Ric Dragon is the CEO and co-founder of DragonSearch. He formally owned several other tech companies including web and application development company Oxclove Workshop, which was acquired by 33Delivered. Ric is also a regular guest columnist for Marketing Land, Social Media Monthly, Successful-Blog.com, and several other industry publications. His most recent book, Social Marketology, was published by McGraw-Hill in June 2012.
Ric is also an exhibiting artist, having shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the US. He formerly taught figure drawing and lithography at the Woodstock School of Art. He is also a jazz percussionist, and can often be heard in various groups in the Hudson Valley.
What did you do for work in your last position as an employee and when was that?
I’ve been an employee of my own endeavors for over 25 years. Of course, in doing that, I had clients. I suppose my last role directly working for someone was prior to my starting the web and application development firm Oxclove Workshop. I oversaw the restoration of a historic house that has been in the same family for 200 years. The project went on for over four years, and covered everything from being the general contractor to curating letters from Mark Twain.
Why did you stop working for other people?
There is little in my background that made me suitable for working for others. I dropped out of high school to run off to be an artist. After a stint in the Air Force I made my way to art school, and then from there, moved to an old abandoned house in the Catskills. I was very dedicated to making paintings, but in order to put food on the table, I still had to do quite a few different things to make a living. In the Catskills during the 80’s that generally meant becoming a tradesman in the construction industry. But I also taught art at a local art school, and for a brief period, ran the local youth center.
During all that time, I was still getting my paintings out there, and it was after hanging a show in New York City that I strolled into a “Nobody Beats the Wiz” store. This was at the beginning of the PC craze, and I was curious. Back then, the Wiz was known for giving just about anyone credit, and so it happened that I left the store with a box containing an IBM ThinkPad.
That computer just happened to have been loaded with Microsoft Access, which of course I knew nothing about. But during the following winter, I started playing with it – using it as a curb to the cabin fever and my lack of television or radio. I haven’t mentioned yet that I tend to be a bit obsessive in my learning – so I ended up creating a database application for artists.
The skills I learned in creating that application were parlayed into the skills needed later to develop websites. Later, when a graphic designer friend of mine asked me to program a site for a client, I simply said “yes,” and figured it out. And that was the beginning of my web development company.
Do you do more than one different thing to make ends meet? Tell us about them.
I’m happy to report that at this time, my own company provides me with a salary. Now, at that company, I wear a lot of different hats. Most of those hats, though, are about me learning, then sharing my knowledge with others. In other words, I’ve been able to create a job that is suited to my own passions. Right now, I spend a few hours a day writing, and the rest in working with people within the firm. I then run about the world giving talks and presentations on digital marketing.
How much money did you have saved up before you went on your own?
Absolutely none. I did, however, have some wonderful credit cards with ridiculous credit limits with equally absurd interest rates. Those enabled a lot of my early growth.
Do you think you make better money working for yourself? And then, does it really matter?
The more appropriate question for me is if I made more money as a solo self-employed person versus having a company that I’ve created – and the answer is no. I made more money solo than I ever have. The difference is, I hope, that I’ve also been creating the equity of an organization around me. I’m also able to do more creative work now that I’m not personally tied to billable work.
When you stopped working for other people how did that feel?
For me, it was about going from being the person chained to the desk doing the work, to finally hiring employee number one. That was a glorious moment. And as the company grew, I’d go to the window and count the cars in the parking lot. That was my main metric for success at that time!
Do you consider yourself financially stable or not?
Stable, yes – but I still have new financial challenges. In two years, my son will be entering college, which will require some creative finance. I’ve also failed to build up any later-in-life nest egg. Just about all of my equity is tied up in the business.
Do you have health insurance and if so, who pays for it?
I do – and I pay for it. It comes out of my paycheck before I see it, so it just happens. I don’t really think about it too much because of that.
How specifically do you look for new work?
So, again, my circumstances may be a bit different than someone who is self-employed and still a “solopreneur.” I have built up a fairly sizeable business. But I will talk about this – as I think it’s relevant. A few years back I started white-boarding out where my clients and income originated. At that time, a majority of my business could be traced back in a six-degrees-of-separation fashion to my original contacts. Since then, I find that a preponderance of new business originates with relationships formed on social media. It doesn’t mean that someone on Twitter goes “hey, can you do some digital marketing for me?” Instead, I meet people there, then later, meet those same people in real life. I have a strong belief in sharing knowledge – in “paying it forward,” and never promoting myself or company. The fundamental thread in this is that your connections – your social network – are critical. You need to do everything possible to make that network as wide as you can.
Do others always tell you to get a “real” job?
Over the years I might have heard that once or twice, but I think it might have been limited to my mother-in-law. After all, being in a rural area, it’s just amazing that someone is employed at all.
Do you continually need to explain why you’re doing what you do? Do people around you tell you that they wish they could do it too?
No, I think I’m past that point and have proven myself. But I do hear people moan and groan about their fears of taking chances, and I’m sorry, it’s bunk. If a high school dropout artist in the Catskills can create a company, you can too. Mind you, there were times that I financed my company by holding onto paychecks, and working absurdly long hours.
Maybe I didn’t have to work those hours – yet, I’m here.
How important do you think finding your passion is?
It’s ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL! Really? It’s only when you’re passionate that you really put yourself into things – and it’s only then that you create real value. But the case for passion isn’t black and white. You might find the passion in what you do, or do what you are passionate about. It can go both ways. During my early days, I worked briefly in a factory that made Styrofoam blocks. One of my co-workers, a golden-gloves lightweight boxer, when about moving Styrofoam blocks around the warehouse with the biggest smile on his face – all the time. One day I asked him how it could be that he was so happy doing this mindless physical work, and he replied, “I’m getting paid to work out.”
Sometimes, we have multiple passions in life. I’m a painter. I’m a drummer. And I’m a writer. At my company, I’m able to do a lot of the writing, but none of the painting and drumming. I’m not at all sure how to work this out – but I’m not about to go around with a long face. I just need to develop more discipline around my own time.
Are you happy in your work life or do you wish you could change things?
I’ve been so fortunate to get to meet the people I’ve met, and to do the work I do, and have good cause to wake up every day feeling gratitude. I have a vision for having an even more integrated life (painting more) – and feel like I’m on my way. I’m not always happy, but always feel deeply contented. And I’ll take contentment over happiness any day.
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