Kyle Gato's life blog.
san antonio
A Web Hosting Business – Why I do it
01 year ago
by Kyle Gato
in blogging, internet, invisiongaming, kyle gato, life, rackspace, san antonio, systems admin, texas
I’ve always wanted to help people. I’ve had this desire to create or manage a project, business, or idea and be able to run with it, and watch it become the perfect “thing”. That’s what drove me to start my own web hosting business in 2004. I wanted to offer people affordable solutions, at a great price, but still be as awesome as the more expensive alternatives.
Why web hosting? The internet is obviously the now. It’s not the “future”, it is the future as much as it is the now. People need access to information, web sites, games, whatever may be online and they need it now. I want to be a part of that and that’s what drives me.
I want to be a part of this internet revolution, and at the end be able to be a part of it. Helping people, and businesses, while helping myself at the same time is the absolute dream. It’s why I chose to work at Rackspace, that’s why I started InvisionGaming in 2004, and it’s what I want to do with my career. It’s what I’m doing now! Along with web design, printing, and more.
I love developing (Primarily PHP), I love administrating and solving problems (Systems Administration) and that’s a big part of what I do. I want to be useful, and I use the word I very carefully, as it’s obviously an combined effort of multiple people.
I want to go out there, build applications, make people’s lives easier, and not have to trash their or my wallet while I do it.
Sometimes starting a web hosting company can be difficult, in todays economy with so many choices. Sure you can go to GoDaddy, or Bluehost, or any of those and get a similar product for $5 a month. “Unlimited Disk Space”, bandwidth, and more.
I thought we were told, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Right?
I offer the world: Me. The Kyle Experience. Let me wow you, let me help you, and let’s grow together. If I only get and or help 10 customers, then those are 10 people who I’ve had a positive impact on. Sure is better than doing nothing whatsoever, isn’t it? I’m not trying to compete with Rackspace, Bluehost, or Godaddy, I’m simply trying to help people, and just happen to be in direct competition with the interests of said listed companies.
Rather than focusing on making other companies look bad, or fishing for their customers, I respect each and every one, and what they do. We’re in this business together, trying to help people. I do, however, believe some companies like GoDaddy are forgetting the customer, and focusing more on the bottom line, but that seems to be a popular trend.
This is why I do what I do, and that’s why I’ve jumped right back into the game with Custom Hosting Solutions. I guess it means that we are your “mom and pop” shop, where you get the same features, but the customer service is just great. I want to interact with my customers, let’s follow each other on twitter, let’s add each other to our google talk.
Let’s do some business.
and last but not least: Let’s do this.
Driving, Important Decisions, and more.
0
2006 Kia Spectra EX
So, I’ve been looking at cars obviously, and getting my license (They go hand in hand, right?) So, what I have come up with is a 2006 Kia Spectra EX. I won’t bore you with too many details,
Here are the key points:
- $3500 Down Payment
- $250/month Car Payment (That’s because of a 22% Interest rate! Being 18 without credit sucks)
- $350/month Insurance Payment
- It’s only had one owner, the carfax was great, it’s a reliable car.
Basically, I am pretty sure I am going to get it. It’s going to absolutely suck having to pay that much money every month, but the reason I want to finance a car and not just buy one is that I want to build credit. That sounds very adult of me…I know. But, it’s a scary world out there, and let’s face it, I do need to build credit and the sooner I start, the better right?
In other news, I LOVE my job. It’s just beyond words amazing. The people, the work, solving problems, the culture. It’s just great, I am so lucky to have this job.
OH, also. I bought a Flip UltraHD…but I don’t want to point out where the channel is because I plan on being silly and highly unprofessional. It’s for fun. (Email me if interested ;])
Until next time!
The Circus, Site Changes, Life
0
The Circus
Yesterday, Quentin and I went to the circus (with his mother and sister of course). It was okay, however seeing the elephants being poked and prodded (especially after googling circus elephant abuse) was kind of hard. Nothing overly special.
I don’t know how many of you actually follow me blog, but I have been moving it around and tweaking it a bit, as well as securing it. I felt that, after all the security flaws that WordPress has had, and the servers that have been hacked, that hardening my servers a bit would be smart. So, as a result the site is now hosted on my Chicago server, until I get a better/bigger Slice.
In Life news, my first day at RackSpace is tomorrow. However, the first day of work is at the headquarters (Datapoint), not where I will actually be working (Downtown). This means I am equally excited for both Monday and Tuesday.
Thanks for listening, see you again soon!
RackSpace Cloud Interview – Fanatical? Absolutely.
