The Grand Finale: Job #8

I can't believe it... I worked 8 jobs for a week each and it's over! To be honest, I'm a bit relieved. It's also a bit unnerving since I'm back to the dilemma of "what's next." This summer has been extraordinary. Before I start on a soapbox about it, let me share about job #8.

This week, I was in my hometown of Cleveland, TN, working with At Your Service, a small printing business. At Your Service is a one man operation, consisting of printing genius Stan Pegram. Stan and I met when I worked at Scott's Bike Shop earlier in the summer. After hearing about his work that week, I ordered a shirt from him. I was blown away by the quality of my custom Boise State jersey so naturally, I wanted to work with Stan for a week!

Stan specializes in sublimation printing. Unlike screenprinting and other types of printing that print on top of the surface, sublimating gets the ink into the fiber of the shirt. Besides printing shirts, Stan also offers really cool photo gifts that can be customized with logos, graphics, or photos.

When he wakes up in the morning, Stan has an easy stroll to work: his workspace is his 1200 square foot basement! It's really a cool set-up with the computer, the heat presses, mug presses, and samples of his past work.

On Monday, I started my job with Stan and learned more about how he got into the business. Oddly enough, the business grew out of his wife's love for quilting. To make a long story short, Stan's wife saw really unique quilts that had sublimated printing on them. After sharing with Stan, Stan researched, bought the gear, and started doing projects for people in the community.

Some of his most popular items are name badges. In hospitals, offices, meetings, and more, name badges are worn. Stan makes really classy looking badges!

Why did I choose this job? (working as a printer)

When I met Stan earlier in the summer, we hit it off. He's the sweetest man you've ever met and I was intrigued by his home-based business. As an aspiring entrepreneur myself, I knew I would really benefit from spending more time learning from Stan.

It's interesting to note that the employer played a major role in the job that I chose for my final week. Sometimes in life, you are going to have the opportunity to work with a really great person. The job itself might not be your forte' or something that revs you up, but it might be worth taking the job to learn.

So, to get back to answering the question. I chose the job so I could work and learn from Stan, not because I absolutely love printing things. Fair enough?

Monday Recap:

First, Stan showed me how he prepares graphics and text on his laptop. He uses CorelDraw software to edit his graphics and then prints them.

Stan received a huge order for car dash plates for an antique car show. I'm not  very informed about car shows, but each attendee receives a dash plate to recognize their presence at the show. Stan had to print 400 for the show!

The bottom picture shows Stan taping the plates to the paper that has the image to be transferred. After he tapes the plates on, they are placed in a hot press for 60 seconds. After cooling off, they're done!

It was a busy first day and I did loads of taping! I had fun though and learned a lot.

Stay posted for more details about my week at the printer!

-Kieley Best

A Week That Left Me Wanting More

Blogging takes time and energy and I have been running low on both! I have been traveling a ton lately for the One-Week Job Program. I just finished job #6 after having a busy week in Dallas, Texas. I am so thankful I got to spend week #6 at the Dallas Market Center to learn about the wholesale business. If you missed my first blog about DMC, read it here.

A special thanks is due to Meredith Hite, Dallas Market Center's Director of Public Relations. She is also the logistical genius who offered me the job, arranged my schedule, and ensured that the week was absolutely fantastic!

I love meeting people who are so gifted like Meredith and so on top of their game. For Meredith, public relations is her forte’ but there were many other young professionals with exceptional talent at Dallas Market Center.

My schedule was tight from Wednesday to Sunday since I was booked to be in a different place and with a different employee every hour! I'm thankful for the chaos though because I learned as much or more about the business than some of the long-time employees know.

In my next blog, I will give a breakdown of all the departments I visited and the role they play in putting on the Market.

For now, I can't help but share the main things that stood out during my week.

Some of the highlights of the past few days are:

• Rawlins Gilliland's Tour:

Rawlins is the former Neiman Marcus Director of Sales and Product. During Market, he walks around the showrooms and finds the latest trends and "hot" items for buyers to pick up for low prices and resell for a good profit! His descriptions were hilarious and his sense of style was impeccable. I loved both hour-long tours I went on and I learned a ton! I was surprised to see "texting gloves" as a hot pick; apparently technology is truly taking over!

