told me some of these merchants could be downright mean and even spit tobacco right in the eyes of the “working class.”

 Dad wasn't very patient and would leave the line to go elsewhere to make that nickle and eventually partnered with a friend to start his business that 80 years later stands strong whereas most if not all these larger businesses have long since disappeared. Hats off to my dad AND my dear loving mother who stood with him in business and especially holding down the home front.  And hats off to my siblings of course that have also dedicated their whole lives to what I consider my dads legacy... One he essentially started with that horse and cart.  Love them all dearly.

 My home town had a local and usually prosperous fish plant and when there wasn't work at “Warren’s Store” I’d go make a buck there. I’d load trucks, offload trucks “ice” the fishing vessel as a stop gap income when I was a young teen. I even applied and got hired to work inside this plant but told them that I’d rather work outside when and where possible. So it wasn't long before I went from dealing with worms in cod fish, over lighted tables (As I recall.) to going out side and helping chip rust from the ships and painting or "Red Leading" over these areas to minimize the rusting.

In my time our family was not a seafaring family; not at all and several vessels were lost with “all hands” even in my time back then. We even lost our close neighbor who was washed overboard when I was a teen. I'd also heard the stories of cables breaking and striking sailors with devastating outcomes. Nonetheless I decided to go to sea if they ever needed someone  and sure enough 16 or 17 years old I got the call and off I went to "The Grand Banks" and some of the roughest seas imaginable and with little training... rather NO training... not even safety training as I recall.

However a few months later in the dead of winter, I made a second trip. This time on the same ship that my neighbor was lost off of. It was interesting and great money for a kid but the one lesson learned was that I wouldn't want to make it a career.

 Not long after that I went to the recruiters to apply for The Canadian Armed Forces. Soon after I found myself at Boot Camp in The Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. Now there's a eye opening experience for a young lad from "The Bay."

So where did I end up after all that training? You’ll never guess! Back on The Grand Banks on one of Canada’s fine Frigates! Oh well at least I felt safe when the storms hit. I always felt safe on those Naval ships; I really did.

 After about four years of seeing the world (Through a port hole.) I got “shipped” off to an airbase in West Germany.  As I recall I wasn't keen on going but it was an absolutely priceless experience and I got to see allot of that beautiful continent. I learned to Alpine ski!  And I even managed to "coerce" my elderly parents over for a visit. It was truly wonderful to show them the sites; good and bad. We even visited Dachau one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany back in March 1933. Yes quite an eye opener for us all.  On Mothers Day I took mom to see the tulips in Holland; acres and acres of tulips. She of course loved it!   

 It was shortly after this that I was transferred to another Air Base in Goose Bay Labrador; yet another culture shock especially after a four year European tour.

 Again I really enjoyed it and met my wife and mother of my dear kids there. My wife Rae-Lynn was also serving on the base as a Finance Officer. In Goose Bay there’s an abundance of outdoor activities and we particularly enjoyed the fishing and hiking. I also found another blessing while there; a lovely Samoyed puppy that I called Prima. (German for "great") A real beautiful dog that later had puppies. I MUST dig out those little baby "Polar Bear" pictures; SOOO cute!!

About three years later we were shipped off to Nova Scotia and here is where we kind of took root and raised our family. Its a beautiful province; absolutely gorgeous.

 After about two decades I  retired from my Air Force career. I stayed home to help with the growing family. They were involved with allot of team sports such as ice hockey and soccer and even rugby AND Circus Arts later on.

 I helped coach at their early stages and seldom if ever missed a game or a practice. I practically live on the soccer pitch or ice rink. To make ends meet I did some sales and this eventually led to online marketing as the world seemed to gravitate to the internet. 

Some of you may remember how the internet bubble or ".com" bubble burst back in the day. I remember but its certainly recovered well at this point.  Its here to stay without a doubt now.    However what I quickly realized is that to operate online and to have a successful online presence one needs proper tools such as a website with reliable hosting and auto-responder(s) to help build and communicate with your growing clientele.

These tools were once optional but today they are a necessity not only for an online business but even most brick and mortar businesses. All need at least some online presence. These powerful online tools can make or break today's businesses.  Trusted tools, resources and the knowledge to use them are an absolute MUST.

I've endeavored to make ListTutor.com a site that prides itself on delivering many free resources for ANY business. I sincerely hope it helps you move forward in your particular field. 

My dads legacy essentially started with that horse and cart back in the day.  How ironic that I start my business with a "mouse" Not sure he'd be amused. ;>) Thanks so much for visiting ListTutor.com  

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