Fifteen Years in Business – Fifteen Years of Technology
This was cutting-edge technology in 2002
It was fifteen years ago this April when I made the decision to leave employment elsewhere and make my side business my full-time job. Two weeks later, April 15th, was the first day I didn’t go to work for someone else and instead went to work for my clients exclusively. I can still remember the feeling of independence, just like the last day of high school (which was the same day I turned 18), where I was in charge of my own life and I no longer needed to answer to anybody else. Of course, I had no idea what I was getting into at the time and maybe if I had I wouldn’t have done it. No, actually I know I would have still started my own business because the freedom one gets from being an entrepreneur and being in charge of one’s own destiny is worth the hardships.
Fifteen years is a long time, but especially in the technology field, which my whole life has been dedicated to. Looking back fifteen years, I thought about how far technology has advanced. It was spring of 2002. Windows XP and the iPod had just been introduced the previous fall. There was no such thing as the Geek Squad at Best Buy. The Blackberry was still just an oversized pager that only did e-mail. And there was little technology help available for small businesses and individuals. So I made it my mission to help those that were overlooked by the IT firms that claimed they handled “small” business. I also made it my purpose to stay well informed of the changes in the technology industry so that I could help my clients take advantage of the latest technology to stay ahead of their competitors.
Since I have seen so many changes in the technology field since I’ve been in business full-time, I thought it would be fun to look back and make a list of the most important technologies of the last fifteen years. Starting March 31st with my short list of honorable mentions and running through April 15th, the fifteenth anniversary of my first full day in business, I will reveal day by day my list of the fifteen most important technologies of the last fifteen years. Please follow along and reminisce with me on how technology has changed our lives in that time.