That's Some Good Apple Pie

The owners of One Girl Cookies, Dave and Dawn, have been great. They have allowed me to get really hands on this week. So far I've made all sorts of things: pie crust, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, and I whipped up an apple pie from beginning to end.

A little girl who is a regular at the shop always has a piece of apple pie when there's a fresh one on the counter. She came in today and after having her usual piece, she remarked, " the apple pie is particularly good today." (Dave would say that it meant the level of "deliciousity" on my apple pie must have been quite high).

I've found there is a real creative element to baking. You start with a bunch of ingredients that don't make up much by themselves, then when you mix them in a bowl, shape them, and toss them in the oven, they come together to create a tasty goodness.

I spent most of today working on pumpkin cookies. I used a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, used the sheeter to make use of the extra dough. When they came out of the oven, I spread the orange icing sugar on top. Here is a video clip of the song I created while icing away:

Week #34 Announced - Baker

I arrived in Manhattan on Saturday night - what a great place! There is so much going on, people everywhere, a lot of energy... I am really excited to be spending a few weeks in the area. This week I am in Brooklyn, NY working as a Baker with One Girl Cookies. Apparently their hand made cookies are quite delicious and have made them pretty famous. I must say that I am looking forward to trying them out to see for myself.

My baking experience is pretty minimal so I am counting on their many years of experience in the business and tried and tested techniques to pull me through. Though, it couldn't be that hard could it? I will also get to see how they started the business and all that goes in to keeping it operational.

On a side note, I had tickets to go see "Wicked" the musical for Tuesday night on Broadway, though since the stage hands are on strike, the show was canceled. Definitely disappointing, though hopefully they will get it resolved in time before I head out of town.

My job this week was set up by a really cool company called VocationVacations who offered to help out. Basically they allow you to test out your dream job. They set you up with a mentor who is in a profession that you think you would enjoy. The Vocation Vacation allows you to see if it's right for you over the course of a few days before making any drastic changes.

If you are in the area, be sure to stop in for a cookie and say hi.

-Sean

Learning When To Hold Them And When To Fold Them...

I had a great week working with Andrew as a Stock Trader. He was nice enough to welcome me into his home in Weston, Florida, lend me his trading secrets, and not to mention introduce me to an amazing game on XBOX called Guitar Hero 3. On my last day, I thought I was getting a pretty good handle on things; I was reading the charts, predicting where the stock was going to go, deciding on what would be good buy and sell points. I was getting the hang of it, and was getting a little confident. Just as I did, I learned a very valuable lesson: no matter how many models and techniques you have to help you predict what direction the stock should go, the bottom line is that the stock market is unpredictable.

The stock that I was watching was Crocs - the shoe company. It was a bad day on the market overall and the stock was down, I thought for sure that it was a good buy point and asked Andrew if I could purchase 500 shares at $38. He said sure. The stock began to look positive and then it starting going down, and down. Andrew asked if I was going to just sit and watch it go progressively lower, saying that you must decide on a point where you have to cut your loses. I felt really bad. All of a sudden it wasn't so easy, and then I did a quick calculation of 500 x $38 and realized I was dealing with some serious money.

We sold it down $2 a share and the stock continued to go down. So much so that Andrew thought this was getting ridiculous and that it had to come back up, so he went back in for 2000 shares. As soon as he did, the stock started to climb quickly. I felt like I was cheering on the home team watching that stock rise and urging it to push further. Then it was time to rush out the door, speed to the airport, do a tv interview at the airport as I was checking in, and then barely make it to my plane - pretty exciting. In the end, we ended up $5000 in the plus for the day and a valuable lesson learned.

Next week I am heading to Brooklyn, NY where I will be a Baker in Brooklyn. If you are in the area and want to meet up, let me know.

-Sean

Making The Investment In My Future

My first two days working as a Stock Trader with Horowitz & Company have been exciting. I find that I have more energy at this job, even though I haven't been getting all that much sleep. The stock market is action packed, there is so much at stake, and Andrew wasn't kidding when he said it's 0 - 120 in 1 minute with him. Over the past two days we have traded about $1.75 million in a day-trading style and have total net profits of $5,500.

