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Co-op Work Experience Essay

Working at a sandwich shop and delivering free samples to nearby businesses has not

been the most glamorous job I have ever had, but what it has been is an amazing learning

experience that has given me direction once I graduate next May. During my time with Jimmy

John’s, I have learned the essence of Jimmy John’s competitive guerrilla marketing strategy and

how to work alongside a wide variety of people. Going from door to door giving out free

sandwiches with a smile and a menu seemed silly to me at first, but has proven to have had a

drastic influence on both of the stores sales. In fact, sales increased by 18% this summer with the

help of my sampling efforts. While I have had an influence on sales, working in the stores has

had an influence on me in the way that I appreciate what I have more. Working at Jimmy John’s

has been an eye-opening experience because I have learned more about management, people

skills, and most importantly marketing.

Walking into both Jimmy John’s stores I could feel all eyes were on me. The music was

booming, bright colored signs were hung all around the store, and people were questioning.

Wondering who I was and what my purpose was. As the new girl, I had to earn their trust. For

the first several weeks I started to get to know people.

First and foremost I had the marketing coordinator and right-hand-woman to the local

owner of Jimmy John’s, Lexi Russell beside me. Lexi was a former class-mate, and as I got to

know her better, she has also turned into a very caring and hardworking mentor.

The first day was very basic, Lexi gave me my t-shirt and she guided me through the

computer system and Jimmy John’s systems and procedures. The following day Lexi and I drove

to both the Clifton store and 25 Road store to make introductions with the general managers:

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Lorry Williams and Shannon Mulloy. Right away I could sense a semi-friendly rivalry between

the two stores. Lexi wisely advised me to ignore their remarks and remain neutral/professional.

Week two of my internship we got started on making samples and disbursing them.

Essentially, we make 30 samples a day, three times a week at the 25 Road store and one day a

week at the Clifton store. There are four ham & cheese sandwiches, also known as our “Pepe,”

four turkey sandwiches, also known as our “Turkey Tom,” and two roast beef sandwiches, also

known as our “Big John.” Cut into thirds, gives us 30 samples to hand out. Lexi explained to me

the grid system and delivery area. We wanted to stay within one grid at a time, and even more

importantly we wanted to make sure that we stayed within our delivery area.

At the 25 Road store we started and continued to work in Grid 2 for the first two months.

This grid runs from 26 road, up to F road and over to 24 Road. It included businesses such as the

Barney Brothers, Wiggy’s, Ross and we later found out over a hundred others! I was shocked

with how many businesses were condensed into just one grid, and even more so encouraged by

the catering potential. I have included an example of how we tracked where we went in this

portfolio. While my original sixth objective to complete all eight grids within six months, was

starting to seem a little ambitious and farfetched-it was still potentially attainable.

Jimmy John’s guerilla marketing strategy is to keep the message short and sweet, so

when we enter a new business we simply say “Hey how’s it going? We are doing a little

customer appreciation today and handing out free sandwiches to business in our delivery area.

Would you like one?” They almost always say yes, and we then proceed to ask what kind of

sandwich they would like. We offer to give a sandwich to everyone within the office. It does not

matter if their office has one person or 30, no business is too small or too big to sample at.

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If I am sampling to a dentist office, a bank or somewhere that is likely to have monthly

meetings I “feel it out” and ask if they have meetings of some type in their office. If they say yes,

then I automatically pull out a catering menu and explain to them that we are the perfect last

minute catering solution, we are affordable, we are fast and on top of that we deliver! If they

have been to Jimmy John’s before I ask them what their favorite sandwich is, and that I would

love to bring them a free box lunch so that they can see what we have to offer. The box lunch is

totally customizable for every individual, and includes their choice of chips, cookie and

sandwich. If they have a large office, then I suggest doing party platters which feed 10-12

people for $45. It is extremely difficult to feed 10-12 people for that amount and even more so

for that much convenience! They are normally more than willing to listen to me once “free

lunch” enters the conversation, but if their office does not do catering or if they are just pressed

for time I leave a menu with each sandwich that has the given stores phone number on it and go

on my way. Most times, this is the case, but I was able to deliver around twenty free box lunches

this summer and each time we received extremely positive feedback. For example, at Wiggy’s,

the owner e-mailed me a few days after I dropped off a box lunch for him and he expressed his

gratitude towards the free lunch and that he was going to have Jimmy John’s cater their next

monthly lunch, (which is around 50 people). He never had Jimmy John’s prior to me dropping

off the lunch, so it gave me great job satisfaction knowing that I had directly influenced that

decision. The free box lunches work, and in my opinion they should be used to continue

expanding Jimmy John’s business.

