I had been running my own small humble business for about a year.I had escaped the clutches of corporate America, and was drinking in freedom like a parched traveler at a desert oasis. Freedom you say… from what? I’m talking about the freedom many take for granted daily. The freedom that so many people who work for smaller companies have. Freedom from micro-management and big brothers’ ever present (dare I say resource wasting) watchfulness for the first time in years. I was happy, free, and making my way.

I had been working on finishing my education for some time, so my small upstart “Home Inspection” business was very part time. After I completed my Bachelors I wasn’t exactly sure what I really wanted to do. I enjoyed my business, but it wasn’t very fulfilling. As a Gen X’r (that probably suffers from mild ADD) I couldn’t see myself doing the same thing day in and day out. Growing that business also began to get increasingly difficult.  The Real-estate market had slowed to a crawl due to the Fed  hiking the key interest rate to a point that many people stopped buying homes. Little did I know that my entire career path and my life was about to change.

A good long time friend approached me with an opportunity to build a division, a business unit within the company he was working for. The idea sounded great, challenging and even fun but I wasn’t convinced yet. He intended to to build web sites and offer on-line marketing as his degree was in Web Management. Since I was apprehensive he said “we will market your Home Inspection site and you will see.” I was very leery…everyone knows you get your work as a home inspector by referral from real-estate agents. Well I was wrong! As soon as we began to run PPC campaigns, my phone started to ring. I was getting more work than ever before and in it was happening during the slowest time the market had seen in many years. The impact this had on me was tremendous. It was funny how, the more work came in, the less of it I wanted to be doing, and the more PPC and on-line things I wanted to be involved in. I found myself convinced! I ramped down my business, went to work with my long time friend and began to build the business unit he set out to make a success of.

That was nearly a year ago. We have expanded our skill sets, we have generated significant revenue, and have gained the approval and full support of our company. They have also  given us the control to run things as we deem necessary. The best part about it is, we help people! People conducting business need a good web presence. Add to that, that a site is only as good as it’s ability to be seen! Without traffic to a site, it’s a Porsche in the garage without an engine! The knowledge and learning curve keeps my ADD at bay, and people are ecstatic about the results we provide! There simply hasn’t been a more rewarding feeling regarding work for myself than this has proved to be. I know I will be involved with the web and web marketing until I retire.

David Burke

Web Development/Marketing Professional