Although necessary to be a good investor, it can be difficult to leave the emotion out of it. I found it is easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of the market movements. And of course when this happens, we begin to make poor decisions. Andrew set me up with a computer screen with the live trading program installed so that I can see everything that is happening in real time and make real trades. He would tell me to buy a certain amount at a price, and I would buy, he would tell me to sell and I would sell. The stocks we are trading move quick so there is a pressure to type the price and number of shares and click the "sell" or "buy" button as fast as I can. Hoping that I didn't make a typo in the process and that I heard Andrew correctly.

At about 1pm yesterday, it was my turn. Andrew allowed me to trade 3000 shares that he purchased earlier in the day. It was completely up to me to decide when to stay in, how much to pull out, and watch the trend of the stock to see where I thought it was going. I watched that stock as if my life depended on it. Trying to figure out where it would go, selling some when I thought it was a good price and holding on when I thought it would rise.

It was pretty intense watching the stock go above our purchase price and then dip below to as much as $0.10. I think I did a pretty good job and made some good decisions. The trades averaged to be up about $0.12 a share to make a total of $300 profits, which was donated by Andrew to The ONE Campaign.

I do enjoy the excitement of the markets, though I am not sure I could handle all the ups and downs on a daily basis. It requires tough nerves, discipline, and the ability to recover quickly after a big loss or a big gain.

Andrew is a great guy and I am learning lots about the market from him. He balances out managing portfolios with a bunch of other things that he is into, such as a weekly podcast, photography, and he just recently finished writing a book called "The Disciplined Investor."

He talked about our last couple of days in his blog that will give you a more technical idea of what we have been up to.

-Sean

New Episode! Week 30 - Tshirt Entrepreneur

Here's Sean's experience working at SnorgTees in Atlanta, GA. Enjoy!

Week #33 Announced - Stock Trader

This week I will be working as a Stock Trader with Horowitz & Company - Investment Management and Financial Planning. Horowitz & Company is an Investment Advisory firm specializing in Asset Allocation. "We utilize Strategic and Tactical strategies to help reduce portfolio risk and at the same time attempting to maintain the overall return potential." While I was in college, the stock market really excited me and I thought for a time that I would get my trading license and become a stock broker. I have spoken with Andrew Horowitz, the president of the company, several times over the past week and I have no doubt that it will be an action packed week. It seems that he has a million things going on, and is always on the go. I asked him yesterday over the phone how many hours a week he works. He laughed, and said, "You don't want to know."

This was also my first One Week Job that I had homework before coming into the week. Andrew asked me to make a list of the stocks that will have earnings for Monday and Tuesday and find out what are the important items that will be reported regarding economics. He said, "After you do this, I will then show you what really matters."

I am really excited for this week and have no doubt that I will learn lots. In Andrew's words, "it's 0-120 in 1 minute with me. Strap in...!"

Here we go!

-Sean

Termites Beware, Truly Will Soon Be There

The Pest Control industry is definitely one that not I am sure not many think of as a potential career when coming out of college. Though, as I am finding out this week, it is a huge industry and so as a result, there is a lot of opportunity. I guess someone has to do it. I have been told this week that if a choice had to be made between eliminating the medical industry or the pest control industry, that it would be better off to eliminate the medical industry due to the amount of disease that are a result of pests. That, and the collective weight of all the ants in the world is about equal to the weight of all the human beings in the world.

My first day at Truly Nolen I learned all about the company, met the executives through a video conference call to Tuscon, AZ, and watched some of the training videos about proper inspection, safety procedures, and how to identify infestations. I am not sure why, but it always seems that the majority of training videos for any company were produced in the early 90's. Needless to say, they were pretty entertaining.

