About
ABOUT
ABOUT
Early Life
I grew up in a small rural town in South Alabama during the 1980s.
I started working when I was 13 at Christine’s Country BBQ. I worked most weekends and every summer for close to 5 years. The owner and operator, Christine Hughes—an incredible boss and mentor—taught me how to be resilient and run a profitable small business. She sparked my entrepreneurial spirit.
At the same time, I became obsessed with music and the art of making records. When I discovered the “audio engineer” helped shape the final sound of a record, I found my calling. I wanted to become a respected audio engineer, working with talented bands, and making the best sounding records possible. I scavenged old stereo equipment to build some “frankensteined” systems, teaching myself about recorded sound. I also spent an unhealthy amount of time at magazine racks, record shops, and Radio Shack. Before this, I hated reading and anything resembling school. Now, I was reading more than ever and eagerly researching recording schools.
My parents, recognizing my highly independent nature, allowed me to keep all my earnings and manage my life with minimal interference as long as I remained respectful and responsible at home, school, and work. Invigorated by their trust and confidence, I got serious about life. I learned the value of a dollar. I realized true cost transcends the monetary element. Moreover, I accepted that life really was a series of trade-offs. Ultimately, I traded my entrepreneurial impulses and vocational calling for a career in the United States Air Force, my pragmatic and swift path to full independence.
Air Force Era
In 1990, I graduated high school, worked my last day at Christine’s, enlisted in the United States Air Force, and married my high school sweetheart. The next 20 years passed faster than my teenage years. Now with a wife and daughter, I served in three career fields, three special duty assignments, and three part-time positions. On top of the countless special projects, I earned three college degrees, multiple certifications, and a few deeply gratifying awards. I achieved a lot. I also failed a lot. Most importantly, I learned a lot. I retired from active duty in 2010 as a senior noncommissioned officer at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama.
Corporate Years
After the Air Force, I remained in South Alabama where I explored different work. I started as a financial advisor with a private corporation and then took a different position with an Air Force contractor. I didn’t enjoy either, so I fell back on my professional and educational background, returning to the field of instructional design. Before my return, I advanced my Web skills by enrolling in an undergraduate degree program for web design/development. Through happenstance, I started a web design business. Unfortunately, I was undercapitalized and constrained by a small market. I closed shop and took a full-time position as an instructional designer with a public corporation in Birmingham, Alabama.
The job in Birmingham was short-lived due to company downsizing. I returned to the government sector as an instructional designer with a different Air Force contractor. The work wasn’t overly demanding or stressful; however, I didn’t feel well. Something was wrong. Then it hit me! There’s nothing wrong with this job and nothing wrong with me! This position was simply the wrong fit. I stepped back to see what the “right fit” looked like.
Today
After intensive self-reflection, I chose to pursue my original passion. At 46, I enrolled at The Blackbird Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating from the studio-engineering program in December of 2018. I returned to Birmingham, freelancing as an audio engineer until I opened Teate Audio in 2019, where I’m still doing what I love as a full-time audio engineer. It’s the right fit!
While doing two of my favorite things—running a business and enhancing recorded sound—I met other freelancers and small-business owners looking to fix their websites after being burned by side-hustle charlatans and crafty corporate marketers. I seized the opportunity to help others in similar situations and opened Engage Visual in 2022. Yes, another right fit!
Today, I approach my professional life with a right-fit mindset. Am I the right fit for a prospective client? Is that prospective client a right fit for me? This forethought improves my work life. I find there’s more to success than solely accomplishing tasks, such as personal growth, relationships, and overall fulfillment. Essentially, I want to work with people that like working with me. I want us to be compatible. Professional projects require close collaboration, so a strong rapport makes teamwork easier and enjoyable. Ultimately, everyone benefits from working relationships based on calculated compatibility—finding the right fit!
Early Life
I grew up in a small rural town in South Alabama during the 1980s.
I started working when I was 13 at Christine’s Country BBQ. I worked most weekends and every summer for close to 5 years. The owner and operator, Christine Hughes—an incredible boss and mentor—taught me how to be resilient and run a profitable small business. She sparked my entrepreneurial spirit.
At the same time, I became obsessed with music and the art of making records. When I discovered the “audio engineer” helped shape the final sound of a record, I found my calling. I wanted to become a respected audio engineer, working with talented bands, and making the best sounding records possible. I scavenged old stereo equipment to build some “frankensteined” systems, teaching myself about recorded sound. I also spent an unhealthy amount of time at magazine racks, record shops, and Radio Shack. Before this, I hated reading and anything resembling school. Now, I was reading more than ever and eagerly researching recording schools.
My parents, recognizing my highly independent nature, allowed me to keep all my earnings and manage my life with minimal interference as long as I remained respectful and responsible at home, school, and work. Invigorated by their trust and confidence, I got serious about life. I learned the value of a dollar. I realized true cost transcends the monetary element. Moreover, I accepted that life really was a series of trade-offs. Ultimately, I traded my entrepreneurial impulses and vocational calling for a career in the United States Air Force, my pragmatic and swift path to full independence.
Air Force Era
In 1990, I graduated high school, worked my last day at Christine’s, enlisted in the United States Air Force, and married my high school sweetheart. The next 20 years passed faster than my teenage years. Now with a wife and daughter, I served in three career fields, three special duty assignments, and three part-time positions. On top of the countless special projects, I earned three college degrees, multiple certifications, and a few deeply gratifying awards. I achieved a lot. I also failed a lot. Most importantly, I learned a lot. I retired from active duty in 2010 as a senior noncommissioned officer at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama.
