
Social Marketing Manager at FamilyLink.com
Provo, Utah Area

Social Marketing Manager at FamilyLink.com
Provo, Utah Area
My business endeavors began when I took my education into my own hands.
After fifth grade (12 years old), I decided I wanted to attend a local private school. As the fifth child of nine, I understood that my parents could not pay for it. Nevertheless, I was a twelve year-old with a business plan: I wanted to sell our Idaho potatoes in Utah.
My dad had agreed to drive me. We went to the potato cellar and stacked five-hundred pounds of potatoes into our old Ford Taurus station wagon.
Upon arriving at my grandparent's house in Provo, I muscled up some courage and walked over to the neighbor's door. The large door had amber-patterned glass, the kind that I couldn't see through. I peeked at the rumpled sales script I had written, took a breath, and knocked. A nice lady answered. I completely forgot my lines. Horrified, I looked down and read the script word for word: "Hi. I am selling fresh Idaho potatoes to earn money for school tuition. Are you interested?" I looked up nervously.
She smiled and asked, "How much are they?"
"They are $0.40 a pound," I answered. She wanted 20 pounds! I ran back to the garage, weighed the potatoes, put them in a paper bag, carried them back, and exchanged them for $8.00. Tired, I still walked to every house in the neighborhood, selling and delivering heavy bags of potatoes until dark. I earned $110.00 that first day.
Work was hard, and rejection humiliating, but working to fund my own education made me responsible for what I learned. Moreover, my little potato business showed me how much my success depends on those around me. Without the generosity from my dad and grandparents, I couldn't have sold a single potato.
How hard I work depends on me, but my success will always have a dependence on others, and that's no small potatoes ;)
web copy writing, SEO, CPC, facebook, persuasive web architecture, wireframing, sales (both corporate and direct)... I also enjoy pruning fruit trees and gardening :)
(Privately Held; Internet industry)
April 2009 — Present (4 months)
I get paid to be on Facebook and Twitter all day.
(Internet industry)
December 2008 — Present (8 months)
(Internet industry)
January 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)
April 2005 — June 2008 (3 years 3 months)
(Partnership; 1-10 employees; Outsourcing/Offshoring industry)
December 2004 — July 2005 (8 months)
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
April 2004 — November 2004 (8 months)
I sold ADT security systems for a summer. I realized how well I can sell when I was ranked 2nd in the country for overall sales in 2004.
(Non-Profit; 10,001 or more employees; Religious Institutions industry)
January 2002 — January 2004 (2 years 1 month)
I served a two year mission to Ireland. You know those 20 year old boys that knock on your door in twos, wearing suits and name tags. If you live in Ireland I might have knocked on your door :) I believe a large amount of my success in sales and the business world lead back to this two year experience serving the Lord. I loved it!
International Business 2008 — 2008
Business Marketing , Tradition Marketing, Internet Marketing and Business Adminstration , 2006 — 2008
My favorite class was taught by Paul Allen http://pualallen.net founder of MyFamily.com and Ancestry.com. I have never taken a more applicable class at school.
Business , 2005 — 2006
N/A , General Academic , 2000 — 2001
Received a full-tuition Entrepreneurship Scholarship from BYU for my work with Pyxlin.com