What is the ONE thing that can springboard you miles ahead of the competition?

On today’s show, we interview Matt Buhl, Employee Benefits Services, USI Insurance Services who shares with us his wisdom on grit and relationship building. You will learn how his YEAA internship helped him land 9 job offers while he was still in his second to last semester of college. 

Matt interned with YEAA from 2014-2016. As a freshman, he was immediately stoked at the opportunity of running his own business. Matt talks about how he almost quit after 20 consecutive no’s. But his tenacity kicked in and he ended up running a $72,000 business in his first year.

In his last year as a student painter, he ran a $285,000 painting business – thus setting the tone for an extremely successful career. 

Also, as a student painter, while Matt discovered his love for sales, he also discovered that he was really cut out for entrepreneurship.

When Matt graduated from Central Michigan University, he already had 9 job offers to choose from. Matt talked about his YEAA experience in every interview, and this proved to be the “differentiating factor” that set him apart from the crowd.

So, in 2018, Matt was one of the ten people hired to work for Mutual of Omaha from a pool of 300 candidates. Since the beginning of the year, Matt has been working with USI Insurance Services as an Employee Benefits Consultant. 

Matt gives us a peek into his role and his workplace and emphasizes the importance of strategic marketing and relationship building in this episode of the show. 

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• What kind of person can be successful as a student painter?
• How YEAA can help you land your dream job
• A peek into the insurance industry
• How the YEAA internship can springboard your career
• And so much more…

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, Aaron and Josh join us for the third part of our special 4-part series. The topic for today’s show is the importance of finishing your YEAA internship strong. 

The YEAA internship starts in February and ends in July or August. Like everything that is incredibly rewarding, interns need to put in a monumental effort to be successful. And so, it is natural to notice signs of burnout towards the fag end of the internship. 

Steve, Josh, and Aaron emphasize the importance of fighting this burnout on today’s show.

4 months into the internship, you already have your systems in place. Your painters are primed, far more efficient, and know exactly what they are supposed to do. And your marketing is running like a well-oiled machine. 

Needless to say, retaining your momentum will enable you to produce more and earn better margins. 

If you finish strong, you will also have a great story to tell. Running a large, profitable painting business will set you apart from the crowd – and will go a long way to help you snag your dream job.

Additionally, you will also learn that strong finishers have an extremely good chance of joining YEAA as executives – irrespective of whether they end up on the awards trip or not.

Last but not the least, a final push will dramatically increase your profits. You will learn how a final push will go a long way in securing your near-term future.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Why it is so important to finish your internship strong
• Why you can produce more and earn better margins in the final 60 days of your internship 
• Why a successful YEAA internship is the best resume-builder – the “differentiating factor” that can catapult you ahead of your peers
• Enjoy!

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview rookie managers, Cohan Robinson and Elijah LeMar who share with us the transformational impact that the YEAA internship has had on their lives. 

Currently three months into their internship, both Cohan and Elijah are on track to run large and extremely profitable painting businesses.

After signing up with YEAA, life has taken a 360-degree turn for both Cohan and Elijah. 

While Cohan had worked as a painter prior to his internship, Elijah, a UMass student came on board with zero work experience.

So, understandably, both Cohan and Elijah were extremely nervous when they first started off. 

Once they kickstarted their internship with the training, Cohan and Elijah got an opportunity to interact with the entire YEAA team. The dynamic culture instantly rubbed off on them, and their nerves were soon replaced with excitement and anticipation.

On today’s show, you will learn how we, at YEAA, prepare eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds to run large painting businesses. 

Supportive mentors and proven systems and processes are the exact things needed to create a transformational impact on our interns.

Tune in for some great insights!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• How the YEAA internship can massively accelerate your learning
• Why you cannot get to a yes without going through many no’s
• Why a structured and supportive environment is the key to success
• How can eighteen-year-olds with no previous experience manage to run a large painting business
• And so much more…

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

What is the secret sauce behind hyper-growth and success?

On today’s show, we interview Seth Helfman, President, City Contracting Services who shares with us his thoughts on entrepreneurship, delegation, and focus. You will learn how Seth has managed to grow his contracting business from 0 to $6 million in 7 years flat.

Growing up, Seth always had his eyes set on entrepreneurship. So, after graduating from the Ohio State University, Seth joined his family’s construction business and slowly worked his way up.

While this was a learning and fruitful experience for Seth, he decided to work for a family friend after a while. This new stint started off with a bang for Seth as he managed to generate new business worth $4.6 million in his first 60 days of employment.

