Leaders Across America With Steve Acorn

62 | Riley Parker | Running a $580,000 Painting Business and Proving All Naysayers Wrong Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

On today's show, we interview Riley Parker who shares with us her thoughts on being a woman in a male-dominated business. You will learn how YEAA impacted Riley's job search and dramatically altered the trajectory of her career.

Fortunately for Riley, when she signed up for the YEAA internship, her parents backed her up as much as possible.

While many women would be opposed to running a painting business, Riley was not one of them.

On today's show, you will learn the importance of conviction and resilience. You will learn how a stellar mindset can help you overcome negativity and achieve your dreams and goals.

Riley interned with YEAA from 2019 to 2021, and generated revenues of nearly $600,000 in these 3 years while earning profits of $55,000. In this segment of the show, Riley talks quite a bit about how her mentors helped her overcome the challenges that she faced at YEAA.

Upon graduation, her experience of running a business proved to be the differentiating factor that helped Riley land her dream job.

For all this and much, much more, tune in to our latest show now.

What You Will Learn In This Show

How can women find success in a male-dominated business?
Why women should NOT be afraid to take up the YEAA challenge
How did I know that running a business was the right thing for me as a sophomore?
Building a stellar mindset and keeping negativity away
Why I decided to come back in my second year
How did YEAA help me in my job search
And so much more…

Resources:

62 | Riley Parker | Running a $580,000 Painting Business and Proving All Naysayers Wrong Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

Fortunately for Riley, when she signed up for the YEAA internship, her parents backed her up as much as possible.

While many women would be opposed to running a painting business, Riley was not one of them.

On today's show, you will learn the importance of conviction and resilience. You will learn how a stellar mindset can help you overcome negativity and achieve your dreams and goals.

Upon graduation, her experience of running a business proved to be the differentiating factor that helped Riley land her dream job.

For all this and much, much more, tune in to our latest show now.

What You Will Learn In This Show

How can women find success in a male-dominated business?
Why women should NOT be afraid to take up the YEAA challenge
How did I know that running a business was the right thing for me as a sophomore?
Building a stellar mindset and keeping negativity away
Why I decided to come back in my second year
How did YEAA help me in my job search
And so much more…

Resources:

61 | David Knollman | Showing Resilience and What To Do When You Hit a Wall Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

On today's show, we interview David Knollman from Amazon who shares with us his distilled wisdom on constantly challenging yourself, and overcoming your obstacles.

As a student at the University of Cincinnati, when David first came across Young Entrepreneurs Across America, he was hugely sceptical. And admittedly, he thought that the internship was "too good to be true".

Talking to his peers convinced David to sign up on the dotted line. When David started his internship, he knew what he was walking into. That it was going to be an intensely difficult program that would challenge him time and time again.

His first year as a Student Painter was a huge learning experience for David. In spite of that, he ended up earning $7,000 in profit.

When he came back in his second year, David had a chip on his shoulder – and he was determined not to make the same mistakes again. In his second year, David ended up earning nearly 3x profits on sales of $110,000.

David's Young Entrepreneurs Across America experience proved to be a foundational one as it helped him navigate the highs and lows at Amazon.

In this segment of the show, David gives us a peek into his 5+ years of work life at Amazon. You will learn about winning, failing, and mustering the resilience to get up, and win yet again.

Do not miss this one.

What You Will Learn In This Show

What should you do when you run into a wall?
Cheap fun vs. expensive fun – building stories that you can tell all lifelong
Surviving the topsy-turvy work-life at Amazon
And so much more…

Resources:

61 | David Knollman | Showing Resilience and What To Do When You Hit a Wall Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

On today's show, we interview David Knollman from Amazon who shares with us his distilled wisdom on constantly challenging yourself, and overcoming your obstacles.

His first year as a Student Painter was a huge learning experience for David. In spite of that, he ended up earning $7,000 in profit.

David's Young Entrepreneurs Across America experience proved to be a foundational one as it helped him navigate the highs and lows at Amazon.

In this segment of the show, David gives us a peek into his 5+ years of work life at Amazon. You will learn about winning, failing, and mustering the resilience to get up, and win yet again.

Do not miss this one.

What You Will Learn In This Show

What should you do when you run into a wall?
Cheap fun vs. expensive fun – building stories that you can tell all lifelong
Surviving the topsy-turvy work-life at Amazon
And so much more…

Resources:

60 | Sean Burtless-Creps | YEAA: The Safest and Best Way to Get Started As an Entrepreneur Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

Can a YEAA internship dramatically alter your career trajectory?

On today's show, we interview former YEAA intern and Sales Engineer, Keyence Corporation, Sean Burtless-Creps who shares with us his distilled wisdom on work ethic, handling rejection, and entrepreneurship.

Sean chanced upon the YEAA opportunity when he was pursuing his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan. Encouraged by the success of his peers, he decided to take a leap of faith – a move which completely changed this career trajectory.

As a student painter, Sean ran a $62,000 painting business and earned a handsome profit of $12,000. In this segment of the show, Sean shares the advantage of working in an organization with a formulaic and proven approach.

Additionally, you will learn how the internship taught Sean the importance of great work ethic while honing his people management skills.

The YEAA internship also proved to be the differentiating factor which helped Sean secure some dream internships.

In the last segment of the show, Sean gives us a peek into his work life as a Sales Engineer at Keyence Corporation. You will learn the importance of developing soft skills alongside technical skills in this segment of the show.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

Why the YEAA is the safest and best environment for those looking to get a taste of entrepreneurship
How to land your dream internship
The importance of developing soft skills
And so much more…

Resources:

59 | Kevin Hiselman | How I Managed a $2 Million Business in My Sophomore Year Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

Is it even possible for a sophomore to manage a $2 million business?

On today's show, we interview Kevin Hiselman who shares with us his distilled wisdom on perseverance, and overcoming your fears. You will learn how Kevin managed a $2 million painting business while he was a sophomore at UMass, Amherst.

Kevin was first introduced to YEAA when he was taking classes at UMass. And while he has eager to sign up immediately, he had to fight off the initial scepticism from his friends and family.

One of the biggest things that attracted Kevin to the internship was the opportunity to get mentored by folks who were just slightly older than him.

In his first year with YEAA, Kevin ran a $110,000 business and earned $20,000 in profits. As a district manager in his second year, he dramatically scaled up his business to $2 million in revenues and $110,000 in profits.

Topics discussed on today's show include overcoming your fear of running a business, cultivating leadership skills, and learning responsibility and accountability.

You do not want to miss this one.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

What does it take to successfully complete a YEAA internship?
Why YEAA is the most fun experience that you can ever have
How the YEAA internship taught me responsibility and maturity
How I ran a $2 million painting business at YEAA
And so much more…

Resources: