Hey all. I have been dropping by the Fastlane Forums for the past year or so, reading and learning as much as I can, when I have had the time. Even though I have only mustered up one post, of no real value, I feel like I have already gotten to know so many of you from your stories. So instead of sitting in the shadows, I decided it was time to formally introduce myself.
What's funny is that I started typing out how I wanted my introduction post to read, and it turned into a short novel (I am an engineer and I tend to over think things). Now I don't want you to think that I wrote this extra long story about myself because I have some great story to share or that I am full of myself. The truth of the matter is that it is hard for me to discern what information from my past may be of value to others and what is just rambling. I have had a few runs at business ventures with moderate success (and failure) and if my experiences can help someone else who is just getting started to avoid the mistakes I made, then I think it is worth at least putting out there.
So instead of cluttering up the forums with some long story about my background, I decided to throw that information into a fastlane forums blog post for anyone that would actually want to read it.
That blog post is here: HERE
The TL;DR version of the blog post is that I just turned 36, have a wife and two daughters and I am no where near where I want to be professionally. I am here on this forum because I want to further my learning process and to try to find a way to give back to others at the same time. I feel this is a great community; full of leaders, inspiration and individuals willing share knowledge that you can't find anywhere else.
At the age of 25 I found a business partner and we started a residential custom electronics business (home theater, home automation, home audio etc.) and ran that for about 8 years. During that time we also dabbled with starting and branding an electronic cigarettes product, but failed due to my our limiting beliefs. We have since merged our custom electronics company with a larger, low-voltage integrator that works in the commercial sector and I have taken on a role within that organization that is responsible for the growth of development of commercial electronics integration.
But that is about to change as I do not believe my calling is to work for anyone else but myself. I believe I am meant to walk on a better path. So with that said, I am here to write the next page of my story. I am here to learn from those sharing knowledge here and give back where I can.
If you read my blog post or have any questions for me about the custom electronics industry or the products surrounding them, how I dealt with clients, how I found clients, how I handled service, the process I went through to merge my company or even my short lived side business in electronic cigarettes, please feel free to ask me anything at all. I am happy to share what I know.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you out there.