In this new role, Seth oversaw public school projects and got an inside peek into the bidding and project management process.

Finally, in 2014, Seth decided to branch out on his own with City Contracting Services. For the first 3 years of his business, Seth was a solo entrepreneur wearing multiple hats. Today, he employs an in-house team of six apart from numerous sub-contractors. 

As an experienced entrepreneur, Seth shares with us distilled wisdom on growth and scaling. While he experienced some great success as a one-man organization, Seth could not grow his business beyond a certain point, no matter how hard he tried.

In 2017, Seth finally hired his right-hand man Brad which set the ball rolling for him once again. 

Having the right team to back him has enabled Seth to execute large and prestigious projects to perfection. 

On today’s show, Seth shares how he manages to keep his finger on the pulse of his business. We reveal the different perks of being a business owner - and why the pros far outweigh the cons.

Enjoy! 

What You Will Learn In This Show

• How to grow and scale your business to the next level
• The perks of being a business owner – and why the pros far outweigh the cons
• Importance of having your “finger on the pulse” of your business
• Why you need to work on keeping your sales pipeline full. All the time.
• How to bid for and execute contracting projects in the public space
• And so much more…

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

How do some student managers manage to hit audacious sales goals and earn cushy profits? While their counterparts enjoy limited success even after working equally hard?  

On today’s show, we are joined by YEAA Vice-President’s Josh Drushel and Aaron Acorn who share with us some of the biggest things that can help you evolve from being a good manager to a great one.

At Young Entrepreneurs Across America, we have, over time honed in on systems and processes to help you manage a large painting business without experiencing stress or panic.

The student managers who follow these systems to the T end up running businesses that clock turnovers of $100,000 or more. While those who deviate from these systems enjoy limited success even after working as hard as their counterparts.

So, on today’s show, we have Aaron and Josh sharing some of the biggest and most common mistakes that prevent student managers from hitting their ambitious goals.

One of the most important things that we emphasize is the importance of keeping your recruiting, estimation, and sales pipelines full. If you get too involved in production and shift your focus away from these crucial aspects, you will find yourself lagging behind sooner or later.

Along with the big things, you will also learn why you need to make the “small things” a part of your workflow. Particularly, we talk about the importance of incentivizing your painters, prepping your marketing material, and doing your payroll the right way.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• How to go from being a good manager to being a great one
• Why you need to keep your recruiting, estimates, and sales pipelines full. All the time.
• Why you should not spread yourself too thin – how to work on your business as opposed to in it
• What are some of the “small things” that can move the needle forward for you?
• And so much more

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

Leaders Across America

How can a YEAA internship help you build the foundational skillsets that can catapult you ahead of the competition?

On today’s show, we interview Brian Rossini, brand manager for Thrasio who shares with us his distilled wisdom on failure, grit, and leadership. 

Back in 2016, Brian ran a $103,000 painting business with YEAA earning a handsome profit of $22,000. For his efforts, he even earned the Manager of the Year award. 

As a student painter, Brian learned some valuable and lifelong lessons in grit and leadership which set him up for bigger and better things. You will also learn the importance of taking ownership and having a strong support system to back you up.

After graduating from UMass in 2018, Brian worked as a Business Development Rep with Hubspot before moving on to Thrasio. In every interview, Brian’s experience as a student painter proved to be the differentiating factor that set him apart in a crowded job market.

Thrasio, an e-commerce start-up and an acquirer of Amazon third-party private-label businesses is the fastest company ever to reach a valuation of $1 billion. In this segment of the show, you get a peek into Thrasio’s unique business model which has fuelled their scorching growth. 

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• How a YEAA internship can be your USP in a crowded job market
• Most important lessons learned as a YEAA intern
• A peek into Thrasio’s unique business model
• And so much more…

Resources

Thrasio

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

Is it even possible for an eighteen-year-old to get managerial-level experience that is typically available to people in their mid-thirties?

On today’s show, we interviewed UMass student Matt Mongiat. Matt worked with YEAA from 2018-2020 and currently, he is in charge of recruiting for the wellness tracking company, Vessel Health. On today’s show, Matt shares his distilled wisdom on entrepreneurship, leadership, and taking the path less trodden.

From 2018 to 2020, Matt interned with YEAA, and this experience changed him completely as an individual. Before starting his internship, Matt was painfully introverted and admittedly, he found his progress stunted because of his fixed mindset.

As a YEAA intern, Matt got the opportunity that is available to very few nineteen-year-olds. In this first year, Matt ran a $100,000 business that earned profits of $15,000. 

