Cory Collier

Here’s my Ignite Orlando presentation. First, the video (recorded for practice), then my slides, and finally the basic text of my talk.

Freelancing in the New Economy from Cory Collier on Vimeo Continue reading »

My second family at Hydra Studio and I have moved our office. We’ve got our own floor in the Fidelity Federal Bldg off of Court Ave in Downtown Orlando. This ends the roommate style relationship we’ve had with Push for a while. The new place is awesome, even though we’ve got a few things to button up.

We’ve shared space with Push for 18 months now. We love those folks. They’re an amazing bunch of people, who I’m pretty stoked to call friends now. Friendship aside however, it was time we had our own space, to *push* our own identity. Hopefully we’ll all still see each other at Lizzy’s. Our new office _is_ right there anyways …

All of the team spent a hell of a lot of time preparing the new office into something we could call home. When we got the space, it was setup for a construction company. I guess that’s a bit ironic for me, but it plain sucks for everyone else. So, we all worked our asses off to remove carpet, paint, clean, and do a million other things to make the office into something that begins to represent Hydra, the raddest digital agency in the world.

The whole process was a little cliche of the things you’d expect from working your balls off after a full day’s worth of regular work with co-workers. I have a bit more respect for everyone, and I definitely care a smidgeon more about everyone there. I know it sounds like a load of crap, but everyone really gave it their all, and I couldn’t be more proud of what all of us have been able to pull off. 

The move definitely had it’s perils though. I had to dodge insane traffic to pick up equipment I dropped in the middle of 50 during rush hour. We destroyed some walls we had to put back. More than a few nerves were a little frayed from the tremendous amount of work we had to do. 

I know I’m gonna get some shit for this: Regardless, of everyone who stands out in this whole process, Bobby Jones is definitely the man. Bobby is undoubtedly the best employer I’ve ever known. During the entire transition between offices, Bobby probably worked 80 to 100 hours on the new office. He poured himself into making the transition relatively smooth, and keeping the rest of us motivated while we helped realize his vision. The sort of stress he must have been under is impressive. What’s more impressive, is how calm and collected he remained throughout the affair. Ask Rob and Parker how many times Bobby took the late workers out to IHOP at 5:00am to feed the most dedicated of folks. I’ll probably follow up my ‘Folks that mean shit to me’ lineup with Bobby next (even if it does give me a brown nose).

Anyways, a mega-huge thanks to everyone at Hydra for working your asses off doing shit you didn’t know how to do, but did it anyways. I’m honored to call all of you my coworkers, and more honored to call all of you, my friends. I’ve worked with some of the toughest people in the world. I’d trade every one of them for you guys, you’re all the best.

Today is Independence day, and I’ve a few things to reflect on today. I’ve officially announced my departure from NFi Studios, thus going independent myself. So, today has a sort of meaning for me, in a personal light, that it hasn’t before.

That’s not to take away from the incredible significance of what July 4th is to everyone else. I suppose it’s easy to forget, or take for granted, the awesome opportunities we have in the United States. The bravery and commitment it must have taken, to violently break from from an oppressive government, is awe-inspiring.

But that’s exactly what is inspiring me to go ‘indie’ …

While I certainly don’t have to resort to war, or worry about death as a consequence of my own ‘liberation’, I do have a mortgage, and all the other associated bills that so many Americans struggle with every day. By leaving a steady job, I leave the security of steady income. The consequences of that, often feel like impending death. I’ve had a hard time sleeping lately. I wake up in the night, with pain in my chest, from the stress of it all.

But with consequence, comes the potential for great reward …

When the US declared it’s independence, and successfully fought to keep it, we opened the door of opportunity to become the most amazing country in modern times, possibly ever. Despite what you might hear on CNN tonight, or what the regulars on Digg like to say about this country, there truly is no better place to live in the world. The reason? Opportunity. There simply is no other government in the world that provides opportunity on a silver platter like this country. It may sound cliche, but if you can dream it, this country won’t stop you from doing it.

So, with my own departure from a stable job, at an up-and-coming startup, I’ve opened the door to a level of opportunities that I simply wouldn’t have otherwise. I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I do know I’ve met some amazing folks, who I hope to work with on projects that will change the world (hopefully).

I’ve no illusions about what this means for me. The rewards that may come my way, aren’t without stupendous amounts of work due to realize them. That’s fine with me. I’ve come from a family of working types, and I’ve done more than mine (and your) fair share of work. The difference between before, and now, is that I’ll be the one deciding how I’ll get it done.

I’ve leaned on a few folks for advice in making the decisions I’ve made lately. You know who you are, and I’ll never be able to repay all of you for all the help you’ve been to me.

I recently read an article, referred to me from Digg, about ‘Why Macs Still Arent Right For Business‘, as written by Jonathan Blum. Being a Mac Convert, I feel a certain ownership of this issue. I see people argue over this sort of thing all of the time. There are some key arguments in favor of PCs, but not many.

This guy had some intial transition issues, and turned it into an excuse to write about the ‘flaws’ of switching to Mac. His company uses lame software that was specifically designed for windows, and complains about Mac not working for it. It’s a weird argument, ’cause he prefixes all of this by saying he’s been a Mac user for years. The issues he complains about are largely encountered by newbs. Either he’s a liar, or he’s playing ‘Devils Advocate’ for the inevitable issues new Mac converts will face.

While it is mega-lame, it does give some validity to his argument. Many small business ARE using terrible software, and would be faced with serious costs if they chose to change software and hardware at the same time. Remember, most business users don’t like computers. They’re a tool for doing a job they don’t want to do.

So the issue here really is, ‘Do you like your job’? because if you do, then you would want to use the best possible equipment to get it done. You would want to be as efficient at your job as you possibly could. If your job sucks however, then you probably just want to get it done and get out.

That’s sort of the “State Of Business” for much of corporate America. There’s a reason why everyone you meet loves ‘Office-Space’. It’s because most people have shitty jobs. It might seem like a stretch, but I think there’s a real correlation between Mac / PC users and folks with good / bad jobs.

Figure it like this: if your employer doesn’t want to fork an extra thousand bucks on a computer that works more efficiently for you, do you think they’re gonna provide any other incentives?

Doubt it.

Recently my boss, Sterling , wrote up about all of us at NFi on his personal blog. It’s flattering to hear what he has to say. I probably shouldn’t care too much about the accolades that I may, or may not recieve from other people, but I do.

All of us at NFi work very hard to produce product that is above and beyond client expectation. Just the other day I worked from 8 in the morning until midnight. While that’s not an everyday occurence, it happens quite a bit. Sometimes in this business, there’s just far too much to do. So when I hear some appreciation from the boss, I guess I get a little choked up.

I shoud count my blessings. I work in an environment where I can wear just about whatever I want, I can say pretty much whatever is on my mind, and I can listen to Death Metal all day (with headphones, of course).

Sterling is a dedicated entreprenuer who has the insight to know that while teamwork and dedication are critical to success, an uptight or stifling atmosphere is not. There’s a weird balance between fostering creativity, and discouraging a lack of productivity that Sterling does a pretty stand up job at acheiving here.

The guys (and gals) I work with are a really cool bunch of folks. I’ve mentioned Sterling, but Derek, Bender, Elizabeth, Rick, CJ, and now Chris are all friends to me. I routinely heckle Bender and Derek is always teaching me something.

Our office is awesome. It’s in the heart of Downtown Orlando. We have wood floors, and a great view (though the shades are frequently closed to keep the glare to a minimum). We get to meet a lot of really awesome folks because of our location alone.

So, I really like working with these guys at NFi. I can’t think of a better place to be.