3
Where to begin with this one? This was an amazing interview. My interview was about 2 hours long (Previous interview was about half an hour), at the downtown RackSpace Cloud (aka Mosso) office. All my expectations were exceeded by the people I met and talked to. The building is intimidatingly large, and the Rackers are…amazing to say the least.
Rather than the two-on-one I experienced at my Datapoint interview, this interview consisted of many people. I actually got to meet the team who I would be working with. My “boss” was really really nice, and was very easy to talk to. He was interesting and asked good questions. The interview room had windows, so it was not as intimidating as the previous interview (Which took place in a white room with 3 chairs and no windows.)
I got to meet Jason Bartels (@jbartels) whom I had only previously talked to online. That was a cool experience, meeting someone who I met on the internet. Everybody left an impression on me, whether I remember their names or not (Vet. Marine, Engineers, Directors, “Frodo, etc.) In what company does someone come into your interview and introduce themselves as AKA Frodo? Rackspace of course, cool stuff. Just like I described in my previous post, Rackers are very down-to-earth people who love what they do, and do it passionately and I definitely saw more of that at this interview. Work hard and play hard are definitely part of their everyday regimen.
I want to thank each and every Racker I talked to today, for taking the time to come talk to me, I know you all are busy providing some of the fanatical support your so famous for, so it means a lot to me when you are able to take time to talk to me. Regardless if I get the position or not, thanks for taking the time to consider me. It was definitely an experience meeting and talking to everyone today.
As I was told repeatedly, things are run differently at the cloud than at “RackSpace Main.” I won’t go into details but I really feel the Cloud is an even better place for me to grow both personally and professionally. It just sounds perfect.
The Upside(s):
- I get to help people, and get paid to do it. =o
- The people are amazing, and great to get along with.
- It’s in a great location downtown.
- My “boss”(s) are all nice, and honestly are the kind everyone hopes to get.
- I get the chance to grow professionally, and personally. Being near the best of the best of the hosting industry.
- I get to be part of something that’s rapidly growing, and I can grow with it.
- Many many more.
The Downsides:
- Sorry, there are none.
I hope to be a Racker soon. Thanks for reading and once again:
Thank you to all the Rackers I met/talked to today, and those who have been supporting me since my first interview. Ya’ll rock.
RackSpace Interview
7
Well guys, today was my interview at RackSpace’s San Antonio Headquarters. It went ok, I was extremely nervous, and there were only two people interviewing me so it was intimidating (Who do I look at, what are they going to ask me, is it good cop bad cop? lol). I applied for the Level I Linux Systems Administrator (1st Shift) position.
I really hope I get this job for the following reasons:
- I want to be a Systems Administrator (It’s the career path I am pursuing)
- I knew it was a relaxed, laid back but hard at work company with a fun environment, but I simply fell in love when the reality of seeing it in person hit.
- The people I HAVE talked to who work @ RackSpace seem really cool, and I think the people you work with make the job.
- When I stepped in I knew I belonged there because a nerf bullet was stuck to the window in the lobby…really high up. (Haha)
- The managed support room is to fall in love with, you can tell the people there are awesome based simply off of how they decorate their cubicles.
- Everybody is really nice
- I love computers
- I love helping people
- The fact that, during my interview, they used humor like I do. (Some people take things too seriously, work AND play is the motto right?)
- If I get this job, I can get the certifications, move up in the company, afford college, have a successful future doing what I love to do and getting PAID to do it.
and I could go on and on and on…but in the mean time, lets just hope I get the job. If not, I already told them they’ll be seeing me again.
I want this, badly, not because it’s a JOB…it is NOT about the money…it is really about being able to do what I love to do and actually getting paid to do it.
So my feelings are now transferred to the Internets.
Thank you internet, and wish me luck. Either I am going to be getting it or I will not, the phone call or email will tell.
[UPDATE: Thank you everyone, especially Rackers for all the emails, tweets, and other motivational support provided. ]
UPDATE:
I’ve noticed that a majority of the people that end up on my blog end up here by searching for “RackSpace Interview” or “Phone Interview”, and so on and so forth.
I can offer all prospective Rackers some advice, from me, personally:
- Be yourself.
- Don’t think you know more than you do, respect what you do know, and figure out how you can make that work for the company in general.
- Go in there with an good attitude. It’s serious, but have a sense of humor.
- Don’t wear a suit
- Dress nicely.
- We’re (Rackers) people too. Awesome people.
These are just a few of my personal recommendations and they are by no means an full list of how to show up for an RackSpace interview. Do as you see fit, just remember it’s a great company who wants to hire great people who want to do equally great things. I do not represent the management, or hiring staff and these suggestions do not come from them in any way, just my 2 cents.
Don’t stress the call back (Yeah…right, I was on edge every time my phone’s screen turned on.) It will happen eventually just calm down.