First paying job: “I worked as a trash collector in Wheeling. It was a great experience. I was calling friends’ parents, asking if they knew about any work, and one of them said, ‘I know of two jobs that might be open. One is at a bank and the other one is dirty work.’ And he said, ‘When I say dirty work, I really mean dirty work.’ So for whatever reason, the garbageman job was really appealing to me. I worked there for two summers.”

Justin Seibert lived the life of the typical Wheeling teenager. He played football, participated in forensics – and left.

He attended college at Vanderbilt University and earned a degree in sociology and communications, while he played hockey along with creating and hosting Vanderbilt TV.

He then went to Los Angeles in 1999 because he said it was important to see a different part of the country. He found his stride with a large private financial firm.

“In 2001, my bosses at the time … said for us to grow, we need another leg to stand on, and we think it’s the Internet; go figure it out,” Seibert said.

“I did a bunch of stuff and got pretty successful with Internet marketing and search marketing.” His story is a little less typical because he came back to Wheeling.

He was a married father of two and realized he wanted his children to grow up in a more stable, family-oriented environment, so he returned to Wheeling and started his own business in some uncharted territory. Direct Online Marketing is a full-service Internet marketing firm that specializes in paid search, search engine optimization, business blogging, Web development, e-mail campaign systems and more. It’s also a qualified Google advertising company.

“The fact that I have a business in West Virginia that is successful enough that I’m able to employ other people, especially in this economy,” Seibert said. “It makes me feel good that other people are able to get a paycheck based on a company that I run.”

Seibert didn’t just return home to quietly stay stagnant. He co-founded OVConnect, the upper Ohio Valley’s young professionals’ organization, and he’s a member of Create West Virginia. He also serves on the board for the West Virginia Northern Community College Foundation and Wheeling Health Rite.

“I always try, if I can, to take a break for an hour or two and play with the kids, because this isn’t the same as having a nine to five,” he said. “I get a lot of rewards from it, but there’s a lot of stress. I’m just pleased I can be doing this in West Virginia.”

Seibert said he’d like to see more telecommuters and entrepreneurs set up shop in West Virginia. Seibert and his wife, Kristin, are parents of Clare, 3, and Max, 2.