He significantly expanded operations in his second year when he managed and coached three rookie managers. As a district manager, Matt’s responsibilities expanded significantly as he ended up managing a $250,000 painting operation. 

One of the primary things that attracted Matt to the YEAA internship was the exceptional opportunity to differentiate himself. The internship helped Matt hone his leadership skills while being his own boss. He also built a powerful network of life-long friends that are standing him through thick and thin.

Towards the end of the show, Matt talks about his current employer, Vessel Health. You will learn how Vessel is revolutionizing the way people track their health. Matt also shares how Vessel plans on achieving its audacious goal of hitting a billion-dollar valuation.

Enjoy!

Resources

Vessel Health

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

What is it that top performers do differently? What is the secret success mantra that allows them to win again and again?

On today’s show, we interview Matt Scherer, Account Director, AT&T Global who shares with us his distilled wisdom on entrepreneurship, marketing, and tenacity. As a business leader with AT&T today, Matt manages more than $80 million in revenue today.

Back in 1994, Matt interned with YEAA while he was studying at Bowling Green State University. It has been almost three decades but Matt still vividly remembers his experience as a Student Painter.  

In his first year at YEAA, Matt ran a $54,000 painting business and earned a profit of $10,000. He continued his stellar run and eventually went on to earn the Executive of The Year Award.

Looking back, Matt shares how enjoyed being his own boss and taking charge of his own destiny. Be it marketing, managing production or reading P&L statements – all the foundational lessons that Matt learned back in his day have helped him through the course of his extremely successful career.  

Currently at AT&T Global, Matt is helping some of the world’s biggest financial organizations like Deutsche and TIAA leverage the latest technologies to better connect with their customers.

You will learn how top performers approach challenges differently. And you will also get some valuable lessons in customer service and satisfaction.

Tune in for some excellent insight!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• The dramatic evolution of technology in the finance and the banking sector
• Relationship building, and how it can catapult you ahead
• Challenges that top performers face and how they overcome them
• Valuable lessons in customer satisfaction
• And so much more…

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

On today’s show, we are joined by YEAA Vice-President’s Josh Drushel and Aaron Acorn who share with us the 4 keys to starting and managing a successful start-up business.

Drawing from their combined experience of nearly three decades, Josh and Aaron share some of the biggest things that can help eighteen-year-olds manage a large painting business at YEAA (Young Entrepreneurs Across America). 

You will learn the importance of having enough human capital at your disposal. Being a labor-intensive business, unless you over-hire and always have some fallback options, your business will stall sooner, or later as “unforeseen circumstances” come up.

Perhaps, retaining your employees is as important (if not more) than the hiring process. And on today’s show, Josh and Aaron emphasize setting expectations right away and rewarding employees adequately.

Next, we discuss marketing and reveal why it’s important to make an early start. Always having a full sales pipeline will help you work out any hiccups so you can hit your revenue goals.

You do not want to miss the show ending where we talk about communication. Clear communication with your vendors, painters, and customers will help you run your first business smoothly and profitably.

This is a show you do not want to miss.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• The 4 Keys to managing a start-up
• Expert tips for guaranteeing employee satisfaction
• Keeping your sales pipeline full, and how it can help you hit your revenue goals
• How to communicate clearly with your vendors, painters, and customers
• And so much more…

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America

Leaders Across America

On today’s show, we interview Joe Osterfeld, Software Engineer, Bold Penguin who shares how the YEAA internship fast-tracked his career and catapulted him many years ahead of his peers.

Back in 2012 when Joe was studying at the Baldwin Wallace University, his friend Mike informed him how he had managed to make $18,000 over the summer as a student painter with YEAA. Joe was immediately intrigued.

A meaningful internship where he got the opportunity to build some hardcore foundational skills was exactly what Joe was looking for. And YEAA did not disappoint.

Joe ended up running a $65,000 painting business in his first year. And in his second year, as a district manager, he managed and oversaw $300,000 business. 

You will learn how YEAA offers college students the opportunity to cultivate their business acumen. And gain experiences that typically mid-level executives gain when they are in their thirties. Joe talks a great deal about how the internship taught him valuable people skills that are holding him in good stead to date.

Upon graduation, Joe managed to snag a job at LexisNexis. Over the years, he has transitioned from sales to software development. Currently, Joe is working as a software engineer with Bold Penguin, one of the largest commercial insurance marketplaces in the country.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Building foundational career skills at YEAA
• Cultivating people skills and how it can fast-track your career 
• How my YEAA internship helped me secure my dream corporate job
• And so much more…

Resources

Young Entrepreneurs Across America