I’ve been in the internet business my entire professional life. I saw how great this was all going to be and I wanted to be a part of it. I started out selling internet services for PSINet, one of the big three ISPs back in the late 1990’s. That’s where I learned about what it took to build web sites. I was excited! I had to be in that world, so I made my moves and found opportunities to get into the web site building game.
I ended up building a few sites from scratch as a Project Manager for a few government workgroups. That took me into the enterprise web hosting arena, where I got to work with companies like American Express, Hotmail (remember them), IBM and even Owens Corning (the makers of Pyrex®). Then I felt the call to head West and got myself into the digital news business, working as a digital producer for CMP (now United Business Media).
When the internet business imploded I was one of the many set adrift, looking for any way to stay in the business. That’s when I got the opportunity of a lifetime. My previous employer was looking for some freelance support for a new service. Since I already knew the internal systems, I was a perfect candidate. I knew nothing about freelancing, but I knew how to do the work. Then I met a few more freelancers and service providers who needed my help. Suddenly, I was a full-time freelancer! Word spread far and wide and the projects kept getting bigger! I needed help to do the work, turning me into a full fledged business.
18+ years later and I’ve had the opportunity to work on some really great projects, with some really amazing people.