Yesterday I was contacted by a company about the possibility of doing some contract work. The recruiter had stumbled upon my web portfolio, liked what she saw, and asked if I was interested in taking new projects. I love getting messages like this that I know aren’t spam and are genuine interest in me and my work.

After looking into the company via there web site and a few google searches, the opportunity seemed excellent. A solid company that works with big names and does very good work. So I emailed back, wrote a bit about my experience, and said I was interested to hear what kind of work they were looking to have done.

This morning I get a phone call back from the company. I love getting new clients and new work so I get excited when things seem to move along so smoothly. And then I hear the words “here in the Loop.” As a former resident of Chicago, now living in New Jersey, my heart drops a bit. Where did this person get the impression that I still lived in Chicago? A quick review of my site and a slap on the forehead later, I discovered my own idiocy. “I’m 23, originally from South Jersey, currently the proud new renter of a Chicago studio apartment in Lincoln Park.” Kind of hard to misinterpret that.

In the end, the contract was for some on-site work, and I had to decline, but I think we both had a chuckle at my expense. The event drove home the importance of keeping a very active eye on your web brand. I had unknowingly been spreading misinformation about myself and my business, and simply put, that’s not cool. When a business doesn’t properly represent itself on its own website, both the business and the customer suffer. I highly recommend that everyone take a moment today and review your own about or contact pages. I doubt everyone’s life changes as drastically and frequently as mine has in the past 6 months, but even little things matter. New email, different hours, raised prices, etc. Your website is your interactive, international 24/7 store-front window. Treat it as such. Lesson learned.

On January 2, 2008, 90 Percent Gravity LLC was officially formed. After three months into business for myself, there is good news to report. I’m surviving. Better then surviving. Business is going very well.

The majority of my programming time has been spent working as the developer of a promising Ruby on Rails website, FlashGarden. Sign up, good people, and look for a launch before the end of the second quarter. Working with an intelligent, tech-savvy startup team has made it very easy to enjoy being their hired gun. It is by far my biggest undertaking yet and is going to be a rather large programming feather in my cap. This project has solidified my love for Ruby on Rails, and pushed me to explore far deeper into the rabbit hole of programming then I’d like to admit. Consider me addicted.

In addition to this project I have been a part of a few side projects. I had the pleasure of adding a few hours to the new Slicehost website, designed and developed by Steve Smith, the man who helped me set up my first RSS feed reader over three years ago on my first day at the Notre Dame Web Group. I’ve owned a slice for almost 15 months now (this site is hosted on it), and it has been my favorite server experience. Do yourself a favor, get a slice.

I’ve also been working with Chas Grundy on a Tim O’Connor designed site which will be launched within the next week or so. As much as I love the east coast, I will always jump at any chance to work with my South Bend crew. Look for that site soon. I also had the opportunity to do some Rails work for Acidblue Ltd., which was a great deal of fun. I look forward to working with the company again.

All in all, I’m very happy for just starting things off. When I first started the business I took a part-time job cleaning to ensure I’d have enough cash to pay the bills. It’s a bit scary not knowing whether work will come in or not. I’m glad to say that it quickly became apparent that my time was much better put to use at my laptop screen, and I soon felt secure enough in the workflow to quit the distractions. (On a side note, nothing will make you work harder towards building a business then cleaning toilets.)

It feels very good waking up everyday knowing I’m in control of my day and my profession. As I get more comfortable running the business, doing the paperwork, and controlling my work hours, I can feel myself starting to hit my stride. That means there is much to come. I’m learning, growing, living, and coding it up. Here’s to a rewarding and successful first quarter at 90 Percent Gravity LLC, and to continuing the dream of this developer, the freedom to live my life and leave my mark.