OneGuyOneGuitar.com was the very first domain name I ever registered. I began my marketing career in politics back in upstate New York, but in 1991, a younger version of myself decided to throw caution to the wind and relocate to Arizona. At the time, I had a six-month-old baby, a failing marriage, no job prospects, and a guitar.

After a couple months, it became clear to me that that getting a job in marketing was going to be tougher than I thought. But having been a part-time singer/guitarist all my life, I eventually landed a gig playing three nights a week for tips in downtown Phoenix at the newly opened Arizona Center.

The first night, I made twelve dollars.

This was quite the fall for a guy with a college degree who had just left a suit-and-tie job. Surely I would be headed back home soon, failing badly.

I learned quickly that when you jump off a cliff without a net, you can build yourself a set of wings on the way down if you’re persistent enough. Eventually, I figured out the art of getting people to throw money in a tip jar. Over time, twelve dollars a night turned into $100 a night, which turned into $200 a night and more. I was making a living one dollar at a time. And because the Arizona Center was a high profile location, it was an excellent place to be seen for other music jobs throughout the Valley.

Although I had never considered self-employment as a real option, I started getting marketing work during the day and haven't had a real job since I moved here.

OneGuyOneGuitar.com was the domain I used for my unconventional start here in Arizona. It reminds me where I came from and how this all began. And while I no longer play music five nights a week for a living, it’s a more than suitable domain name for my life now, which wouldn’t exist had I not gone down that road.