Lexi showed me the ropes on this entire sampling process for about a month. She then

moved on from the job to pursue her Master’s degree. While I was initially sad that I was losing

my sampling buddy, it ended up being ok. It taught me to be more independent and forced me to

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gain a new sense of confidence. This was particularly true when entering into unknown

businesses and talking to dozens of new people in a given day. Talking to people/strangers will

be an essential skill that I will carry with me for the rest of my professional life. With the

absence of Lexi, I was able to interrelate with Jon Labrum, Jimmy John’s local owner, and work

more directly with him.

Jon is a very motivated, young entrepreneur in the grand valley. His hard work is very

evident and inspiring. I was very impressed to learn that at 31 years old he owns four businesses:

Provelocity (IT company), Jimmy John’s (Sandwich Shop), Crestone Aviation (Airplane

Company), and OBJ Group Ltd. (a business partner to Century Link and Charter). His resume is

very impressive, but just by meeting him you would have no idea that he does so much. He

wears jeans, a tattered polo shirt and casual brown shoes every single day. He is also very soft

spoken and easy going. I really enjoy working for him because he gives his employees a lot of

flexibility.

I am able to create my own work schedule and agenda while working for Jon. During the

summer I worked Monday-Wednesday from 9 AM-1 PM, and on Thursdays from 7:30 AM-1

PM. This gave me the opportunity to make samples in the stores and then distribute them to

various businesses. After that I would return back to the stores and help bag deliveries/float

around and help. This really helped cut down on delivery times, and also cut down on drivers

stress level because I would have the orders completely ready to go by the time they got back to

the stores.

While bagging the orders I always followed Jimmy John’s standard of one napkin per a

sandwich, and to always place a menu in every bag that goes out. I would also retrieve the

drinks, chips, and cookie for any given order. The ultimate goal of deliveries is by the time a

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delivery is sent through, whether it’s by online ordering of by phone, we have it in the hand of

the customer in ten minutes. That is what Jimmy John’s is known for and in essence of why they

exist. They are not known so much for their high quality meats, or friendly service-even though

they have both of these. Jimmy John’s is known for being freaky fast, and that is by far the most

important part of their brand image. I gave a presentation at the Chamber of Commerce leads

group meeting in July and I shared a story with them about the company. I think it does a good

job of summing up where Jimmy John’s has been and where they are going, so I will share it

with you as well:

Ahh, A Taste of Gourmet History. 1983 was a big year for America. Change was in the air. Reagan and old Bush were leading the country through the

Cold War, GI Joe was dating Barbie, teenagers "tight rolled" their pants and slow danced to Total Eclipse of the Heart. For many, 1983 was a confusing,

hungry place. People cried out for more, and not just more fondue.

It would be a 19-year-old with two first names that would answer America's cry for lunch – Jimmy John Liautaud.

Jimmy knew that if he kept it simple he could create the world's greatest gourmet sandwich. With a handful of cookbooks checked out from his local

library, Jimmy perfected his award-winning bread. After creating four sandwiches, Jimmy tested them on friends and family, receiving praise he

needed to press on. With no hesitation he opened the very first Jimmy John's. Paying a whopping $200 a month in rent, he could afford only used equipment

consisting of a refrigerator, a chest freezer, an oven, and a meat slicer. The first Jimmy John's served soda with no ice (there was no room in the budget

for an ice machine). As any good business story goes, things were not easy in the beginning. So Jimmy John Liautaud did what any young entrepreneur

would do – he took to the streets with armfuls of free sandwiches. College kids loved his irreverent attitude and dirt-cheap prices. The fact that he delivered was icing on the cake. Jimmy John's has grown up over the last few decades.

The irreverent attitude, low price, great food and delivery with a smile remain the same, but what was once the bratty little brother of the sandwich industry

is now the super cool older brother that everyone else wants to be. We currently have over 2000 stores open.

