I was the kid in school who drew skulls in his notebooks instead of writing quadratic equations.

As life happened, I knew I would need a job where I could be creative every day and get paid for it. So I studied advertising in graduate school.

As graduation loomed, the professors would say: "If you want to work as a planner, media buyer, account executive, or in business development, we can help you get a job."

They never mentioned "Art Director" or "Copywriter." They said to those of us looking to break into creative to "just keep working on your portfolio."

Why? Because the competition was stiff and the chances slim. It was hard. You were on your own. And even if you did land a job, you'd most likely lose it when the agency lost an account.

I had to weigh my prospects. I figured if it was that hard to get a job at an advertising agency, there was really only one thing I could do.

Start my own: http://embryocreative.com

I've been working in creative every day since.