Yesterday I helped fumigate a house which is quite hard work. The tarps they put over top of the house to seal in the chemicals inside are really heavy. The guys I was working with have been doing it for years, so I looked pretty weak next to them. Today, I spent with Ashley, a Truly Nolen Sales Inspector. We got to drive in the signature beetle car decorated like a mouse, complete with ears and even a tail. You can kind of see it in the background of this picture.

-Sean

New Episode! Week #29 - Trade Show Salesman

In case you missed it on the homepage, here's Sean's week working as a Trade Show Salesman for FIFO Bottle.

Week #32 Announced - Exterminator

This week I am in Miami, Florida working as an Exterminator with Truly Nolen Pest Control. "Truly Nolen focuses on keeping pests out through exclusion, dusting and applying liquids and baits to the outside and perimeter of your home. This creates a barrier around your home and limits the use of chemicals that may be detrimental to your family and pets."

This week, I will get to assist in seeking out and identifying potential active nesting sites of pests and treat the problem accordingly. My initial thought was that it is probably not a good idea to be exposed to all those chemicals, though apparently the technique limits the use of invasive chemicals, so that's good to know.

If you live in the Miami area and want to meet up while I am in town, let me know.

Look out bugs, here I come!

-Sean

Sean's Interview on CNN!

Here's Sean's full interview on CNN yesterday. It features a great montage of previous jobs, along with an in studio interview. We've finally hit the big time baby!

Saying Goodbye To Atlanta... I Think

A very big thank you to everyone at The Georgia Aquarium for such a positive experience and for sharing your love of the marine world with me! At the aquarium, there is a strong focus on educating visitors about the conservation of marine life. I think that once we have been able to view the beauty that exists beneath the ocean, we will be more aware of the consequences of our actions. One of the great things about the aquarium is that it serves as an opportunity to give people a glimpse into a world that we would not normally get to experience. I find we tend to care more about things with which we have developed somewhat of a relationship. And let's not forget, their mascot "Deepo" is rather cute.

If for some reason you find yourself awake tomorrow (Sunday) morning at 8:00am EST, I will be on CNN for a live interview about One Week Job.

After that, I have to figure out how I am going to get to Miami, Florida. If you can help me out at all with that, give me a shout!

-Sean

A "Whale" Of A Time Under The Sea

The Georgia Aquarium is absolutely beautiful. I am learning a lot of fish facts that I never knew before. For example: Did you know that the Whale Sharks' mouth can span 4ft wide, though their throat is only about the size of a quarter? Also, they have 300 rows of teeth.

When I was young, I really loved dolphins and always thought that it would be cool to work with marine animals. Working with the other staff at the aquarium has allowed me to get as close as possible...without actually swimming in the tank.

The first two days, I helped out at different exhibits and at the touch pools, shadowing one of the workers who speaks with visitors about the animals and answers questions. I also met a really interesting guy from Bhutan, and had a great talk with him about how he ended up in America.

Yesterday, I supervised the Georgia Aquarium Mascot, "Deepo" (not to be confused with Nemo).

It can be difficult to see with the costume on, so I was assisting Deepo in navigating the aquarium, watching children that were running around his ankles, and making sure no kids were yanking on his tail.

After that, I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium. I learned more about how the facility operates and was able to see the main tanks from up above. I was so close I could have jumped in...

The largest exhibit is called Ocean Voyager.

It has 6.2 million gallons of water in it, filters 60,000 gallons every minute, and is the home of the four whale sharks among thousands of other fish. Giant groupers, hammer head shark, saw nose sharks, rays.

Every time I walk by I wish that I could go scuba diving in it.

Today I was working with the Life Support Systems Department. They make sure that everything is functioning smoothly, the water temperature is accurate, the pumps are doing what they should be doing, basically all the mechanical stuff that goes into operating the aquarium.

It is amazing how much work is required to keep things going behind the scenes.

Tomorrow I will be working with the training program and perhaps with the children's educational program.

This week we are staying with Jon. He is a cool guy and has been nice enough to brave rush hour traffic each morning this week to drive us to the aquarium.

