Who Is Craig?
I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. I come from a big family and have been on my own since I was 14 years old.
I had all the answers when I was a kid, and if it were not for my friends, and their parents I would not even have graduated high school.
I went to college for a while, but I could not stand it, so I dropped out. I figured I could just outwork everyone, so I worked the equivalent of two full time jobs until I was about 35. I worked in sales and marketing, because I loved people, and it was the only way (I thought) I could make a decent living without a college degree. I was that guy working in “Corporate America” and chasing the carrot! I soon learned though, the company cared, but only to an extent… The reality was, I was just a number, and I was only as valuable, as my ability to show up on time, and do my job.
I found this out on 12/26/2005 at the age of 35, when I collapsed and died for 6 minutes. It was the day after Christmas, and my world came crashing down! Had it not been for my girlfriend, who saved my life, I would not be sitting here writing to you today. What caused it, was not a heart attack, instead what I had developed was an electrical problem with my heart.
Because of this, I soon found myself, without a job, living off my 401k, and no medical insurance. That was in 2008 when the financial crisis happened as well. So the frosting on the cake was…no one was hiring!
My life had gone from “living the dream”, and having money in the bank…to where I was someone who was partially disabled, uneducated, and going broke…I was also the proud owner of a home that was foreclosed on in November of 2010 by Wells Fargo Bank for a mortgage where I owed $315,000. That very same home six months later was resold on the open market for $135,000. I had to cut my loses and get out. It was one of the hardest decisions that I have ever had to make!
I had two choices at this point in my life. Go back to school, and get a degree or do something like start my own business. So I did just that! I had a 20 year history in sales, and I had worked for the “Nordstrom’s of Customer Service” in the rental car industry. So I had been trained by some of the best. It gave me a real understanding of what EXCELLENCE meant! I took this experience and became a student of advertising and marketing. With a focus on the customer experience, understanding how consumers make buying decisions in the 21st century.
What I have learned in the process though was quite unexpected! What I learned was that with the virtual stampede of new technology available to consumers, and the collapse in the economy, business as we know it has changed! How people do their research, how and where they shop, and ultimately make their buying decisions, it is all different now! Traditional advertising mediums like the phone book, radio, television, or newspapers just don’t work like they used to.
Instead it has become all about social media ranking, local listings on authority web sites, and advertising on mobile devices. These things coupled with the traditional means of advertising have created a paradigm shift! What I have found is that by now…most people have heard of these concepts. But practical application is a totally different story, because for most, it creates information overload!
I also know that there is a lot of gurus out there claiming to be experts in the field, and selling a system for teaching people how to do this stuff. I know because I have bought a lot of what they were selling. The trick is filtering through it all and getting to what really works.
This is what I do… I study marketing, and creation of multiple streams of income. I do so because just having a JOB today, is not going to cut it for most folks.
So who am I? I am just a guy that has always done things the hard way, and I am not doing THAT anymore…
I discovered what a blog is, and now…I am documenting my personal and business ventures. Noting how technology is effecting all aspects of our lives, and the quality of life that we are living today. Literally how we all live, work, and play! How it effects being a heart failure survivor, and a college dropout who is also trying to figure how to retire in 20 years. It is also because what I was taught by my parents (like most people I talked to…) about making a living does not work anymore. No one really thinks about worse case scenarios until you have to lived through them.
Well I am one of the guys that has, and if something does not change, I am going to have to work until my final days! The other option is to be a burden to society and go on public assistance, and that is not an option for me either!
Any way you slice it…tis about truly living, the lessons learned along the way, and what I call the”GOOD STUFF”! All worth writing about…
If you have any comments or questions for me, let’s connect…
Talk soon,
Craig Costenbader
PO Box 98463
Seattle, WA 98198
206 701 6650
ProfusionConcepts@gmail.com
