I met Martin on WRC about 6 years ago and we did some training courses together, he became a mentor for me as he always seemed to have the answers for any puzzle I was struggling to unpick. Over the years we have spent many hours on the phone, across the pond, solving problems mostly mine but occasionally his. There was very little I could offer him and so much he offered me. He was a fantastic teacher and taught me so well that our calls became fewer and contact sadly rare. His mother is British and lived with him so when he wouldn’t understand something I said on the phone he’d shout to him mom who would explain, he was obviously so very fond of her.

I am sorry I didn’t make the time to chat and I will treasure all the times we did have – Martin was a lovely man, so generous with him time and knowledge and I am so pleased to have known him. I am so sad to have only learned of this tragic news nearly a year later. Makes you realise that life is short and its time to slow down. I’ll miss you Martin, RIP.

Yes, he planned on making a will. Yes, he planned on taking care of all of his programmers and clients. His illness took him by storm, so much so, that I even typed messages for him one afternoon because he could only dictate due to the intense pain he was suffering. His unfinished business is taking it’s toll on a lot of people but Martin sincerely thought he had more time to sort it all out.

I lost a best friend on October 19th, 2009. My other best friend flew in from Miami on the following Sunday to lay dear Martin to rest. You folks only knew him as a smart SEO operator, but I knew him personally. Many of you would be surprised that he was the ROADIE’S ROADIE to many a famous rock star including Alice Cooper, Grand Funk, Joe Walsh, Bob Seger, and many, many more (and this is WHEN they were at the top of their careers). Those of you who knew him personally know what a gentle soul he was. I am a better man because he was my friend and I’ll miss him for a very long time.

To Martin’s family, my condolences. The death of a loved one is not easy to cope with. May you be blessed to remember all of the good things about Martin and to hold onto those memories.

It’s actually all in a self hosted wiki (open source download – tikiwiki.com), and my two key employees do help keep things / processes current, and over the past year we’ve found it helpful to use certain sections for training newly hired interns.

All usernames, passwords too, are kept as a master list. not in a safety deposit box, though that makes sense too. Thanks for the reminder, and may Martin rest in peace.

Great to hear from you. It was stunning to hear about Martin. I had heard he was sick, but didn’t know how bad it was. I agree that it is vital to have a backup so clients aren’t left high and dry.

In another web group that I belong to, an associate died suddenly, at her desk, a young woman who just had a baby 10 weeks before. It made us keenly aware that it was not only really difficult for the family to cope with, but to try and manage or discover what to do for her business clients must have been a nightmare.

That prompted me to do detailed documentation on every project/client, so that if anything were to happen, customer and project information would be easily accessible.
Another thing to consider is WHO to contact about handling customer accounts. Would your family know? Or do you leave clients to find new designers/developers/SEO on their own? (especially if you don’t have a staff who can do this)