Building a business is hard work. In high school my dad came home from a
business trip, sat the family down at the dinner table and said he was starting
his own business. Over the next 10 plus
years I watched my dad build 2 businesses (they were both franchises of Jersey Mikes) and I feel blessed to have worked as one of his
employees. There were many late nights,
long hours, and coming home smelling like banana peppers, onions and
bleach. I wouldn't trade it for the
world. It made me who I am. I can't speak for him, but I'm sure my dad
would say the same thing now that he is retired.
About 10 years ago my friend Brad
Hill asked me to volunteer and help build a system to manage our
church’s website. Several years later
and a shared experience at a dot com bomb, Brad again asked me to help take the
platform and turn it into a business.
Most of you know that business now as SiteOrganic.
Sometimes it is time.
There has been a lot of change in the circle of people I
follow online. Some I know personally,
some I would like to meet some day. Phil
Haack has moved from Microsoft to GitHub, Jeff Atwood moved on from
StackExchange, Curtis Simmons moved from Fellowship Technologies to StuckInCustoms, and Nick Floyd (also from Fellowship Tech) recently moved on to NewRelic. Is it the spring, the cycle of the years or
the phase of the moon?
Sometimes it is time.
I'm moving on. That
is very hard to say. I'm moving on. It is hard to say to yourself, hard to say to
your boss, hard to say to your friends and coworkers, hard to make the decision
with your family. I couldn't imagine
what my father was thinking and feeling when he told us he was switching jobs,
until now. I’m sure he had those same swirling
thoughts of fear, change, and uncertainty.
On April 7, 2012 I had that conversation with my
family. My daughter who is 8 (going on
18 by the way) and my son who is 6 have known nothing else.
Brad is like an uncle to them, my other coworkers like cousins. When my kids come to the office, it is like a
big play date. At the dinner table
Jeannie and I told our kids, sometimes it is time.
Many tears, many questions, lots of fear, much
heartbreak.
Sometimes it is time.
Sometimes it is time to grow. Sometimes it is time to grow as a Christian,
person, a father, a technologist.
Sometimes it is time to stretch and grow in a different direction. I've worked for Brad and SiteOrganic longer
than any other company, even my father.
Sometimes it is time to do something new.
My last day at SiteOrganic will be May 4, 2012. I leave SiteOrganic in very capable hands and
I'm extremely proud of the business and the platform I helped to build. If you are a customer of SiteOrganic reading
this, you should be proud of the team you have chosen to walk with you in web
based ministry. You have chosen the BEST
team to support you in your ministry.
Their heart for what you do is enormous and they truly care that you
receive the best service and support.
Most of you won't get to see how the sausage is made, often it is messy,
but it always for you, your ministry and most importantly the Kingdom.
Sometimes it is time.