In 1993, I started my first tiny marketing company, Playwork Communications, working from the basement of our home. I had been doing some freelance work on the side while employed as the Marketing Art Director at WordPerfect Magazines. As the freelance workload grew, it became apparent to me that I could make it on my own—especially considering the low overhead of working from home.

The Name

While my remarkable wife was always supportive, she enjoyed teasing me about never knowing when I was playing and when I was working. I loved what I was doing so play and work were about the same thing. The name “Playwork” resulted from that amalgamation.

Seven Years Of Play, Work

The nice thing about being a solo practitioner is that you don’t have to have very many clients to stay busy. From 1993 to 2000 I always had plenty to do. Word-of-mouth kept me busy and I always had client projects to work on with several in the wings.

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While I thoroughly enjoyed my commute down one flight of stairs in my pajamas to work, it was always apparent to me that there were only so many hours in a day—and solo fee-for-service work was dependent on me doing the work, hour after hour. The moment I stood up, I stopped making money. Eventually, the cons started outweighing the pros and I began considering other business models.

Partial Client List, 1993–2000

MediaSource
Curecrete
OptiBuild
Creating Keepsakes
BestBill
Northern Engineering
AMX International
LexMark
Ride & Learn
Power Innovations
Elevate Utah
Rocky Mountain University
Network Associates
Sienna Development
Mike Watson Seminars
Connect Public Relations
AccountBoss
Western Community Bank
Midtown Village
Dotcom Solutions
CentralPointe