Today marks six months I have been in business as Sprung Interactive LLC.  It has been an incredible ride and it has only just begun.  What have I been doing?  Oh, just about everything…WordPress modifications, themes, plugins, installs…Learning a new PHP framework…maintaining a high volume e-commerce site…learning about SEO & PPC marketing…bringing on new clients…meeting new people…spending more time with my family.  I have had nothing but massive support from family, friends and colleagues.  Thanks to all of you.

So here is what I want to attack in the next six months…

• Learn CodeIgniter PHP framework.
• Find trusted developers and designers to send some of my work to.
• Continue working and refining a couple of key projects that will always be part of my life.
• Find new opportunities to work on with some of my most respected colleagues.
• Do work I’m proud of.
• Keep being a good father and husband.

I also wanted to share some links to resources that I check multiple times a week.

• FreelanceSwitch – Great blog for freelancers.
• Stack Overflow – a Q&A resource for developers
• Experts Exchange – a MUST for a freelancer that doesn’t want to spin on an issue all day.
• SEOBook – Great subscription service to tap into SEO professionals and their knowledge.
• Woopra – Realtime analytics.  Makes me feel like Lex Luthor when I use it.
• SitePoint – Blogs, Books & Courses for web professionals.  Great resource!  Got me caught up on all that CSS goodness.
• Tuts+ – Resources and Tutorials for the designer and developer.

Welcome to my first blog entry as owner and sole employee of Sprung Interactive LLC!

I have been a gainfully employed web developer and manager for the last 17 years.  In that time I have met some amazing people and learned a tremendous amount.  Not only about design, coding, databases and networking…but how people use the web and how to most effectively leverage the web to make businesses succeed.  Since I was a wee lad growing up in Glendale, Arizona, I have never focused on one single hobby for too long.  It was model rockets one year, remote controlled cars the next, and then on to guitar, computers, photography and anything with buttons.

This hobby attention deficit disorder has bled into my professional life and it has been great!  I have learned that by spreading myself across different specialties I have been much more useful as a freelance web developer and consultant instead of specializing in one specific area.

The decision to start Sprung was made very easy by a good friend and customer.  He is one of the finest entrepenuers I have ever met and I have learned a great deal from him.   The outpouring of support I have received from friends and past colleagues has been wonderful and they all have the same theme…”I always thought you should be doing this on your own”.  Well, here I am…doing it on my own and it feels great.

One of Seth Godin’s recent blog entries summed it up for me…

I don’t believe that everyone should be an entrepreneur or a freelancer, that everyone should quit their job and go work for themselves. I do believe this:

The less a project or task or opportunity at work feels like the sort of thing you would do if this is just a job, the more you should do it.

Here are some great resources I have been following like a hawk for inspiration and knowledge in the recent months.

• Seth Godin’s Blog <- a MUST daily read
• Freelance Switch
• 99%
• Stylized Web
• DZone

So please wish me luck in my new venture and let’s get to work!