My Work
Bearicuda Inc.
I have been working for a company called Bearicuda since I was 12 years of age. My father is the owner of the company, and I was fortunate to get a job with Bearicuda at a very young age. This job started at the end of June at the age of 12. For the first 3 weeks my father had me sit at a desk inside his office and do nothing. That’s right, I sat there for 3 weeks and did nothing. He said “Luke, I want you to sit here and do nothing but listen and watch me. I did not understand what I was doing, it appeared to be a waste of time, but he paid me $5.00 per hour so that seemed great. At the end of my 3 weeks, he said “Ok Luke we are switching places, you sit in my chair, and I will sit in yours”. I was like “and what am I supposed to do dad”? He said, “Did you not sit in your chair watching me for 3 weeks”? I responded “Yes”. He followed up with “Then you know what to do”.
He had a list in the upper right corner of his desk that read.
- Call Account Receivables Customers and collect money that’s past due
- Call three customers and follow up on sales quotes, the below customers included. California State Parks, Trinidad, CA, Bear Mountain State Park Bear Mountain, NY and then Kennedy Space Center in Orlando FL
- Provide input on SEO metrics with Google Analytics and help come up with titles and descriptions.
- Review profit and loss reports and tell my dad what the highest percent of spending currently is for direct fixed expenses.
- Review websites and come up with funny stories about bears and try and write something creative that customers will laugh.
He just sat there with his feet kicked up on the desk, coffee in hand as I fumbled through these tasks very awkwardly. I felt like I blew it every time. I stumbled upon pronouncing names incorrectly, I could not get my balance amounts of what people owed correctly because I was clicking on the wrong invoices, I didn’t know how to close the deal on the quotes my dad gave me to some of these potential customers. And my stories about bears were not that funny. Once I finished up with my tasks my dad looked at me and said, “Great Job Luke”. I said, “Dad, it didn’t feel like a great job, I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing”.
He proceeded to tell me that making mistakes is ok, that’s how we all learn, it’s making sure you don’t keep making the same mistakes, but you must start somewhere. He told me having me watch him for 3 weeks is like a foreign exchange student who comes to the USA that does not speak English and getting thrown into a classroom. They need to watch the people around them. And if they are paying close attention to body language, listening carefully eventually they will pick up the language. This is what he had me do. Watch, listen, and then execute. I admit 3 weeks of watching seems like a long time, but it wasn’t. After watching him continuously over the summer I was getting better, more confident with my responsibilities. My job at Bearicuda has given me something I could never get at such a young age, learning how to navigate in a business environment, learning advanced skills that have helped me succeed today in the areas of sports, education, leadership and community service.
Petraroia Deli
I have a job at our local Deli in the center of town called Petraroia Deli where I wash dishes, clean tables, take out the trash and basically do whatever my employer asks me to do. I am very lucky at age 14 to even have this job. I was working for my dad when I was 12 years old building handle kits for his products, then shipping them out. After 2 years of working for my dad, he said I needed to work for someone else and get some experience in a place where I don’t know anyone. He said this would allow me to grow by being in an unfamiliar place.
He always told me that being too comfortable can make me not want to push myself and if I don't push myself I'll never know what other things I can accomplish with my life. He would say this to me over and over again and for many years I did not always understand his constant repetitiveness but it finally sunk into my head.
This summer he told me to walk down the street (we live in town) and go see the new owner of the Deli that just opened up and tell the owner that you want to fill out an application. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Jennette were a little surprised, as I was only 14 but they appreciated my willingness to work at a young age and told me he never had anyone that wanted a job this young but he found a spot for me.
I only work 7 hours a week but I love working with everyone. They seem to like me a lot and I get free pizza and other food sometimes when I work. While working at the deli I have also learned to talk with customers and anticipate the things my boss wants me to do before he asks me to do them.
Also, I opened a bank account and I am learning how to manage my money and pay a few expenses my parents now ask me to pay. They tell me it will make me more responsible and help me understand what it means to spend and save money.