What makes Jimmy John's different from the rest is that it's honest, it's damn good, it's damn fast, at a decent price! Jimmy John's definition of fresh is

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worlds apart from everyone else's. Bread is baked in-house everyday and served fresh. Meat and veggies are sliced fresh in-house everyday. The turkey

is real turkey, the roast beef is real roast beef – no additives, no vegetable-based fillers, no fake stuff. Nothing is delivered pre-sliced. Real Hellmann's mayo, real Grey Poupon, real olive oil and red wine vinegar – it's the best of

the best.

With perfect bread, systems in place, spectacular employees and leaders who lead and don't pass the buck, Jimmy John's box rocks. The culture that was

created in the restaurants is the same culture that drives the corporate office. "Make a deal, keep a deal" is the Golden Rule. Do it now – make it happen – be a go-getter, no excuses. Jimmy John's employees are the ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They want to be the best. They don't mind doing

whatever it takes to get the job done. Their hustle is part of how they live their daily lives, and they enjoy the fruits of a hard-earned entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Once again, Jimmy John's wants only the best for the best.

So as you can see, Jimmy John’s early success came from taking to the streets and

handing out free sandwiches. That is what I did, and amazingly it increased sales by 18% over

the course of the summer! However, I did do more than just hand out free sandwiches and talk to

people about catering. Like previously mentioned, I went to the Chamber of Commerce meetings

every Thursday at 7:30 A.M. and met with a multitude of businesses.

At these meetings we took turns sharing what our businesses offered and what a good

lead would be for us. The first thirty minutes of the meeting was dedicated to focusing on one

group members business and then we went around the room and had one minute to share what a

good lead would be for us this week. Little sheets of white paper with a yellow carbon copy are

used to write down leads for one another. I have included an example of one in this portfolio. I

quickly formed a relationship with the 20 or so people that attend these weekly meetings. I was

able to do an informational interview with Heather, owner of New Image Realty, I was able to

seal a catering deal with Ryan Ellington from Edward Jones, I coordinated a radio ad with

Maggie LaHue from MBC Broadcasting and I was even able to go to a Fire Soccer parents

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meeting and give out free sandwiches. This was all possible because I attended this hour long

meeting once a week. I gained a lot from this both professionally and personally. Heather has

hinted multiple times for me to come join her Real Estate team, which I am seriously

considering. It goes without saying that despite being early, I thoroughly enjoy going to meet

with this great group of people.

Business after hours is a much larger group of people that I have also met with outside of

work. The first meeting took place at KREX News Channel 5’s studio. It was an unexpectedly

lavish event. I parked in the old City Market parking lot, and then we rode up a little hill by

carriage. Once there, they had a photo booth, free drinks, and smoked meats. It was a lot of fun

mingling with other businesses in the valley and I was able to talk about Jimmy John’s catering

to a handful of people.

One of my main objectives when starting this internship was to form a relationship with

Central High School and Grand Junction High School. I sampled to both schools and spoke to

both of them about catering/sponsorships. Ultimately, I was able to form a very strong

relationship with CHS while GJHS was more limited. On my initial visit to CHS I brought over

30 samples and was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time because the school’s

principal was in the front office when I entered in. I simply asked him if his school would ever

be interested in being involved with our sponsorship program. In this program we give 20% of

the sales for a specific date back to the school. He told me that they would absolutely be

interested in that, and then he invited me to next week’s head of department’s staff meeting.

There I made contacts with the head football coach, the student council advisor and Trey

Downey who is in charge of the schools newspaper and student of the month program. I

followed up with each one and this was the result: Phil, the head football coach ended up not

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doing a sponsorship with us, but instead I did secure a date for the school’s basketball coach for

February. The student council advisor gave my information to the Junior class vice president,

Gage. Gage and I coordinated a sandwich eating contest for the schools homecoming pep-

assembly. Unfortunately, I was in class during the scheduled time and was not there to ensure

that the sandwiches made it to the school on time. The Clifton Jimmy John’s store dropped the

ball on this and never delivered the sandwiches. I tried to make it up to Gage, by dropping off a

$10 gift card for all his hassle and of course I sincerely apologized. After this incident occurred,

Jon Labrum and I came to an agreement that I would not make promises to sponsor events unless

I could personally be there and see it through. Which is a good lesson to learn while in

marketing. Lastly, the plans made with Trey Downey did go through without a hitch! We are

doing a $300 sponsorship for their newspaper program in which we are able to send out six mass

push notifications throughout the year. We have control over when these push notifications get

sent out to CHS students. So any student that has the app, which is around 2/3 of the student

body will receive it. We are planning on sending out messages like: "Now hiring," or "Hungry?

