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THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008
Travels of a Small Business Web Designer
... and getting inspired along the way
I'm in a familiar place right now.
I'm tucked away in the corner of a Starbucks in LAX, at a premium spot with both an outlet and WiFi. I have a coffee, a muffin, and my laptop - for two years, this used to be my daily routine.
During the initial years of starting/growing Drive Thru Interactive (a small business web design firm), I was a fixture in almost every Starbucks within a 10 mile radius. First, in the Boston area, then in Tucson. It got to the point that I was on a first name basis with nearly every barista in that desert/mountain town, and I met a lot of great people (some of whom are still great friends and clients). It sounds funny saying it, but the ushering of patrons and curious coffee drinkers kept me focused - I was able to spend 6-8 hours at a time on a project, moving at a pretty good clip.
I used to love the buzz of the people and the atmosphere. Not surprisingly, those who camped out for an hour or so were small business people. Meetings would take place, some were overly sales-oriented, while others were inspiring. Occasionally, I could hear a fellow web designer chatting with a client about a project, which would instantly provide a shot of adrenaline and invoke motivation - more than any triple shot of espresso ever could. It's tough to explain, but those that understand are probably feeling that rush right now.
These days, things are much different. Drive Thru Interactive now operates out of a fully functional web production studio, and I find inspiration/motivation in other ways (in some cases, by reading blogs like this one, written by colleagues or competitors). Sitting here in this airport Starbucks brings back some excellent memories, and has rejuvenated me this morning (after a 6am flight out of Modesto). I'm sure it will carry throughout the weekend, as I'm flying back to Boston to meet with clients and work on a few Internet marketing projects with my colleague, Jim.
I think I'll have to make a couple of these occasional morning sessions at Starbucks a part of my weekly routine. Before now, I never realized how much of an impression those days left on me.
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Blogged by Rick on Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 11:06:02 AM EST
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