For the past 2 years I had been all cozy in my job working as a web designer for a company called Hitchfinder.com.

I worked on over 14 large commercial e-commerce web sites coding CSS and HTML, creating and editing graphics and doing a dozen other project related tasks. Whatever needed doing, I just jumped right in and took care of it.

It was a nice job. The best thing about it was the huge amount of knowledge in this field I learned on the job working with a team of other web professionals.

Well, I did also get a really cool 24″ iMac.

It was an automotive parts company so I had to learn a whole new industry front to back.

The economy and the $4 a gallon gas finally caught up with the company and I got caught up in a layoff that sent 1/3 of the company to the unemployment office.

So I have decided that I am going to charge out on my own and try the freelance route and try and make my money on the internet without an employer.

Ok, that sounds really stupid. As a freelancer, each client you work with is essentially an employer.

Let’s just say I want to make my fortune on the internet. I know you have to start somewhere, so this is my starting point of reference.

The methods I have in my toolbox are…

  • Web Design
  • E-Commerce
  • Graphic Design
  • eBay
  • Internet and Affiliate Marketing

My rules of conduct for myself…

  • Earn enough so my beautiful wife Ruthie can retire (see pic below)
  • Do it legally
  • Do it ethically
  • Have fun

An image from the cruise we took in August, 2008

Click image for larger view

That’s my wife Ruthie and myself at the beach in Cozumel, Mexico from our August, 2008 Carnival cruise on board the Ecstasy from Galveston, Texas. We took our three boys, Joshua, David and Jonathan for a well deserved 5 night vacation. We love going on cruises because you can just totally relax, get really pampered and get to sample tons of exquisite food you normally don’t eat.

So please join along for the ride and let’s see where this takes us. I hope I learn as much as you do along the way.