We met him through couchsurfing.com - a site where you can meet people that have an extra couch or floor space that they are willing to offer you.

Sounds sketchy I know, but it's a great way to meet some cool people and keep costs down.

I am still looking for a job next week. I have some ideas and it looks like I will be heading to Florida, though as always things could change in the next few days. If you have any ideas or offers, send them my way.

In the meantime...sea you later!

-Sean

Week #31 Announced - Aquarium Host

This week I am in Atlanta, Georgia working at the largest aquarium in the world - The Georgia Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium features more animals than any other aquarium and has more than eight million gallons of water. "Through a path of more than sixty exhibits, the Aquarium tells a global water story, with features modeled after the greatest zoos and aquariums in the world."

I will get to do a few different things around the aquarium this week. I will be on the floor helping people with directions, assisting with the educational programs, cutting up fish for feed, water testing, and who knows what else. I am hoping that they will let me feed some of the animals or even help clean the tanks one morning. I guess we will see!

I imagine that everyone who works here share a love for animals and enjoy what they are doing so it should be a great environment to be a part of.

If you are in Atlanta this week and want to meet up, let us know!

-Sean

New Episode! Week #28 - Climbing Instructor

Here's the new episode from our week in Victoria, BC, working at The Boulders Climbing gym. Enjoy!

A Few Days Of Getting "Snorged"

I am enjoying my week here in Alpharetta, Georgia working with Snorg Tees. After I finished my degree, I had a few ideas and thought that I would like to start my own t-shirt company though I didn't really know where to start or if that's what I would really want to do. Come to think of it, I was probably just scared to take the first step.

Matt, the president, gave a good suggestion that would have helped with that. He said that when he started up the company it was a huge undertaking, though what allowed him to keep moving forward was that he broke it down into small achievable steps. First step? Learn how to print t-shirts.

He remarked today that when he looks back, he now realizes just how far he has come.

On the surface, companies who sell a fun product or service appear to have a crazy work environment and to be always good times. Though we have fun at work, the reality is there are always the details and administrative tasks that inevitably accompany running any business. I think that it can be easy to forget this when thinking of potential company ideas.

When you own the business, I think it can be difficult to simply leave your work at the office, as there are much higher stakes involved, you have more at risk, and ideally a higher benefit. It requires long hours and Matt says that most nights he is at home working trying to stay on top of everything. It appears that being an entrepreneur definitely takes a certain type of personality.

I have lined up my job for next week and will be working at The Georgia Aquarium - the worlds largest. Afterwards, I think I will be heading south into Florida. If you have any ideas/contacts for potential One Week Jobs, please pass on the word about the site or send me an email.

Snorgly yours,

-Sean

Week #30 Announced - T-Shirt Entrepreneur

This week I am working with Snorg Tees. A young, hip, funny t-shirt company located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The company was started by four friends three years ago in one of their parents basement. They were profitable by the third month in business and now they have recently moved into their own office/warehouse space.

I am interested to see how they began the company, the steps they took, how they overcame the challenges, managed risk, and what it goes into running a small business.

Should be good times!

-Sean

FIFO Bottles, Chicken And Waffles, And Hockey

We worked with some great people this week and we had a lot of fun! The Trade Show was a success; many of the major restaurant chains were there, all of which stopped by the booth for a FIFO Bottle demonstration and we received a lot of positive comments on both the booth and the bottle - apparently we were known as the squeeze bottle people, so that's cool.

After the trade show on the last day we went over to the CNN building for dinner and we found out the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) were playing in the stadium next door. We got tickets for the game which was tonnes of fun. It was a great game, the fans were really into it and there was always something entertaining playing on the big score clock.

I also had my first Chicken and Waffles experience this week. Pretty interesting combination. I had never heard of it before and I had no clue that Chicken and Waffles went so well together.

I haven't been able to see much of Atlanta yet, though we are here for another couple of weeks, so hopefully we will have some time to check it out before we head out of town.

