Earlier today I received an email from the good folks at Twitter saying they went with a different candidate for the Founder Associate position. I have to give it to Twitter because it was well written let down email. They learned from their mistakes and used a BCC when sending it to the applicants. It was little let down that I didn’t get the job but I knew it wasn’t in Gods plan. I am starting to learn that its not what I want but what he wants. I am not upset, just gotta put that behind me and look ahead. I really felt good about getting the job and potentially moving out to San Francisco but for whatever reason God wants me in Philly right now. I've talked with a very close friend and she said the same exact thing. Just as long as we keep doing what he wants us to do there will be something even bigger down the line waiting for us. Its hard for me to believe that all the time but I've been doing it my way and haven't had much luck.

I am still praying and talking with God on seeing what he wants me to do. I know for now I will probably be staying put in the family business. I love the “startup culture” that small businesses have when hitting the scene. Thats what drew me to Twitter, a company with about 30 employees and a killer product looking to grow. Over the past couple years I would look at the family business like that but everybody in the company didn't have that same mindset. Most of the people in the company look at it as a 9-5 and that’s it. I look at the family business as more than that, not just because my father owns it but because of where the company can go. To fill you in, the family business is Ingram’s Plumbing and is the largest black owned plumbing service company in Philadelphia.

Right now, I will go hard in taking Ingram’s to the next level. I feel I am sitting on a gold mine because of how fragmented the “plumbing game” is in the city. Open up the yellow pages and you will find tons of plumbers BUT nobody has taken over the game. It seems that every company is content with how they are doing. I have been working with the family business for about 8 years now and it is still the same as it was back then. I always say that one day some big company will come through and take over the plumbing industry just like Rite Aid did with the mom and pop pharmacies and Home Depot with the local hardware stores. That day hasn’t happened yet.

I am not a “plumber”, I know plumbing terms and whatnot but I don’t perform any plumbing work. I know how to run the company and been involved in every aspect of the day to day operations. I have my “journeymens” license but that’s just for credentials as you don’t have to perform any plumbing work to get licensed in the city. There aren't too many young bodies who are winning to change the game in Philly. There are so many ideas that run through my head each day that I can see happening in the future. Paperless paperwork, signing for an invoice on a tablet to paying for your plumbing work online and implementing a service plan program. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have been coasting the past year. Sometimes I have to remind myself of not living for the moment. Yes I am young and thats what young people should do but those wanting to make a change think differently. I know I will have to be the catalyst that makes the change at Ingram’s. I know its not going to be hard and maybe that was what has been preventing me from doing it already. Enough is enough and I can’t talk about what I could’ve or should’ve done. Its a new day and time to bring the startup culture mindset to Ingram’s.