Ever seen the movie SLC Punk? Besides having a kick-ass soundtrack of solid 80’s punk and a good look at what happens when one ingests too much acid at once, there’s a strong story about growing up and what each person faces. It’s somewhat ironic that the movie came out the year I graduated high school. I was one of those pissed off punk rock kids, completely indifferent towards life and not really sure what to do. So I did what any suburban kid would do: began a career in the financial services industry. When I left it 10 years later, I swore I’d never work in another office, ever again.
So naturally, 2 years later (almost to the day), I’m joining BlueGlass Interactive as their Senior WordPress Developer.
Wait a minute…did I say I wasn’t gonna “sell out” or “work for the man” again? Yep, I sure did. But I’ve been wrong before, and I’ll probably be wrong again. After all, all I ever wanted to do was build things. I kind of fell into the other aspects of my business. I don’t like sales. I don’t care for marketing. I don’t even like talking much about myself. Unfortunatly, all of those things are kind of required when running your own business. While I never much bought into the “I’m an entrepenuer, therefore I’m a fucking unicorn magician” school of thought, there’s a lot to be said for the amount of time and effort it takes to build something from nothing. Which is what I did with Reaktiv Studios. So why give that up to have to, among other things, wear pants?
Trust me when I say that the requirement of pants weighed heavily into my decision. But at the end of the day, I want to build things. It’s why I get up in the morning, why I can’t sleep half the time at night. It’s why I write functions with soap suds while taking a shower, and a few times dictated code to the passenger in my truck while I was driving. I don’t want to worry about much else. I’m simple like that. So after attending their conference in Tampa in September, then doing a bit of contract work with them, joining BlueGlass quickly because a no-brainer, In other words, I’ll get to do much of the same style of work I’m doing now, only I get to have a kick ass team around me and folks who are just as passionate about search, marketing, and solid content as I am about building awesome things with WordPress.
Now, I’m not shutting down my business. In fact, this move will allow me to be extremely selective with what projects I do (and don’t) take on, who I choose to work with, and what I will charge since I no longer have to make sure I pull in X dollars a month. Security (and benefits to boot!) is a nice feeling to have. And, while I may not be the most sociable person around, I do miss having that real life interaction with folks who are truly driven by what they do.
Even if I have to wear pants.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Sorry to hear about the pants things, bro.
Dude.
So unbelievably stoked for you. Like #EpicStoked even! Having made a similar transition/decision this summer when I came over to C2R, I can appreciate the thought process, emotional factors. And the pants thing. Because coming in to an office every day, that’s no longer optional.
Big congrats buddy! And give it 6 months…I bet you can work on the pants thing with them
That’s rad dude, congrats! fuck what other people think. Oddly enough I was just watching an interview with The Black Keys defending their right to sell their music to beer companies and sit coms. .. Anyhow… It’s all about what (positive) freedoms this partnership offers you, and also how many zeros come after the first few numbers
-T.
p.s. loved that line in the movie too. hah.
Financial stability is not to be taken lightly. AND you get to keep building things. You’re doing the right things for all the right reasons. I’m geeked for you.
One of these years, when I finally get to meet you at a WordCamp someplace, I’ll give you a high five.
Congrats, man. Best of luck!
Congrats, man! I agree with torbjorn… fuck what others think. I “bought in” a while back for the same reasons… I just wanted to build things (plus having a kiddo sort of changes dynamics…). And to hell with the social media egg sucking. Good on you, man!
Congrats. You’ll kill it, or them.
Provided you can get used to the pants thing, I think you’ve made the right move. I’m kinda jealous actually.
Andrew, one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time about work and happiness. Love it. Congrats too!
Extremely cool.
Congrats Andrew!
Congratulations! It sounds like a perfect fit, despite the pants thing.
You know, I totally get it. I started working on my own because I don’t like waiting for permission to do things. And I like my autonomy. But, if I had the opportunity to do that with other people, I might consider it. You just never know.
I hope you get to make lots and lots of kick-ass stuff.