Order now on jj.com or call (number) for freaky fast delivery" or "Free drink if you show this

coupon and buy a sandwich today," or even "Hungry? Come grab a Gargantuan form Jimmy

John's." In addition to that, we are on their website with a link to our website, and we are also

able to promote on the schools Twitter and Facebook page. While not all ties with CHS went

according to plan, I am glad that we were able to help out their newspaper program. We are also

supporting the school by giving a $10 gift card to each student of the month. These are small, but

I believe powerful impacts from a community and marketing stand point.

In the most recent weeks I have taken on more then what I initially signed up for with this

internship. I was flattered when Jon asked me to help with several marketing projects for his

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other companies. Like previously mentioned, in addition to Jimmy John’s, he owns Provelocity,

OBJ Group LTD, and Crestone Aviation. Instead of sampling, I started to work out of the OBJ

office to further the marketing for these businesses.

At OBJ I have done a number of projects; including coordinating with a local designer to

form a design involving fiber internet which is largely what this company is pushing for in terms

of sales. What we came up with is “Got Fiber Internet?” and then we put the company website

on there as well. It turned out great, and I have included an example of the sticker we used for

Fiber One bars at the Kiwanis Golf tournament in this portfolio. At the Kiwanis Golf

tournament, we did a $500 dinner sponsorship and were able to give away Jimmy John’s gift

cards. We also let them borrow a tent and a Jimmy John’s bean bag toss. They were super

grateful, and we ended up gaining a very large catering order later on because of it.

The same OBJ design that was used for the stickers was also used to make a 72” x 42”

vinyl banner. This banner will be used at future events that we sponsor, such as the Kiwanis Golf

Tournament next year. In the meantime, I am currently forming four ideas to place on a

billboard. I have gotten very familiar with the website 99designs.com and am planning on

starting a design contest for this within the next week or two. I have included what I have brain

stormed thus far in this portfolio. In general, not many people are aware of what OBJ is and what

they do. I think that this new banner, billboard and our continued efforts to support community

events will definitely help with brand recognition later on.

Crestone Aviation is an entirely different type of business that I am scratching the surface

on learning more about. They are a company that does flights and rentals. In September, I helped

write a press release for them about their upcoming Young Eagles Event. This event was catered

towards 8-17 year olds who were given the opportunity to go fly around the valley with trained

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pilots for free. It was a really neat event that had a great turn out! It gave the company great

exposure throughout the community, and was featured on the front page of the Fruita Times. It

was also mentioned on several radio stations, and in the Daily Sentinel. I released the press

release to the local news stations as well, but am unsure if they ran the story or not. I have

included the press release in this portfolio. In addition, I made a flyer and raffle cards- but

ultimately those did not get used. On the bright side, I am able to coordinate with The Business

Times and they have ran a few full page ads for us.

Provelocity is another company that I am starting to get familiar with. The work load for

this company has been minimal thus far, but I did help Lexi, when she was still working for Jon,

pick out a billboard design that is currently being used in town. It’s really neat to see something

tangible that I was able to help with.

Moving forward, I am so extremely grateful for having such great opportunity with this

internship. It has not been the most glamorous job, I have gotten my hands “dirty” quite a few

times, but it has paid off. I am working in an office now, twice a week, which works great for me

with school and having a family. If I do end up moving out of town after school, this internship

which has turned into a career will look remarkable on my resume. In the meantime, I enjoy

what I do and look forward to going to work every day. Very few people are able to say that, and

I am very fortunate to say that I love the degree I have chosen and I love where it is taking me.

Thank you Mr. Mayer, for giving me this opportunity to share my experiences with you, and for

initially telling me about the internship-it has been an incredible journey.

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