Today we’d like to introduce you to Brent Carey.
Hi Brent, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Like many people, the direction my life has taken, both professionally and privately, hasn’t been in a straight line. However, one constant in my life, since the time I was 12 has been martial arts. As I’m now in my fifties, I have spent the better part of almost 40 years “on the mat” as we say in the dojo (a space dedicated to martial practice). As I went through school and others were playing team sports, I spent time training in various styles of martial arts. The same was true of my years in college, and as work became my primary focus in my twenties, I spent much of my free time practicing combative arts.
In parallel to my time training in martial arts, I also held a variety of jobs, from framing houses to working in the outdoor industry. While I was in the process of obtaining my bachelor’s degree from Metropolitan University, I started working for an online retailer in the outdoor products space. Little did I realize at the time that job would shape my career for the next 20 years. It was there that I was first exposed to working “online”. The shop I worked for was a longtime local fixture of Evergreen, Colorado: Snow Leopard Mountain Sports. I ended up managing their affiliate program and AdWords programs, and I loved it. Unfortunately, Snow Leopard ended up closing shop, but the owner, Matt Sampson, decided to open a web design agency, Colorado Web Solutions, and as luck would have it, I became his first employee. Matt and I fondly look back at those first few years as the Wild West of web development. There wasn’t a lot of competition as the masses hadn’t yet caught on to internet marketing, and branding companies were few and far between; it was even before the advent of smartphones. Over the next few years, we created custom-built websites as well as e-commerce stores hosted on the Yahoo Small Business platform. In 2004, I also created my own company, Carey Development dba as C Dev Web Design and began developing my own company from the ground up, servicing the same industry. From that time until today, I have been creating, designing and developing websites, IOS and Android apps, and providing digital support for small businesses both in the Denver metro area and nationwide.
While my career continued to develop, I never strayed from the study of martial arts. For years on end, I was in the dojo, three days a week. Through all the different jobs, marriage, and kids, I always continued to train. I knew that I wanted to create a career that would also allow me to keep combative training as a lifetime focus. While many martial artists simply open a dojo and their passion becomes their profession, I chose to study a martial art that doesn’t attract the masses like BJJ or Taekwondo. Having a dojo wasn’t going to give me the financial means to buy a house, help support a family and so I had to be creative. It just so happens that having my own web design company also gave me the flexibility to attend worldwide seminars and invest the kind of time I wanted to devote to the study of martial arts.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been numerous challenges over twenty years of running my own company. They run the gamut. There have been unusually turbulent times, like the downturn in 2008 or the COVID years. Surviving those unsettled years was challenging to say the least. Outside of those uniquely atypical periods, pretty much every day has had its own set of difficulties that need to be solved. Similar to some small businesses, I started the company with little knowledge of how to actually run a company and, over the years, learned as I went. My days have been filled with a range of activities and responsibilities like learning how to create effective sales funnels, understanding how to utilize different development platforms, working with and managing employees and sub-contractors, creating pipelines for gaining new clients, understanding and implementing project management techniques, having a grasp of accounting and invoicing methodologies, designing everything from logos to websites, offering stellar customer service; the list is seemingly endless. Seldom are any two days alike. Lately, a new challenge that many other companies and I are facing is how to keep the company competitive and healthy while at the same time balancing the benefits and difficulties presented by AI. Many industries are experiencing disruptions and also advantages due to AI. Finding a path forward has added a whole new layer of complexity and excitement to an already challenging entrepreneurial venture.
In the realm of martial arts, about 20 years ago I started practicing a sugo-bujutsu, or “comprehensive martial art’ known as Takamura-ha Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu (TSYR) under the tutelage of who I consider to be one of the greatest martial arts teachers alive today, Tobin Threadgill. The art is what is referred to as a “Koryu” or “Old School” or “Old Style”. In order to get somewhat proficient, it takes years of intensive study, as the curriculum is quite large, with the techniques being complex and varied. Now, 20 years later, I teach both locally and internationally. Because of my relationship to the art and the freedom my career provides, I have made friends and visited many countries around the globe. Next to my family and my career, practicing TSYR has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences in my life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In terms of the work I do for my career, it is heavily focused on digital support. My office is in Arvada, Colorado. I offer a range of services including website design, app development for both IOS and Android, graphic design, e-commerce store builds, site migrations, email management, Google consulting, and merchant processing services.
If we’re talking about what kind of work I do for martial arts, that primarily consists of ongoing training and teaching. I train three days a week at a private dojo (school) in Evergreen, Colorado. I also teach at that dojo as well as at international seminars in several different countries.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The two biggest factors that have shaped who I am today- being an entrepreneur and practicing martial arts have both taught me innumerable lessons. Some of the biggest takeaways, in no particular order, are:
Always treat people as I’d want to be treated. It sounds easy, but from my experience, far too many businesses and people don’t adhere to this basic principle.
Be willing to update processes when something better comes along. It’s easy to get stuck using an antiquated system that “works”. When something better comes along, be open to trying new things. Innovation breeds success.
Always be on the lookout for new connections. For many small businesses, the acquisition pipeline is the hardest nut to crack. New clients can come from places you would have never thought of. Be open to and on the lookout for new avenues.
Keep your clients happy. This seems like a no-brainer, but far too often companies can forget that customers or clients are what make our businesses possible. I always try to put my clients first.
Enjoy the work. It’s important to enjoy what you’re doing. Real happiness comes from the journey. I get immense satisfaction from creating a website for a client, coming up with a cool-looking graphic, or helping to solve a business issue that a client hasn’t been able to solve on their own. If you’re not enjoying what you do, you need to find something that does pique your interest.
Meet new people, go to new places, and experience new things. We grow from our experiences, and sitting on your couch isn’t going to do it. Go out into the world, and you’ll realize that you have more in common with people from other countries and cultures than you might have thought.
Consistency is key. Discipline, whether that be in your career or your hobby, is the only way you’ll achieve the results you want. Whatever it is, keep at it and don’t stop.
Always take on new challenges. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations. That’s where real growth happens.
Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn how to fail. Failing is as much a part of success as any other ingredient. If you don’t fail, it likely means you aren’t putting yourself in new and unfamiliar situations. Few of us can go into any endeavor and only get wins. Nothing teaches you lessons better than failing, and people need to be comfortable with learning how to fail upwards.
Owning a small business is certainly a worthwhile endeavor. Of course, with the good comes the bad, and being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. For those of you on the fence about whether to give it a shot, I enthusiastically encourage you to give it a go. Is it scary at times? Yes. Is it occasionally frustrating? Of course. But running your own business is also very rewarding. Being your own boss and having the buck stop with you is incredibly satisfying. There is a sense of freedom that one can experience that I believe can’t be found if you always find yourself working for others. For me, creating a company and helping others has been one of the most gratifying experiences in my life.
In terms of martial arts, I absolutely recommend their practice to others. The art that I practice isn’t for everyone, but there are many arts out there that provide similar benefits. Those benefits include improved health, a new social circle, learning self-defense, learning to be situationally aware, improved cognitive function, overcoming challenges, being exposed to other cultures and norms, meeting new people, traveling; the list is a long one. Practicing a martial art can be physically demanding, injuries can happen, and oftentimes you are challenged mentally. However, I think most people will find what you gain as a person from practicing is hard to find elsewhere.
In my life, combining my entrepreneurial spirit with my pursuit of accomplishment in martial arts has been immensely rewarding. The two seemingly disparate ambitions have actually been very symbiotic in creating the person I am today. It’s been a fantastic ride so far, and I look forward to what’s ahead.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cdevwebdesign.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-carey-cdevweb/
