My name is Wil Della. My family emigrated from the Philippines to the United States when I was seven years old. Along with my older and younger sisters, I grew up in Detroit Michigan.

Detroit, at the time, was experiencing the beginnings of a migration of its own (the so called “white flight”) to the suburbs that stemmed from the riots that took place several years back. My family had remained, but eventually moved to the suburbs while I was in college in the late 80s. I went to a little-known business school in Midland Michigan called Northwood Institute (it changed to Northwood University after I graduated). While I was taking my prerequisite classes, I watched the movie Wall Street, starring Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas. It was that movie that made me decide to work toward a degree in finance and business. I graduated with an Associates in Banking\Finance and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration.

After graduation, I moved back home with my parents in Canton Michigan. I wandered around working at odd jobs that involved selling. I finally secured a position as a broker for company in Southfield Michigan that sold certificates of deposits and bonds to banks and large institutions. It was my dream to be like Charlie Sheen in that Wall Street movie. However, it was full commission pay and selling to bankers and CFOs was an arduous task. I would make anywhere from fifty to one hundred calls a day to get to speak to four or five who would listen to my ‘spiel’. It wasn’t anything at all like the movie. I was out of my comfort zone and the sales were few and far between. I had to find something more stable. Selling direct was not my thing.

During my time in high school, I had taken a computer class learning how to code in BASIC. I had taken a liking to computers at the time. The computers used in class were the TRS-80s by the Tandy Corporation and as a Christmas present from my parents, I was gifted my first ever computer. A Commadore 64 (yeah, you’ve probably already figured out my age). Regrettably, I only saw this dalliance with computers as a hobby and I didn’t like to code that much. Little did I know that the knowledge I gained would serve me down the road.

My older sister was working for a pharmaceutical company in the early 90s and she suggested I apply for a software support position that had opened. I would be taking support calls from pharmacies all over the country. This was my opportunity to get something that was more stable. I applied, interviewed, and then was hired. I had the requisite skills that they were looking for. Computer knowledge to learn their software, customer service and a college education. The position was not highly technical.  Although, there were opportunities for training to be more technical. Specifically, when it came to hardware. I used the skills I gained to build my first computer. I’ve also learned how computers can be networked together and wanted to learn more. However, the opportunity to learn more were limited only to PC hardware and the software that the company wanted us to support. I was really interested in the technology behind computer networks.

By the mid-90s, I grew tired of taking support calls. I needed something more. A position had opened for a PC Coordinator at a healthcare insurance provider in Detroit. In the job description, there was a bullet point stating the candidate will assist the Network Engineer with day-to-day tasks in managing the network. This was my break. I applied, interviewed, and eventually got hired. I was overjoyed.

I learned a lot about computer networks during my time there. I even attained network certification from a well-known network technology company. It was considered gold. It’s much akin to what Microsoft certifications are today. It was with this knowledge and experienced I leveraged that made me take the next step in my career.

After two years with the insurance provider, I moved on to work for three managed IT service providers, in succession, as a network engineer. The last one being for thirteen years. I enjoyed deploying new technology and managing the IT infrastructure for our customers. Following that, I became an IT Manager for a print production company. I’ve reached the highest point where I can go and yet I was not completely satisfied. I was getting burnt out from all the stress that came with the job. So stressed that I didn’t pay close attention to the security of the network.

In the spring of 2018, the company was attacked by ransomware. I was aware that ransomware attacks were becoming prevalent, but I didn’t provide enough preventative measures to thwart any attacks from happening. It was a dark period for me. There was added stress to try to recover what was lost. What was lost, we had to rebuild. I didn’t sleep much, and I lost weight. Upper management hired an IT firm that specialized in the recovery and mitigation from this type of disaster. They also re-designed the network for optimal security. The company ultimately paid the ransom because the legacy systems that were lost was vital and impossible to rebuild. The company eventually hired the firm as ongoing consultants. That meant that I was no longer needed.

By winter 2018, the decision was made for me to part ways with the company. I understood why and I did not blame them for my mistake. I was unemployed until the summer of 2019 where I was hired by a managed IT service provider as a support analyst. It was a step down, but I needed a job. During my time there, I was pondering the thought of running my own business. I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit. I’ve had side hustles here and there in the past, but they were not sustainable.

In the fall of 2020, when the world was in chaos with Covid-19, I was perusing the internet one day when I ran into video about how to start an Amazon wholesale business. Of course, it was a marketing video, and I would have to purchase a course. After doing due diligence on the man who created the course, I took the plunge in buying it. It was comprehensive and thorough. I completed the course in the winter of 2020. By February of 2021, I had my first sale on Amazon, and it was scaling fast. In the summer of the same year , I was laid off from the company. I was ok with it because my business was making money. I felt somewhat relieved and yet uncertain.

About a month later from the lay off, I was talking to a former colleague who had moved up to be an IT Manager. He happened to have a need for someone to assist him. He asked if I wanted the job. I was hesitant at first because I wanted to concentrate on my Amazon business, but a little extra income would be nice. So, proposed being a part time consultant. He and his company agreed and that is what I’m doing today. I’m still managing my Amazon business. I also building and maintaining this blog.

So, stay tuned and check back often for new posts and topics! I’m sure you’ll find something here that’s informative and helpful.