• Free earrings from Elizabeth Carlock Designs

Elizabeth Carlock is a rising star in the jewelry business who exhibited at the Market. During Rawlins' tour, she gave each of us a free pair of earrings she designed! It was a pleasure to talk to Elizabeth and hear about her heart for non-profit work. To check out her designs and order jewelry, check out her website here.

• The Boardwalk Bash Party

Emily Forsythe and Naseem Cox worked together to turn party plans into a party reality! Naseem works for the Dallas Market Center to create visual displays and Emily plans memorable events. The Boardwalk Bash took place on the first night of Market, last Thursday night. I was blown away by all the small touches that created a full-on party experience. Not only was there great food at different stands, a live DJ with a glowing mix-table stand, live models, beautiful clothes on the models, a photo-booth, but also free DMC sunglasses to promote the party!

• Authentic Food!

The Dallas Market Center went above and beyond to host me for the week. Meredith arranged for me to have dinner with Market employees each night. I loved spending time with the staff outside of the office and enjoyed eating gourmet food together!

Here are 2 Dallas restaurants I really enjoyed:

Medina: Natalie, Casey, and I enjoyed Moroccan food at this great restaurant located close to the venue where the Dallas Mavericks play. We started off with a hummus sampler with hot pita bread and then for an entree, I ordered a fancy beef dish with couscous and potatoes.

Mia's-I went to Mia's with Whitney, Zach, and Sydney for a Tex-Mex culinary extravaganza! When we arrived, the place was packed! After finally getting a table, I enjoyed the "Tacos al Carbon," served with bean soup. During dinner, I was able to share what this One-Week Job program has meant to me. It sparked ideas from Whitney, Zach, and Sidney too as they brainstormed which jobs they would like to try.

I realize this blog is different than my past posts but I wanted to share more than just a play-by-play of my schedule in Dallas. The week was so hectic so I thought I would start with things that really left impressions on me.

Look for a new post soon about the different departments and my final thoughts on working at the Dallas Market Center.

Cheers,

Kieley Best

Follow me on Twitter here or email me at bestweekjob@gmail.com

Job #5: Backpacking Guide

I am a traveling machine! After wrapping up an awesome week at Scott's Bike Shop in Cleveland, TN, I  flew across the U.S. on Sunday to Spokane, Washington. It's hard to contain my excitement for my job this week: backpacking guide! There is a great non-profit based out of Spokane called "Peak 7." Peak 7 is a non-profit that focuses on taking low-income and at-risk youth on outdoor adventures. They offer climbing, rafting, and backpacking trips. Unlike some organizations that cater to mainly affluent youth, I appreciate that Peak 7 does not exist to make money. They exist to make relationships with the kids, teach them about the outdoors, and to ultimately, show them Christ's love throughout the trip. It's so exciting that Spokane youth have the opportunity to explore the outdoors and learn from experienced guides through this organization. I arrived to Spokane Sunday morning after a long day of flights from Tennessee. Austin, the Peak 7 coordinator, met me at the airport and took me to Zip's, an amazing burger place, for lunch.

After a quick bite to eat, we headed over to the Peak 7 Warehouse to unpack gear from the previous week's trips. I put up tents to dry out, cleaned boots, and tried to help get everything organized for this week's trips. It was great to meet the Peak 7 staff, volunteers, and guides. Every person I talked to had a unique story about how they came to Spokane and found out about Peak 7. The organization has only existed for just under five years, but it's incredible how far along they are. The warehouse alone is an achievement since most of the gear has been donated by different companies. There are some causes that I hear about and quickly forget about, but Peak 7 is definitely not one of those for me! I love what they're doing and believe it's a very worthy cause to have trips for at-risk youth. If you're interested in donating, click here for a secure link.

To read more about what Peak 7 is about, check out their website here.

Where will I be this week?

Peak 7 is based in Spokane, but for the backpacking trip, we're driving 5-6 hours to the North Cascade Mountains.

What is my job this week?

I am going on day a five-backpacking trip, which Peak 7 calls an "Ascent Trip." I will be going with Nicole on an all-girls trip with 7-8 youth participants. Since I haven't been to guide school or gone through Wilderness First Responder course, I'm basically a participant that is also job-shadowing. Nevertheless, I plan to get involved by building relationships with the kids, helping filter water, set up gear, and learning as much as I can during the week.

