Fridays With Fred

I started my first “real” job as a programmer on my 31st birthday. They gave me a quick tour and two thick technical manuals to study and that was it.

I started my first “real” job as a programmer on my 31st birthday. They gave me a quick tour and two thick technical manuals to study and that was it.

It was at a networking event when I ventured across the room to greet someone I didn’t know. “I’m Joe,” they said. I blanked.

Next year is a big year for me — 35th year in business, new building, first grandchild. It’s made me reflective, and, if I’m honest, a little nostalgic. We’ve come a long way since that night in 1984 when it all began.

A few weeks ago, I was getting my driveway re-asphalted and the contractor showed up 15 minutes early. He told me it was a lesson he’d learned from his father, who’d always told him to be early.

My first CPA conference, I was nervous and a bit of a loner. I didn’t know anybody, and I doubt anyone knew me.

This year I had one of the most difficult hikes of my life. I returned to the Appalachian Trail for a six-day trip with our backpacking club. The first four days were excruciating and many times I thought I’d have to turn back.

Some people invest in the stock market; I prefer to invest in people. Employees are one of the greatest assets a company has, and, ultimately, they’re the ones that are going to drive your business forward.

After 38 years in the business world, I’ve realized that only one thing is as certain as taxes — life. Life happens, and unlike taxes, it doesn’t follow a nice schedule we can plan around every April. In fact, life is probably happening to someone around you right at this moment.

Back when I was 30, I was teaching full-time and hated it. So I decided to go back to school to get my MBA. This meant I had to plan my classes around my teaching schedule, and the first one I could get was a programming course. I had no idea that I’d love it as much as I did — but that class changed everything.