About three weeks ago, I received a cryptic text message from a former co-worker of mine. “Still doing freelance work?” I responded, then got back, “I’ve got some big opportunities for you.” Then nothing.

It took a few days for the conversation to catch up, but eventually, I was assigned a story. It was to be a funny piece about bodybuilding equipment, about 750 words or so. I’m not quite sure how, but in under four hours I had a very well polished article that I was pretty happy with. I drove it over to the office where I met the owners of the magazine, and then sat there while they all read it individually. Laughter erupted from various corners of the room randomly, and at the end they all loved it. I was assigned another article and I went home satisfied.

The next day was a bit rough. Earlier in the morning, I had lost a client – one that I really enjoyed working for – and I was pretty upset about it. After lunch, I received a phone call from that same former co-worker. “We just fired our editor. Can you come in and finish the book? We go to print in two days.”

I spent the next 36 hours or so living and breathing that magazine, and after lots of hard work and some helpful designers, the book was put out to print and everyone was happy. Apparently they were so happy that they wanted to keep me on. After some negotiations, I worked out a deal to become the editor in chief at rebel magazine.

There are many things that make this deal interesting for me. For one, this isn’t designed to replace my current work at Whipps Industries. To the contrary, this is just another contracted job. That’s hard to wrap my head around at times, because I’m doing a full-time job at rebel for the most part, but I still have other clients and projects to manage as well. Since my work schedule is pretty much 9am until whenever I feel like stopping, I really only have to focus on the big picture and getting everything coordinated correctly. It’s just another link in the chain.

I’m also contracted to appear in the Rebel Media office 1-3 days a week, which means I can still work from home. My son is six months old now, and it’s really cool to watch him do all of these firsts right there in front of me. By keeping this schedule, I can still spend time watching him grow up, while still making a living. It’s pretty cool.

This job has also caused a bit of a shift in me personally. Rebel isn’t that typical men’s magazine that focuses on T&A. It’s more about doing good things and giving back to the community, something which I’ve always considered lacking in my life. It’s not that I’ve never given to charity or worked in a soup kitchen, but after working where I did for so long, I kind of feel like I need to give back. There were times at my old job where I felt like I needed a shower after seeing the horrible things that people could do, and this is just one way I can make a difference.

I can’t see into the future, but I do want rebel to succeed. The book goes monthly in January, and early next year we’re planning a trip across the country to do something I’ve always dreamed of doing. I’ve already met some very cool people and there’s even more to do yet. It’s very exciting.

It’s been almost a year now since I formally started Whipps Industries, and in that short time we’ve made leaps and bounds. The company is more successful than I ever imagined it would be and I’ve met or exceeded most of my goals. But 2011 is another year with new things ahead. I’ve set an even bigger goal for next year, and I can’t wait to see how that pans out.