How am I feeling pre-trip?

This week will be unique since I will be gone all week and away from my laptop. I'm ecstatic to take a break from technology though and be fully engaged in the trip. Honestly, I am nervous that I won't be fit enough to backpack for five days. This will definitely be a stretching experience, but I don't want to be a person known for playing it safe and only doing things that are comfortable. I anticipate that this will be a memorable week and will help me see firsthand what it's like to lead teens on wilderness trips.

I will be backpacking for five days so guess what that means! I won't be blogging for five days! I plan to post again this coming Saturday with a detailed blog about the trip, complete with pictures and videos.

Thanks for following me on this journey this far.

Sincerely,

Kieley Best

Email me at bestweekjob@gmail.com with job offers, questions, comments, etc...

From Deal to Doorstep: Week #2

Where in the world is Kieley Best? I am in Cheyenne, Wyoming for my second week of the One-Week Job Project at Sierra Trading Post. (In case you missed it, I was on vacation last week and am a week behind Amanda and Michelle.

If you haven't checked out their blogs, take some time to read about their adventures. Both of these girls are super sweet and have lots of great insights to share!

This week is unique since I am not confined to one department within Sierra Trading Post. Unlike the roaster job, it's more difficult to jump right in on the jobs here since they require more experience and training. With 650 employees at the headquarters, there is lots going on! In case STP (Sierra Trading Post) sounds foreign to you: they're a company that sells excess products, closeout deals, and overstock items on their website. Even if you're not into the outdoor gear they specialize in, they've got home goods, clothes, shoes, and gadgets!

Here's a recap of what I've been up to the past 2 days:

E-Commerce Department

Justin Johnson, Online Marketing Manager, gave me a short tutorial about the basics of using Wordpress for blogging. STP is constantly tracking how many people visit their website, view the blog posts, click on email ads, and more. Justin explained to me how the company uses Google Analytics (free!) to gauge how many times people view each blog post and where readers are located.

In the E-Commerce department, I have been mainly watching how Naomi interacts with STP customers on Facebook and Twitter. It's amazing how posting a simple status on facebook about a STP contest can generate a lot of excitement! To learn more about the E-Commerce jobs, I sat in on the marketing meeting. The main thing that stood out is that they are very goal-oriented. Each member of the team is expected to make a certain amount of money based on how much money they invest in their projects.

For example, Bert, Search Marketing Manager, spends money to ensure that when people search for certain brands & products on Google that Sierra's links will be close to the top of the list. If STP is not making money from Bert's work, then he's just wasting his time! With measurable goals, it helps everyone in the department to stay focused and ultimately, to make money for Sierra Trading Post!

Fulfillment Center:

As a regular STP customer, I frequently receive boxes and brown paper packages from them in the mail. Before taking a tour of the fulfillment center, I assumed that processing and shipping was a boring procedure. I could not have been more wrong!

Naomi and I got a fantastic tour by Darron, the receiving manager for the fulfillment center. Sierra buys products from hundreds of vendors that are received, stored, taken off shelves by order fillers, packed, and finally shipped to the customers! The receiving section is called "the warehouse" and is full of boxes of items that have just arrived from vendors. If the product is already individually packaged, it will be stored until an order comes in to be filled. If it's a box of bulk t-shirts, they are sent to a section to be packaged individually. After an order comes in, the order fillers collect the items from the shelves. After the items are packed into boxes and receive their shipping label, they travel down a chute to be sorted into different trucks. I was like a little kid at Disney World during the tour since the process is very fascinating. I loved seeing how the machines work and the fact that there's a personal touch since people fill orders, operate machines, and pack the boxes.

I was very impressed by the efficiency of the fulfillment center. Darron went into great detail about their energy-efficient skylights, the water pipe drainage system, and their high-tech machines that get the job done! The fulfillment center uses machines to expedite packing and shipping, but there are great people who work to send out the clothes, shoes, and other items people order. It was great to hear Darren speak so highly about their employees who are committed to both speed and accuracy.

That's all for now! I will blog more later this week to share more!

Email me with questions, comments, and feedback here: bestweekjob(at)gmail.com

-Kieley