Ozarks Profile: Paul Seale

Tell us about your company.

I founded Alien Media in 2002. I don’t have any employees, but I work with a group of people who I contract with consistently to provide services for clients and help with the workload.

What’s the significance of the name? How did you choose it, and why?

It’s a reference to a song by Third Day, but also it applies because this business is different.

What prepared you for your work, and how did you come to own your own firm?

I graduated with honors in 1997 from Missouri State University with a degree in sociopolitical communications. But that fits in, because what I do is to help people get their messages across. An example of that is a Web site, noendbutvictory.com, a client’s site that deals with what’s happening in Iraq.

What’s been the most surprising thing you’ve learned as a small-business owner?

The most surprising thing has been just how far customer service will go for my business. Most of my stress from the job comes from being able to make sure that the clients get what they need. If I have a hosting problem … or the clients are not satisfied, that’s when I stress out. I don’t feel like I’m doing my job, so I guess it’s an attitude of servitude.

While you’re based here in southwest Missouri, your work has received some national attention. What can you tell us about that?

I helped Wannenmacher Advertising to create and develop the Web site for Welcome Home, the Branson event that honored the men and women who served in the Vietnam War. A segment by T. Trent Gegax of Newsweek appeared in msnbc.com, highlighting the Web site and the event, Welcome Home: A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans. On the segment, they demonstrated the Web site, moving through it, which was pretty neat.

What about the video game modification?

I did a mod for Starfleet Command 3. A mod is where you take an existing videogame and rework it, enhancing it or adding to it to make it do what you think it should. Of course, you can’t sell it or charge people for it, because the existing game belongs to the company that created it. My mod, Generations at War, was featured in PC Gamer, a magazine for the videogame industry. Also, on gamespot.com, Generations at War is ranked as one of the Top 100 modifications of 2005, and it has been downloaded about 60,000 times.

Where do your clients come from?

I have clients all across the United States, in Canada, and even a client in Iraq, who I met because he’s the uncle of someone that I used to work with. I would like to get more into political campaigning Web sites in the future, but it’s all about getting your name and your company’s name known in the right circles.

Tell us about your family.

My wife Carolyn works in X-ray and CT scans at Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. Our daughter, Deborah, is 3, and she’s in preschool. When Deborah gets older, I’ll still run my own business and tend to business things, but I’ll be there for her. Family means a lot to me, and I’m very thankful for the family I have.[[In-content Ad]]