Wow, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Prior to being involved at Active Rain, I was a home inspector who had to diminish myself by taking odd jobs. One day I might be the Red Robin hawking burgers on the busy street, or maybe I was dancing with a sandwich sign on my back in front of Little Caesar's. About this time of year, I would have been standing on the busy road trying to entice locals and tourists to turn into the pumpkin patch to buy a pumpkin. It was humiliating work, the costumes were uncomfortable, but someone had to do it. I made sure that I did not wear any traces of my home inspector logo or outfit while on a sub-par job. Here is a photo from a few years back. I was a modern day highwayman, in my own mind, but really more of a walking billboard or a corporate mascot for hire. 

It was a lowly life but a man does what a man has to do to get by. Then I got involved with Active Rain. I started blogging and I liked it. I found that by writing original content, and using the proper key words, I could learn tricks to improve my home inspection business. Before long my once non-existent SEO shot up like a rocket and there I was first page of google and yahoo and getting many calls. I became so successful and famous, so quickly, that I had to hire a certifried home inspector assistant just to keep up with the business that was coming down the pike to King of the House.

At first, because I was so busy, I hired Charles Buell, a Seattle inspector I had trusted, to train and bring up to speed my new assistant Nutsy S. Wallenda.  What a waste of my resources -- they partied on First Avenue, Seattle 24/7.

After bailing that pair out of jail more than once, I realized that this was no way to train an assistant. Never trust a clown to do a man's job.

So I decided to train my soon to be certifried home inspector assistant by myself. He would become a clone and an extension of myself.

Once the certifried assistant was up and running, business instantly became, and has remained, even stronger. In fact, all those hours -- and I mean that sincerely -- that I spend on the computer here in the rain have led to enough notoriety and financial success that I am now able to vacation in the world's top glamor spots and wear the most fashionable of attire. What a change Active Rain has made in my fortunes and my wardrobe. Honestly, can you believe that this trendy guy in the photo below is the same loser who was such a short time ago wearing a jack-O-lantern on his head while standing by the highway?

Now here is another sign of Active Rain success. They say that with success the relatives come out of the woodwork. Get this, back in the old days of my existence, my long lost Moses Lake realtor niece Heather (picture below with kids)

blogged away as she saw me flailing away. She kept her silence and pretended to not even know her crazy loon of an uncle -- uncle Steve. But then, one day -- realizing that Nutsy and I were really taking off here in the rain and were destination relatives -- we heard from niece Heather. She sent an Email and I learned that I had a relative in the rain who I did not know about. I did think it strange that, to get in touch with her, I first had to agree to send $500.00 to some guy who had a Nigerian bank account number. Regardless, it worked out and I now enjoy conversing with niece Heather.

This was a homogenized, but true, account of my once miserable little life before and after Active Rain.

Thanks for stopping by,

Steven L. Smith