The Birth of McAbeeGraphics.com.
McAbeeGraphics.com began in February of 2009. But for nearly a year before that I had this idea in my head that wouldn't go away. I just wanted to buy a web site that I could use as a practice tool. I wasn't even concerned about making it a public site, and for the first year, it wasn't. I threw up a "site under development" line of text on the home page, and went to work on test page after test page that only myself and the search bots knew about.
I picked up the phone and bought this web site, and in the process I had to pick a domain name. When the dude (it's my site, I can say dude all I want) on the other end of the phone asked me what domain I would like, it just rolled off my tongue: McAbeeGraphics.com. That's what I came up with on the spot. No foresight, no planning for the future, no nothing. I didn't even think about it. And just like that, McabeeGraphics.com was born.
This also led to the linear development of McAbee Graphics, my freelance venture. I didn't realize it at the time, but I would essentially be starting a freelance graphic and web design business as well. Is that a calling? Perhaps. But this is not a forum to discuss that topic.
My Background Story...
Before Adobe there was... Microsoft Office?!?
It was either late September or early October in 2005 when my Stepmother, Jacqueline (who we will refer to as "the boss") came to me and asked me if I would be interested in coming to work for her as "Executive Assistant" at Media Solutions Group, LLC. I had a knack for Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc..) and the title sounded cool, so I thought "why not". It was an opportunity to make more income as well so of course I took the job. I didn't know it at the time, but I had just taken up the job that would introduce me to the wonderful world of Adobe Photoshop, Graphic Design, Web Design and a whole new playground for creative expression.
It wasn't all fun and Photoshop from the get go. For about the first six months or so, my job duties were exactly that of an office assistant. I made the coffee in the mornings, took phone calls, established and maintained relationships with clients, assisted with the maintenance of office spreadsheets, helped out in the warehouse, kept archives of printed issues, went along on distribution runs, mailed the monthly subscriptions and helped out where ever I could (we'll refer to these duties as "the not fun stuff").
Don't get me wrong though, all of these not fun tasks , aren't being called that because they were boring tasks, it's just that they were not the fun tasks. They were just as important though, they gave me the opportunity to ease into the publishing and distribution world at a comfortable pace and would also teach me invaluable organization skills while introducing me to marketing, branding, and overseeing a publication from start to finish. These were lessons that were just as important as the next 3 years would turn out to be, where I got to do "the fun stuff".
So you make good coffee... but can you make a snowman?
Once I was up to speed and comfortable in my new shoes, the boss called me into her office and sat me down for a wacky interview. I was given a brief introduction to QuarkXPress 6 (publishing software) and tasked with making a snowman out of circles and boxes. No photos - just boxes and circles. I was caught off guard and remember being a little nervous too. As I recall, it turned out to be the ugliest snowman in recorded history. Good thing we did not save the file. If we did, I wouldn't show it to you anyway.
It was a test of some kind, and I guess I passed, but It wasn't based on the end result. Looking back at it now I would guess it was a test to see how I could utilize the software tools to get to the end result. Which, in this case was a crazy serial killer looking red and blue colored snowman. How she saw potential from that, I'll never know. But she did, and took me under her wing.
After that, when things were slow, I would sit down and watch while she explained what she was doing and why. I got to see some really impressive stuff come together during this time. So I made like a sponge and soaked it all up. Every word, every reason, everyhting. Even though I'm sure at times she didn't think I was listening, I was.
After several sittings, I was allowed to start helping out with the maintenance of recurring ads that were date sensitive (coupon ads), and also was able to take control of a 2 page classified ad spread. We'll refer to these duties as "the kind of fun stuff".
So now I was performing the not fun stuff while getting to do the kind of fun stuff and learning the in's and out's of Photoshop and Quark to build the ads and adjust the images. Once I had these new tasks down and was comfortable with Photoshop and Quark, I got start taking on a more involved role with the development of the publications, and was able to start building the articles as well.
To Be Continued
