When Life Gives You Lemons

I have been entrepreneurial for over two decades now. Probably since around the age of 14 when it became evident to me that one day I would want to have ownership over something. Although being that young clarity doesn’t really transpire often so I was uncertain of the answer. Being an Eastern European of all things also didn’t help things.

The majority of my childhood was spent living in a communist country. There were a lot of restrictions and limitations. It was probably why false hope was quite the constant for me growing up. Little did I know that God had a bigger plan for me though. Even though that plan began many years ago it is as of this day still fully unfolding. My arrival to the Land of The Free was in fact full of fear. As a child it was clearly a completely foreign territory for me and that frighten the shit out of me.

Growing up in a Western worldI faced a ton of challenges. Unfortunately my parents who immigrated to this country were unfamiliar with the system and could not extend much help on that front. Particularly when it came to education, dealing with peer pressure, and charting a path in life. Although I have to admit that both of my parents had quite a bit of common sense and willpower to succeed. That is one particular trait that uphold and am absolutely thankful for being able to inherit that from them.

Since 1994 I’ve been striving to push forward and succeed in everything I set my mind towards. From middle school, high school, and then college the path wasn’t easy at all. Not that there were any expectations of immediate success in the first place though. Majority of my middle school and high school days were full of peer pressure and teenage type shenanigans. For some people I was the outcast while others perceived me as one of the most down-to-Earth individuals they’ve ever met.

Discovering My Passion & Direction (Sort of Speak)

After high school panned out alike every other high school student I was embarking upon my college path. Truth be told I was so uncertain of what direction I wanted to pursue that the thought of college in itself frustrated me on daily basis. My high school days were also quite unusual. At least for the average American high school student. I’m certain that a lot of it was mainly due to cultural differences though. Fitting in wasn’t really the easiest thing for an Eastern European kid.

Truth be told college didn’t really teach me much of anything. I was an IT major. Sure, the technical aspects are something that I have an interest towards but definitely not something I wanted to pursue as a career. Funny thing is that I wish that became clear to me early on so my focus could’ve been shifted elsewhere.

They say that things happen for a reason. At least I’m led to believe so anyway.

Embarking Upon New Ventures

Fast forward to 2006. A year or two before what later became known as the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression. It was in 2006 when I believe doors began to open for me. Being a tech geek and having a long-time interest in the web, this seemed more of a realistic career approach for me. You see, I had been on the web before the web was really a thing dating back to 1995. Back in those days though when AOL was booming nobody really thought that this internet thing would take flight.

It was in 2006 when I took a complete leap of faith and got my first job in the web world. At the time it was all about Search Engine Optimization and the thing that was booming the most. Little did I know that this particular skill set would turn into a career choice for me.

From 2006 until 2016 I’ve been able to build quite the momentum. Something that I am extremely proud of having worked non-stop to where I am today.

• I learned SEO and Search before it was really even a thing for business.
• I worked with corporations having managed multi-million dollar Paid Media campaigns. Mainly Google AdWords focused though.
• I turned into an avid Social Media aficionado and able to forge new relationships. Those relationships led to new gigs.
• I have trained interns in the early days. Who knew that other college kids graduating and entering the digital media space would be completely incoherent. Yes, unfortunately.
• I spent 4 years building a curriculum for an SEO/SEM course. Part of the UMSL Digital continued education program. (the bastards were too lame to retain credit for what I accomplished after my departure). Little did I know that this would turn out to be one of the most successful courses in the entire Midwest.
• I have worked with boutique agencies and reputable companies all around the U.S. on their digital strategies.

The list goes on and on. Feel free to connect with me LinkedIn if you’d like. I’m always up for meeting other like minded business professionals.