MeetGeraldine has grown beyond my expectations. What I thought to be my biggest dreams and aspirations turned out to be so much more than I could have ever anticipated 5 years ago. This is a post about my journey within the past 5 years, my appreciation to all things good, commitment to my team and the business owners that we assist along the way.
I designed my first website in 1993. I was 13 years old, new to the Internet and intrigued by what it could do. Those were the days of AOL, Alta Vista, Netscape and Mac computers that were still called, “Macintosh”. I stumbled upon a number of hand coded sites built on a free network called, Angelfire. There was everything from businesses to aspiring artists to individuals on that network that built their own websites from scratch, HTML programming language.
I searched Netscape, Alta Vista (and a bunch of other search engine providers back then that I don’t remember the names of) so I could self-teach myself HTML. Building websites became an addiction. I’d sit in front of the comp on Friday after getting home from school barely leaving my seat until Sunday night. I’d finish building an entire website over the weekend.
Over the years, I continued to update my websites and occasionally build sites for others. It was my hobby and obsession, which then became a side business in 2008 while simultaneously working as a restaurant manager. (Shortly after I discovered the magical abilities of WordPress. You mean I can teach my clients how to manage their own websites?? Brilliant!)
This was the birth of MeetGeraldine.
As years past the companies that I’d built sites for began to grow and so did the types of services I’d offer for them. It got to a point where I was working 2 full-time jobs. Restaurateur by day, wed developer by night!
Slowly, I needed to switch positions and reduce my hours at the restaurant.
I met Lauren in 2011 (I think?) from a fellow co-worker and server at the restaurant. When we met we had an instant connection-talking women in business, entrepreneurship, etc. Although we tried to get together again over the years that past it wasn’t until 2012 that we connected again. Back then she was running a different business, so she hired me to redesign their website. She began referring me clients and we started having in-depth conversations about our futures and business in general. She helped me form my business planned and asked questions about what MeetGeraldine would be like in the future. I thought in 5 years I’d have a web development company with 3-4 employees (including myself)… She helped me see different.
As we discovered that our enthusiasm and desire to help entrepreneurs succeed was in alignment…
- She went to business school
- I went to business school
- She had interest in business strategy & brand development
- I needed help in business strategy
- She was extroverted
- I was slightly introverted
- We had different networks of colleagues
It all made sense! And… She liked the name so I didn’t have to change it. Perfect!
So here we are a year after partnering into this journey of MeetGeraldine with 9 employees and intentions of building an even bigger team.
I’m enjoying this adventure. Everyday is a new day. And anything can happen tomorrow.
I am gracious for the opportunities that have been provided by everyone I’ve worked for and with along the way, all of our past and current clients and our team for their talents. Thank you for Meeting Geraldine.
I am committed to your success.
All the best,
-geraldine*
