(video: one of my favorite days surrounded by who would become some of my favorite people, at the launch of a wonderful 3-1/2 year stint at one of my favorite companies.)
Annum
Thursday, December 10, 2009 was a day just like any other day…except that it would be the last day that I entered the Apple Store at MacArthur Center as an Apple employee. I had known the day was coming, since I had tendered my resignation a couple of weeks earlier, but that didn’t make the day any easier. I knew I was leaving a company and people that I adored. A select few other people knew I was leaving, but for the most part, the occasion went by without fanfare and was relatively unnoticed outside my own department. Ordinarily, we’d have had a little “going away” celebration when a team member left, but I had been scheduled off on my “official” last day (the last day of the work week, Friday), and in the hullabaloo of the holiday madness, it had slipped my mind to let everyone know my last day was here. For some of my teammates, it would be months before they realized I was no longer with them.
I also knew that I would be starting my own business. I had seen some opportunities left by some of the things Apple couldn’t (or didn’t) do through Apple Retail, and I felt that I was a competent, thorough troubleshooter. I felt Hampton Roads could use a good independent Apple technician & consultant to fill those needs. On December 14, 2009, Beach Mac would officially launch.
I quickly learned (and I continue to learn) quite a bit about running my own business. It’s been a rough year, filled at times with doubt, uncertainty, frustration, and loneliness…but also with encouragement, a great sense of independence, gratitude, and a rewarding level of freedom I’ve not felt before. I’m also learning a lot about myself and where my strengths are (tech stuff, people skills) and my weaknesses are (administrative stuff, general business practices).
Financially, the move has been near-devastating to my family, and we’ve had some scary moments, but we are blessed to have a wonderful support system in place through family and friends, and through their generosity and support, we’ve managed to get by — a loan here, a referral there, and sometimes just plain old fate — it all seems to work out somehow. I can only hope to be able to repay the favors and also pay it forward some day.
There are some changes coming. I will need to change the name of the business from Beach Mac if I want to get into the Apple Consultant Network (which I am FINALLY eligible to do…I just have to come up with the membership fee). There are also some other possibilities that I can’t talk about just yet, but I promise I’ll post it when I can.
I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive over the past year as I’ve ventured into this unknown territory — especially my family at R211, but also Apple @ Best Buy, as well as my wonderful customers who have said such kind things about Beach Mac to their friends and family. It is my pleasure and honor to be able to have helped with your Macs and other Apple products, and my family and I appreciate your referrals and your business more than you know.
I hope to stick around, in one form or another, to continue to take care of your Apple tech needs well into the future. Stay tuned for more.
Happy Holidays to all!
