Funny story, when I was a kid I was really into skateboarding, as many kids were at my age. These two other kids came from a family whose father helped them start a skateboard clothing company. I loved the idea and thought, “I can do that.”

I found a cartoonist and told him my idea, found a screenprinter and negotiated a good deal on getting a bunch of shirts made, did the dishes and cleaned the house for what felt like a thousand times to earn the money for the shirts. Once I got them made, I sold 100 shirts for $25 each to people around my city. $2,500 for an 11-year-old kid—not too shabby. I didn’t know about reinvesting back into the business and probably blew the money on skateboards and candy, but that is another story.

Fast forward some years, and when I turned 18, I was working with my dad in his non-profit drug rehab center while starting my own business. After a short stint in designing shirts and comfy pants and getting them screenprinted, I needed to figure out a website. People kept telling me how complicated it was, so I decided to learn it myself. After two weeks of learning this day and night, I was able to build a full websites. At that time it required complete design and programming as we didn’t have the tools that are available today.

I realized I wasn’t the only one with this need and made my first sale to a dentist. I made thousands of dollars and did it in something that had a lot more future, as it was new and evolving.
That launched Studio98. The whole time, one thing went through my head: “I want to help people.” That is all I ever wanted.

Being that my dad did drug rehab for inmates for so long, I got to see a great example of someone who truly helped change people’s lives. I wanted to do that.

Problem was, that as I grew my company, I did so many things backwards. I didn’t empower my team, kept way too much on my shoulders, and didn’t build an organization that could grow. I was working about 20 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was so bad I would bring my laptop when I go on dates.

At the age of 24, crazy high blood pressure, 130lbs overweight and heading in a really bad direction I knew I had to make a change. I committed to changing the way that I was doing things.
I started to work on myself, my knowledge, and my skills as a manager.

Over the years, I transitioned from working 20 hours a day and being broke to having an incredible team that work to continuously grow our businesses. We have bought companies, sold companies, and had a great ride so far.

People began asking me how I went from bringing my laptop on dates to managing a company that allows me to still donate time and work with the charities and church groups that I love. We evolved into a full-service consulting business. Realizing that we had many of the parts, it made sense for us to bring everything under a single umbrella. We could basically plug into other businesses and help them fill the gaps in areas they needed assistance with, all towards the mission of “Goals, Achieved.”

My number one love still to this day in business is helping people. We look for opportunities to dive in and help people sort out problems, big and small. We aren’t the people who will keep quiet when there is a problem. We will point out the issues and work with you to help solve them.

So, that is a little backstory on how I started Studio98 Consulting, what it means to me, and why our staff wake up every day to serve you. Our mission is simple: to help you achieve your goals. Whether you’re struggling with business processes, need a better strategy, or just want to streamline operations, we’re here to make it happen. We believe in tackling challenges head-on and finding solutions that work. That’s why Studio98 Consulting exists and why we are passionate about what we do.

by Rafferty Pendery
Chief Executive Officer
rafferty@studio98.com
+1 (727) 265-1832

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