Ever since I was younger I had the dream of starting and running my own business. It took me 25 years to figure out where I wanted to start and I would literally beat myself up everyday for not knowing what I was going to do for a living. I have been working in a restaurant for the last 4 years and everyday I look at the people that have been there for 10 years serving people, making the same money and then blowing it at the bars. Some with dreams, some with out dreams but which ever way you look at it, neither side is pursuing that dream. This was one of my many motivations to get the ball rolling early in the right direction.

After I graduated high school I went straight to a community college because I had no idea where I wanted to begin but I always had this burning fire under me to help motivate me and point me in the right direction. I took some random “easy A” classes so I could make it into the biggest school in my home town, Virginia Commonwealth University. This school is one of the best schools around and I decided to pursue a degree in Business Management because everything is business and I can apply this degree to everything in life. I was so sure that this was the degree I should be in until I read in an article that 85 percent of all businesses fail in the beginning years. I am not one to ever quit on something so I took a semester off and thought about how I could fix this, how can I help people? My answer, computers and technology.

Information Systems is a degree that colleges offer, which is networking and basic computer knowledge on a business level. When I found this program I immediately changed degrees and knew that I made the right decision. Through all the computer classes, I found a world in which would push businesses to the top, give them edge, and also allow me to put a little bit of my style into each business. That information systems part was web design.

With out web design and web development where would the internet be? There wouldn’t be one, well there would be the “internet” but everything would be plain black and white text. Could you imagine Facebook with no pictures, no color, just Arial text with someones name and information. There would be no face in book, the site would simply be Book.com. If that was the case, you may as well just be searching randomly through the white pages for someone to date. Web development has made everything you see and read online possible and people view the web in different aspects. Take this example: Have you ever worked in a restaurant and eaten in that same restaurant? There are two different worlds. When you sit down in the restaurant you are enjoying yourself and relaxing, not thinking about much. Working in that same restaurant you are constantly running, stressing, and worrying about which table needs what. What I am saying is that there are two sides to everything especially web design. Before I realized that I wanted to build websites, I would just browse the web searching for the latest skate or surf video with nothing else on my mind. Now I browse the web and I look at different color schemes, the format, the body, and the style of each website. I bookmark sites I like, not just because I enjoy the content, but because I enjoy the layout of the site.

The hardest thing about starting a business is getting your foot in the door, but the most important thing is to never quit, even if your foot gets slammed in the door numerous amounts of times. The classic “word of mouth” to me, is still the best way to get anything started. The whole concept of face to face is rare nowadays because everyone likes to hide behind a computer screen or even the phone for that matter to do business. I have been visiting different businesses around my area, handing out business cards, meeting everyone, informing them of who I am, what I do, and how I can help. I have had 90 percent more success from the people I visited face to face than the ads I have posted on Craigslist, reddit, or any other social network.

I am in the beginning stages of development but my knowledge and artistic way of creating websites has been long in the making. Staying positive, having a good mindset, being fully motivated, meeting people, and knowing the right people are some of the most important factors to turning that 85 percent failure rate into a 0 percent failure rate. Failure is not an option and it shouldn’t be in anyone’s mind. Start small, think big, keep your feet on the ground and head in the clouds are the keys to success.