Two and a half years ago I officially incorporated my first company and started my independent consulting career under the name “East5th, Inc.”
At that time, I really didn’t know what I wanted out of my business, or what it would ultimately grow into. When deliberating whether to go into business under my own name or under the guise of a company, I figured that working behind a fictional entity would be the safer choice.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that this was the wrong choice for me.
Fun fact: I picked the name “East5th, Inc.” because:
- I lived on East 5th Avenue.
- My accountant suggested I tack “Inc.” to the end because, well, that’s just what you do.
Pros and Cons
You’re afforded certain freedoms when you do business as a fictional entity. You’re able to easily scale your business to multiple employees, which in turns lets you easily distance yourself from your business and eventually exit.
I don’t want either of these things.
When I first started out on my own, I imagined building a small team around myself and managing projects entirely in-house from start to finish. While I’ve done some of that and I do enjoy it, I’ve found that I do my best work when I deeply integrate myself into an existing team or project. I want to focus on the technical aspects of my work, not the complexities of managing a team.
I’ve also come to the realization that I don’t want an exit strategy. I’ve never been happier with my career than I am right now. I love the teams I’ve worked with over the years, and I love the projects we’ve worked on together. I love writing and sharing the things I’m excited about with the world.
I’m in this for life.
Good Night, East5th
All of that is a roundabout way of saying that I’ve made the decision to drop the “East5th” name. Effective immediately, this site will become www.petecorey.com. Old links to www.east5th.co will continue to work and redirect to the new domain. Additionally I’ve renamed my Medium account from “@east5th” to @petecorey.
I’m hoping this change will bring a me a new set of freedoms, like the freedom to be more honest, open, and authentic with my writings and projects.