Today marks a very important day for myself, as I officially put in my 3 weeks at WildCard Systems after 5 long AND short years of employment.
Wow, 5 years, every time I think of that number it still fascinates me. My creative role has been a constant shift year in, and year out since my first day back on Dec. 3rd, 1999. I’ve grown as a person, an artist, and a steadfast entrepreneur learning the in valuables of making contacts, customer service, and attention to detail. My position here at WildCard has honestly molded me into the individual I am today. My goals, my desires, my visions for how I want to tackle the business world has come because of the environment I’ve placed myself in.
I was hired right out school at Advanced Media Group. They were a fairly small web design studio at the time, with 5 employees and a variety of clients. Luckily, business was extremely steady as the dot-com industry was on the unknowing brink of disaster months later. I was 20 years old at the time, fresh out of school, with a strong passion to learn. My eyes were wide open during this time of my life, as I was being stimulated from life in general. My career, my co-workers, a new car, the power of a budget, a new apartment and roommate, a degree underneath my belt – I was fully engaged in unknown territory and I was loving life.
It still dumbfounds me to think of the lack of creative and technical skill I possessed at that time of my life. I THOUGHT I knew a lot, but I was only beginning the journey to becoming an educated Designer. I STILL have a long road ahead of me, and will constantly feel as though there is something more to learn. This concept makes itself more and more evident day by day. This is a very talented, dynamic industry and one would be silly to think they are a purveyor of all knowledge without a successful track record to prove it. As I’ve gained experience and grown as a student of Art, the intimidation factor has exponentially increased. Creativity is all around us, and at times it can be a bit frustrating knowing that I’ll probably only be able to concentrate and excel in just a few areas. If you are an artist, or in a trade of similar nature – you can completely empathize with me. But, I digress.
I had no clue that the next 5 years would bring me a crazy sequence of events and experiences. I witnessed WildCard buy out AMG during my first month of employment. I had a front row seat to a company’s transition to the corporate world, a mass explosion of spending and growth, and then the eventual bust a little over a year later. I’ve taken part in helping a company (WildCard) try to recover from such a dynamic range of success, as I emphatically continued my pursuit of personal business. I’ve watched some of the most talented design firms go under, because they simply implemented horrible business models. In hindsight, I probably should have been taking detailed notes or relaying daily thoughts into a small personal journal during this time period. But, I’ll never ultimately forget the events that transpired over the last 5 years and the mighty rollercoaster of emotions I went through. The ins and outs of WildCard’s path to becoming a successful private company has really been a godsend as a young entrepreneur. I’ve taken that knowledge, and already have applied some of those experiences and knowledge to my own business.
When I incorporated in 2001, my expectations weren’t extremely high at the time. I had serious dreams, but I’m also a realist and understood that the web industry had taken a serious blow with the dot-com bust. Businesses were still in shock, and people were not completely aware yet of how beneficial the web was from many angles. Bad timing eh? Well, it was a difficult time for a young artist in the web world, we all knew the potential but had troubles conveying this to weary clients with tight budgets. As I pursued new work, I had my small moments of success but, more frequently, I just couldn’t obtain that large/established client I needed. As my stimulation at WildCard began to plateau around the beginning of 2003, I found myself at a cross roads with my future. Should I go back to school, or should I keep pursuing the dream of owning a design studio? My intuition told me to remain patient, and God sent me a sense of direction around the summer of 2003.
I persevered through this time with optimism, and a true passion for my career. I had launched my new A2M Interactive website earlier in the year, and obtained interest from Ming Court – an Oriental restaurant in the heart of tourism here in Orlando around July. I competed with one of the most popular firms here in the Orlando area, and was able to land them as my first big client. The budget provided the freedom to really go all out, and the site was a complete creative success. I can honestly pin point this client as being the spark that I needed to make this dream of mine go into motion. From that point on, it was a chain reaction of new business, making serious contacts, and a steady growth of revenue and opportunity. There was no turning back now.
So here I am today, and I find myself on the edge of another buy out. My very own design studio and dreams have “bought out” so to speak my full attention. I currently have over half a dozen clients, and have finally started to make a name for myself as a designer in the Central Florida area. I’ve endured through the realization that I have to “wear many hats”, and I remain very confident with the expectations I’ve placed on myself and the company. 2005 brings the birth of a dream, multiple challenges, and a sense of serious accomplishment as I begin working for myself full-time.
“For every ending, there is a new beginning.”
