Last summer, Jonathan Sharp undertook two new major responsibilities, one right after the other. In June, his wife gave birth to their fist child, and one month later, he left his job at Union Pacific to found Out West Media, a web development business. I recently sat down with Jonathan to hear about this transition, how business has been, and where he hopes to be in the future.
“I’d say a huge trait to being a successful freelancer is adaptability and not selling yourself short. Really understanding your value, making sure that you communicate that and you’re confident in that, that’s a huge aspect of it. Anyone that’s thinking about doing it, start taking steps towards it, it’s a great experience.”
From the outside, Jonathan knows his series of events sound a bit overwhelming – the cost of a child plus the risk of a new business – but it was a move he and his wife had set their mind on. He works out of their home in Plattsmouth, which makes it affordable and gives him the extra family time he wanted. He admits, however, that the transition to his home office was tougher than he and his wife expected, but through the sharing of their expectations of one another they’ve been able to make it work quite well.
Jonathan credits his entrepreneurial drive and experience to a start up he worked for in Seattle in 2001 where he was able to “touch every aspect of the company including its IT operations.” From there, he’s taken that drive to Southern California, Chicago, Omaha, and now Plattsmouth, where he says he appreciates its small town feel. Here, he’s also able to enjoy his favorite past time, horses. He says he’s a “cowboy at heart.” (He even had a cowboy wedding.)
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Jonathan has also been heavily involved in the jQuery community from it’s beginning (i.e. before it had a version number). He regularly attends jQuery conferences, giving presentations at some of them, and most recently, he’s collaborating with others in the community to co-author a book.
Check out my interview with Jonathan to learn how he’s found networking to be critical to freelancing, how he and his wife hope to open a camp for youth someday, and how he bought his first domain name for $70 in the late 90s. (Note: The noise in the background is the dryer, which is just outside of his office. Now, that’s a real home office.)