Corporate Years
After the Air Force, I remained in South Alabama where I explored different work. I started as a financial advisor with a private corporation and then took a different position with an Air Force contractor. I didn’t enjoy either, so I fell back on my professional and educational background, returning to the field of instructional design. Before my return, I advanced my Web skills by enrolling in an undergraduate degree program for web design/development. Through happenstance, I started a web design business. Unfortunately, I was undercapitalized and constrained by a small market. I closed shop and took a full-time position as an instructional designer with a public corporation in Birmingham, Alabama.
The job in Birmingham was short-lived due to company downsizing. I returned to the government sector as an instructional designer with a different Air Force contractor. The work wasn’t overly demanding or stressful; however, I didn’t feel well. Something was wrong. Then it hit me! There’s nothing wrong with this job and nothing wrong with me! This position was simply the wrong fit. I stepped back to see what the “right fit” looked like.
Today
After intensive self-reflection, I chose to pursue my original passion. At 46, I enrolled at The Blackbird Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating from the studio-engineering program in December of 2018. I returned to Birmingham, freelancing as an audio engineer until I opened Teate Audio in 2019, where I’m still doing what I love as a full-time audio engineer. It’s the right fit!
While doing two of my favorite things—running a business and enhancing recorded sound—I met other freelancers and small-business owners looking to fix their websites after being burned by side-hustle charlatans and crafty corporate marketers. I seized the opportunity to help others in similar situations and opened Engage Visual in 2022. Yes, another right fit!
Today, I approach my professional life with a right-fit mindset. Am I the right fit for a prospective client? Is that prospective client a right fit for me? This forethought improves my work life. I find there’s more to success than solely accomplishing tasks, such as personal growth, relationships, and overall fulfillment. Essentially, I want to work with people that like working with me. I want us to be compatible. Professional projects require close collaboration, so a strong rapport makes teamwork easier and enjoyable. Ultimately, everyone benefits from working relationships based on calculated compatibility—finding the right fit!
Early Life
I grew up in a small rural town in South Alabama during the 1980s.
I started working when I was 13 at Christine’s Country BBQ. I worked most weekends and every summer for close to 5 years. The owner and operator, Christine Hughes—an incredible boss and mentor—taught me how to be resilient and run a profitable small business. She sparked my entrepreneurial spirit.
At the same time, I became obsessed with music and the art of making records. When I discovered the “audio engineer” helped shape the final sound of a record, I found my calling. I wanted to become a respected audio engineer, working with talented bands, and making the best sounding records possible. I scavenged old stereo equipment to build some “frankensteined” systems, teaching myself about recorded sound. I also spent an unhealthy amount of time at magazine racks, record shops, and Radio Shack. Before this, I hated reading and anything resembling school. Now, I was reading more than ever and eagerly researching recording schools.
My parents, recognizing my highly independent nature, allowed me to keep all my earnings and manage my life with minimal interference as long as I remained respectful and responsible at home, school, and work. Invigorated by their trust and confidence, I got serious about life. I learned the value of a dollar. I realized true cost transcends the monetary element. Moreover, I accepted that life really was a series of trade-offs. Ultimately, I traded my entrepreneurial impulses and vocational calling for a career in the United States Air Force, my pragmatic and swift path to full independence.
Air Force Era
In 1990, I graduated high school, worked my last day at Christine’s, enlisted in the United States Air Force, and married my high school sweetheart. The next 20 years passed faster than my teenage years. Now with a wife and daughter, I served in three career fields, three special duty assignments, and three part-time positions. On top of the countless special projects, I earned three college degrees, multiple certifications, and a few deeply gratifying awards. I achieved a lot. I also failed a lot. Most importantly, I learned a lot. I retired from active duty in 2010 as a senior noncommissioned officer at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama.
Corporate Years
After the Air Force, I remained in South Alabama where I explored different work. I started as a financial advisor with a private corporation and then took a different position with an Air Force contractor. I didn’t enjoy either, so I fell back on my professional and educational background, returning to the field of instructional design. Before my return, I advanced my Web skills by enrolling in an undergraduate degree program for web design/development. Through happenstance, I started a web design business. Unfortunately, I was undercapitalized and constrained by a small market. I closed shop and took a full-time position as an instructional designer with a public corporation in Birmingham, Alabama.
The job in Birmingham was short-lived due to company downsizing. I returned to the government sector as an instructional designer with a different Air Force contractor. The work wasn’t overly demanding or stressful; however, I didn’t feel well. Something was wrong. Then it hit me! There’s nothing wrong with this job and nothing wrong with me! This position was simply the wrong fit. I stepped back to see what the “right fit” looked like.
Today
After intensive self-reflection, I chose to pursue my original passion. At 46, I enrolled at The Blackbird Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating from the studio-engineering program in December of 2018. I returned to Birmingham, freelancing as an audio engineer until I opened Teate Audio in 2019, where I’m still doing what I love as a full-time audio engineer. It’s the right fit!
While doing two of my favorite things—running a business and enhancing recorded sound—I met other freelancers and small-business owners looking to fix their websites after being burned by side-hustle charlatans and crafty corporate marketers. I seized the opportunity to help others in similar situations and opened Engage Visual in 2022. Yes, another right fit!
Today, I approach my professional life with a right-fit mindset. Am I the right fit for a prospective client? Is that prospective client a right fit for me? This forethought improves my work life. I find there’s more to success than solely accomplishing tasks, such as personal growth, relationships, and overall fulfillment. Essentially, I want to work with people that like working with me. I want us to be compatible. Professional projects require close collaboration, so a strong rapport makes teamwork easier and enjoyable. Ultimately, everyone benefits from working relationships based on calculated compatibility—finding the right fit!