In 1990 near DC, I did lawn care & hauling. I ingratiated myself with a guy who did GSA auctions and had a PC shop. I did auctions and learned to fix hardware for 2 years. His shop closed and DC is super expensive. I moved my kid and pregnant wife to FL (inexpensive back then) in 92. Worked as an mechanic at a car lot and at a small local IT shop.
In 93 I got a programming scholarship to college. In my last year the org funding me was shuttered as part of the Contract with America. I graduated but without connections, getting hired here was difficult. Two years of resumes yielded one distant job offer.
During that time I did residential IT, which is about as fun as it sounds. I also handed out cards to every local biz and chatted up anyone who'd stand for it. Three years of that led to my first real client, an org for developmentally disabled adults (ARC) down south. I supported ARCs for years until I picked up a nearby automotive group.
I got sent back to zero a lot. The 08 meltdown hit car dealerships. I pivoted to local medical but market changes from the ACA ended that. Next was wife's MI (5 kids by then) and that chaos left me with 2 small clients until she left in 19.
During the entire 30 years, I had a friend and on/off biz partner. I gave him my ARC and pharma clients in 04 to focus on auto. In 19 he moved out of state and returned the pharma along with a web retailer. I picked up another med practice and am really busy sometimes.
Combined with income from 3 sons, we're making just enough to cover FLs (now) expensive bills.
In 1990 near DC, I did lawn care & hauling. I ingratiated myself with a guy who did GSA auctions and had a PC shop. I did auctions and learned to fix hardware for 2 years. His shop closed and DC is super expensive. I moved my kid and pregnant wife to FL (inexpensive back then) in 92. Worked as an mechanic at a car lot and at a small local IT shop.
In 93 I got a programming scholarship to college. In my last year the org funding me was shuttered as part of the Contract with America. I graduated but without connections, getting hired here was difficult. Two years of resumes yielded one distant job offer.
During that time I did residential IT, which is about as fun as it sounds. I also handed out cards to every local biz and chatted up anyone who'd stand for it. Three years of that led to my first real client, an org for developmentally disabled adults (ARC) down south. I supported ARCs for years until I picked up a nearby automotive group.
I got sent back to zero a lot. The 08 meltdown hit car dealerships. I pivoted to local medical but market changes from the ACA ended that. Next was wife's MI (5 kids by then) and that chaos left me with 2 small clients until she left in 19.
During the entire 30 years, I had a friend and on/off biz partner. I gave him my ARC and pharma clients in 04 to focus on auto. In 19 he moved out of state and returned the pharma along with a web retailer. I picked up another med practice and am really busy sometimes.
Combined with income from 3 sons, we're making just enough to cover FLs (now) expensive bills.