How Getting Pulled Over for Speeding Turned Into My First Freelance Client

My very first car was a 1992 Chevy Corsica. I loved that thing. Now, in hindsight, it was a hunk of junk and needed more work than it was worth, but if you think back to your first car, or your first scooter or bike, you’ll remember the same feeling.

Because of this, I was a pretty active member of a web forum for Corsicas. We talked about how to fix common issues, customize the look, and chatted about upgrading the sound system.

That last one is directly related to my career as a freelancer.

Another member of the forum ran his own car audio company and needed a logo. I had just been tinkering around with design stuff in Photoshop 5 and building static HTML websites before CSS was a thing. Nevertheless, I agreed to do his logo, and even though we never talked about cost, I came up with a design he loved.

“How much do I owe you?” he asks.

Around the same time, as any 18-year-old does, I was driving a bit too fast on the highway with some friends in the car with me. Of course, I was pulled over and given a ticket, as I deserved to be, but the real problem came with paying that ticket.

I didn’t have that $93 at the time because I had just bought a car, and my part-time job wouldn’t pay enough in time.

“How about you pay for my ticket?” I responded.

Boom, my first ever client.

PS: Sorry Mom that I never told you about getting pulled over. I figured 20 years was a long enough buffer ;)