i’m not sure exactly what i would be today if not for that day back in 1984 when my dad sprung for one of the first macintosh computers. those original macs, with their loud clunky keyboards and tiny black-and-white monitors sold for about $2500 back in the day. a lot of money, especially in a time when mainstream society was still deciding exactly how useful computers really were. but i digress. the thing changed my life. i doubt anyone would have guessed it but my eventual career in design and then marketing was cemented that day.
my dad is a newspaper publisher and he gave me part-time and summer work at his office. i knew photoshop, pagemaker and quark like the back of my hand before i was out of high school. when i graduated with my b.a. in political science from emory in atlanta, i didn’t exactly have a career path… i did, however, have more graphic design experience than most any design school grad. within about a year i had parlayed my mac skills into a fairly high-paying job as a designer and production manager for a now-defunct internet security firm.
it was during this time that i was introduced to two highly influential forces in my life. the first was my wife, michele and the second was strategic marketing. both were good for me and have challenged me tremendously in the years since.
my next major episode was with kids ii, an alpharetta, georgia-based manufacturer of baby toys and products with global sales and distribution. i worked in marketing and got my first shot at management. i got to exercise both my creative and strategic muscles and, after a couple of years, was put in charge of their marketing communications department. michele and i got married. i got my m.b.a. in marketing. our daughter isabel was born in 2005. isabel’s middle name is “apple”, by the way. life was good.
but nothing lasts forever and i decided that i needed to break away from the corporate rat race. and after spending nearly a decade working exclusively for small and family-owned firms, i realized that i had a lot to offer the smb market.
so, in 2006, i jumped feet first into entrepreneurship and started my first “real” business, the zodo group. in 2007, zero-g creative was born. and my son ari too.
i live in johns creek, georgia — about 20 miles or so north of atlanta — with the wife and family. i am still running my businesses full time and wouldn’t have it any other way. i spend my time helping other entrepreneurs and smb executives build their businesses and i enjoy it thoroughly.
