I remember the day I bought my first computer vividly. I purchased a Hewlett-Packard 386 Windows computer on Friday, August 17, 1995. My ex-wife begged me to buy a computer so we would be able to connect to the internet, and after several months, I broke down and did it.
Setting up the computer proved challenging too! It took hours to figure out that my computer did not come with a modem. Fortunately, a friend, Ed Montgomery told me I needed a modem, and he loaned a spare to me.
Finally, we connected to America Online at 6 PM, and within the hour, I figured out how to browse the web. I also found a way to create my own web page, and I named that page LimoLink. The address wound up being http://aol.com/~LimoLink. I worked on that first website for 24 hours straight before going to bed on Saturday night!
Prom night ten years earlier launched my intense interest in the limousine industry. My friends and I rented a limousine for prom. I have always been a car guy, and was fascinated with the 1981 Lincoln Stretch limousine, so much so, that the driver(also the owner of the car) pulled into the local mall parking lot and let me drive the car.
Fast forward many limousines later to 1995, when I took my experience and turned it into the largest directory of limousine providers worldwide. Now, LimoLink is one of the largest luxury ground transportation networks in the world.
My first computer led to many startup companies
That first computer led to building up an ISP, complete with laying a fiber network through the local skywalk system in the late nineties, and even the first wireless system in downtown Cedar Rapids.
How incredible that my first computer led to so many websites and businesses over the last 22 years! A simple idea turned into so much opportunity for so many people, and there is so much more to come.
It took me two years of working non-stop to list every limousines company in the world, a labor of love before turning it into the network it is today.
To think I’ve spent 22 years working with computers, building multiple businesses, and doing hundreds of websites throughout the years. What if I had never purchased my first computer, and started that website the same night?
The online world is the place where anyone can find opportunity, telling the world about what is important to them. I’ve done it multiple times, and am doing it again, with my friend Shawn Graham. We are sharing our faith through our website GodinMe.Faith.
Here’s to those people who have the passion to build businesses, and tell their stories online!