Need Advice - On Starting a Company

So my little brother is starting a business. Well, to be honest, he did a while ago. But we're making it official now.

You see, my brother is 20. He's fallen straight into the heart of not being able to find a job. He has severe ADD, and it wasn't managed in high school - so he struggled just to pass his classes, and having a job wasn't even on the radar. Now that he's seeing a myriad of doctors and has his issues "taken care of", he's enrolled in college and doing well. Except for the whole working thing. See, no one really wants to hire a young adult who's never had a job before and isn't a college graduate. His resume is literally blank. He wasn't in clubs or sports in high school. He didn't graduate with honors. He's your typical "fell through the cracks" person. He's trying so so hard to get out.

My brother is in school for computer programming. He loves all things electronic. He loves taking them apart and putting them back together. Last summer, he started scrapping. He takes old computers and tvs, pulls them apart, and sells the pieces. It's a great deal. Most people just leave this stuff out on the curb or have it collecting dust in their basement. He makes money from it. It takes a special skill set - one he's developed over the years from tinkering with my dad and school. It takes determination - he drives around for roughly 3 hours a night, looking for electronics on the side of the road, and then spends hours more dismantling it and sorting it and taking it to the recycling center for money. My brother will take a string of Christmas lights and take all 500 bulbs off (and makes about $3 from it). But he's being resourceful. While he still lives with my parents, he's able to make income.

I'm so proud of him turning his life around.

But in a few years, he's going to graduate. He's going to give a resume out to employers. And they're going to ask, "What have you been doing with your life?"

I want him to be able to say, "I built this company. From the start." So I'm building his company. I want him to go from a "kid driving around picking up junk" to "let's call him to pick up our stuff!". I want him to have car magnets, business cards, a website, and an email. I want him to look professional. Hell, I want him to have a Facebook page.

Has anyone started a website from scratch before? Preferably free? I'm looking into websites and emails that work best. I'd love an email with a phone app (right now I'm looking at gmail or mail.com). I'll be using Vistaprint for the material stuff. I'd love anyone's advice!! Thanks!

2 Years. (warning: mush ahead)

Today, we celebrate our 2 year anniversary.

Two years since this:

and this:

It's been amazing.

Yes, we've had our fights. But we our love still grows deeper everyday.

It never fails to amaze me how well we know each other. How little we actually fight. How much fun we have together. How he's my best friend. How we have the same goals and dreams. How I can't help but smile when he puts his arm around me at night (or more when it's there when I wake up), even if it makes me 1,000 degrees. How I can't be mad at him when he hugs me and kisses me on the forehead. How no matter how stressed I am, he has the words to calm me.

So as we go to dinner at a winery tonight, we remember all of that. We celebrate it. We grow with it.

And I love him. A lot.

He's to two fabulous years Sean. And many more to come. <3 br="br">

2013

Why hello 2013. My how you snuck up on us! It seems like it was just 2012, and I was welcoming in a year of growth and promises. But alas, 2012 has come and gone. And it truly did offer growth - in many ways. I grew in my job and became confident that I will stay there for a long time. Sean grew in his studies as he completed his second year and started his third of law school. Our budget grew as Sean got a part time job at a law firm. Our family grew as we adopted a dog. Our experiences grew as we traveled to Florida, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Tennessee. Our savings grew as we began to save for a house. In fact, the only thing that didn't grow was probably my debt - we paid off my car and one of my student loans (Sean's student loans are a whoooole different story).

This year? This year is promising a year of change. Many changes, much growth, and so much promise. Sean will be graduating. We'll be buying a house. We'll (hopefully) be growing our family again - with a human this time. We'll (hopefully) be growing our bank account with a new job for Sean.

Yup. There's a lot of change that going to be going on around here. Change for the better. Let's rock it!