-Sean

Sean was on CNN! (sort of)

On our second day in Atlanta, we realized that the CNN building is pretty much across the street from the Georgia Trade Show Center. Fiddy also knew a guy who worked there. We put two and two together and took up an offer for a private tour of the world's most infamous newsroom. The building is enormous, with a massive lobby full of people milling about, eating, chatting, and watching news. That's because there are flatscreen tv's everywhere. I've never seen more televisions. I think the basic idea is that anywhere you possible look, you're watching CNN.

From the lobby we passed through the security checkpoint and entered the catacombs of the organization. There were offices, hallways, computer screens, water coolers - pretty much everything you'd expect from a normal building.

Then suddenly we arrived in the main newsroom floor, the characteristic red logo hovering multiple times overhead. Under that red glow, hordes of people milled over their reports, video footage, and keyboards, producing stories that are shown 24 hours a day all over the world.

You could say it was pretty cool.

We met a few producers and employees and continued our tour. We visited so many sections of the building and departments of CNN that I lost count. But it was amazing to see how many people can work together, like an oiled machine, churning out content day in and day out.

Ideally, it would have been great to have Sean and One Week Job featured on one of their shows, but unfortunately, their segment was already full for the day and they couldn't fit him in.

But there's a strong possibility he may wander the halls of CNN sometime in the next few weeks, as we'll be in Atlanta for a while longer.

So instead, we got a shot of Sean *technically* on CNN...sort of. Still counts for something right?

Welcome to Atlanta

I just finished my second day working at the NAFEM Trade Show here in Atlanta, Georgia. The trade show is absolutely massive - just when you think you have found a great parking spot, you realize you have another 15 minutes to walk until you get to our booth. Trade Shows are pretty interesting. You get to say the same thing over and over again for the entire day, though each time you say it, you must show enough energy and interest as if it was the first time. After all, for the potential customer, it is the first time.

I like the interaction with different people. It's challenging though, as I only know enough about the FIFO Bottle that I can get people interested in it, highlight the benefits, then when more serious questions start (such as price or location of distributors), I have to pass them onto another more knowledgeable coworker.

The FIFO Bottle is one of those things that seems so simple, but such a good idea you are left wondering how it could not have been invented earlier.

Sales often gets a negative association, because the perception is that they try to sell something to others that they don't really need. While I'm sure there are salesmen out there like that, I have found that it's not really about selling somebody something that they don't need, it's about finding the right people who will genuinely benefit from your product and connecting with them.

Another highlight: I was treated to a private tour of the CNN head office today, which was conveniently located across the street from the tradeshow centre. I will tell you more about that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is also the last day of the show. I finally lined up my job for next week today and it looks like I will be in Atlanta for a couple more weeks, though who knows, things seem to be changing quite often!

-Sean

Week #29 Announced - Trade Show Salesman

This week is pretty significant as it will be my first One Week Job in the United States. Tomorrow, I am leaving for Atlanta, Georgia where I will be working as a Trade Show Salesman with a company called Fundamental Designs. The product that we will be demonstrating is called the FIFO Bottle. What is a FIFO Bottle you ask? It is a plastic squeeze bottle for dispensing sauces. The thing that makes this bottle unique is that it is based on the First-In First-Out (FIFO) principle. You put the sauce in one end and it comes out the other end.

The pictures they have on the FIFO Bottle website will give you a better idea. Or, the next time you are in a Subway restaurant, just make note of the sauce dispensing bottle they are using - it's a FIFO Bottle.

That was probably more than you wanted to know about plastic squeeze bottles, though it is pretty exciting for the company as they have recently developed some prototype bottles that allow for portion control. Portion control is obviously really important within the fast food industry as every penny is counted.

It is a huge trade show and we will be demonstrating the portion control bottles for the first time so there is a lot of potential for the company coming out with some great contracts.

I am looking forward to seeing the sales process in action and learning more about the techniques involved.

-Sean