Gerard Spinks UndagroundMilli

We’ve all heard the saying that chasing money is NOT healthy. For years, my company was based in the Silicon Valley. Great clients, great money. I never had to go anywhere and serviced clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. That was until the dot com implosion and everything came crumbling down.

After the planes bombed the World Trade Center Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, the sector that I primarily made money in pretty much went belly up. When the planes hit the buildings and my brother called and asked if I saw it, I sat there and knew at that time that my corporate clients would be tough to find.

From 2002-2006, I was on the road. Forced into being a road warrior whether I liked it or not. I had a small child just born and here suddenly daddy was on the road not even seeing what was happening in her beautiful and growing life. I was now chasing money and going to whatever city had a client.

Although based in Atlanta, Georgia in the southern region of the United States of America, I was now servicing clients in Augusta, GA, Charleston, SC, New York City, Secaucus, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Davenport, Iowa, Memphis, TN, and back to Atlanta. People were always telling me that Atlanta was this boom market and that everyone was doing great there. What I found in Atlanta for my industry was FAR from booming and FAR from making money as a technology service provider.

I was chasing money, living in and out of the Hampton Inn, Marriott Suites, and Extended Stay America hotels across the country. I was depressed, out of shape, lonely, but making money on these contracts. I lived in hotels 4 days out of the week and even gave up my house in Atlanta because I couldn’t see why I was living there. I would come back to Atlanta and stay in a hotel. I would then fly right back out on Monday morning on a 6 am flight.

I decided to change the entire ball game. I decided to learn how to make money on my website. I learned about search engine optimization. I learned Google AdSense and Google Adwords. I took classes and learned everything that I could to become a mass marketer and get products out there in a massive way to increase my website exposure and increase my ability to sell. I learned how to sell people what they want, not what I always wanted to sell them.