Start with what needs to work.
We look at what needs to happen, what already works and what you and your staff can comfortably maintain.
Home A business owner’s perspective.
Meet Mike Duckworth
A business owner’s perspective.
A technical background.
Web development and enterprise IT taught me how systems work. Running a retail business taught me what matters when they don’t.
The person behind Waterside
Hi, I’m Mike.
I started my career in IT, working at Rayonier and Georgia-Pacific before becoming IT Director for MAP International. Technology was my profession. Fishing was what I loved. Eventually, I found a way to bring the two together.
A move toward web design and the fishing industry took me to the Florida Keys, where I raised my family and spent about six years running the day-to-day business at Florida Keys Outfitters. Along with the website and email campaigns, I managed the systems behind the business, including Lightspeed and QuickBooks. I got to experience technology from the other side: as the person depending on it to keep a business moving.
Along the way, I built and maintained websites and helped businesses and nonprofits with online sales, marketing and everyday systems. That mix still shapes how I work. I care about the technical details, but also about whether something makes sense for the person who has to use it.
Now I’m in Palatka, with roots that go back much further. I was born in Jacksonville, and my grandfather lived here on Waterside—the street that gave this business its name. Fishing the St. Johns River with him started a lifelong love of the water. Being here connects me to a river that’s part of my history and the livelihood of this town.
Waterside Solutions brings those parts of my life together: a career in technology, experience running a business and a connection to this place. I help businesses improve their websites, online stores and everyday systems. You work directly with me, from figuring out what needs attention to getting the work done.
Mike DuckworthOwner, Waterside Solutions · Palatka, Florida
Explore my experience How that shapes the work
Understand it.
Then build it.
Talk to the person doing it.
You explain the business to me. I work through the decisions and implementation with you.
Know what happens next.
You know what I’ll do, what it will cost and what I need from you before we start.
Palatka roots. Florida reach.
Built here.
Connected beyond it.
I’m based in Palatka and available to help businesses across Northeast Florida and throughout the state, working remotely or in person depending on the project.
Work directly with Mike
Tell me about the business you’re building.
Tell me about your business and what needs to change. I’ll help you work out the right starting point.