Bob Nanna, director of promotions and public relations for the Threadless t-shirt company, in Chicago, graduated from the University of Illinois, and then he went on tour. As a touring musician for twelve years, Bob did some excellent networking. So excellent, in fact, that it allowed a seasonal packaging position to become what he is doing today. Bob’s degree in communications and advertising, in his opinion, was never meant to actually support a career; it was simply the quickest way to get out of school, and onto the road. Yet, as fate would have it, his degrees now allow him expertise in a field in which he never saw himself working.

Bob’s story is an important one, because often touring musicians are not seen as people who integrate well into society, after their touring dreams have expired. In Bob’s case, however, he never would have been able to get to the position he has, without having gone on tour. He is able to work with bands, for promotions and contests, because he knows the bands, and is able to communicate more efficiently with them. Although parents may not enjoy their children being told to go on tour as a way to better their careers, they will like Bob’s advice to his 23-year-old self. “I would beat myself up, take my credit cards, and slash them up.”

Threadless t-shirts are designed by a community of users, based on an award program. They can be found at Threadless.com.p>

At 22, living at home after graduation and working for a large financial services corporation as an account executive, Brian did not find his passion, but rather found vital experience in the corporate world. After a few years, including a short stay in a log cabin in Wisconsin, Brian accepted a transfer opportunity to Phoenix. After four years with his initial company Brian followed one of his mentors into what he thought would be a diligent business move. This company soon folded his division and Brian received his first severance package. This led to a Phoenix Coyotes game and a Jobing.com advertisement that would change the course of Brian’s life forever.

Although Brian intended to use Jobing.com to find a job, he instead found himself working for Jobing. The first day, in Brian’s words, was “atrocious,” but the second day, which brought his first sale, set in motion what would soon become not a job, but a passionate career.

Since that day, Brian has advanced from the sales floor to his current position, Senior VP of Operations. Along the way, he has seen a company grow from humble beginnings into something unique in the corporate world: an efficient, effective entity that has not lost even an ounce of personality. The man has seen himself through college, through many jobs, and now finds himself with the ability to help others feel the sense of satisfaction he feels every day at work.

Brian’s passion is palpable, and he offers advice to anyone coming from humble beginnings. “I don’t have rich parents. If I want to make anything of my life and provide for my wife and two daughters, I need to plant a flag and go out and get it.”

This motto, combined with a positive attitude, is a true mantra of success.

Rule #1: do not call someone the wrong name; especially if they are helping you out while in town. Yep, this happened to me at the end of a great interview with “Monica” who I accidentally called “Melissa.” This small slip-up could have hurt our project a lot seeing as how Monica had been helping us out a lot in Chicago. Not only did she refer us to Jen Hankee and Rayne Martin for interviews, but she was also working to get our story published using her public relations expertise. The moral of the story: don’t mess up someone’s name. On to Monica’s story, which starts out at Purdue University, where she graduated and soon accepted an advertising job creating automotive ads. She put up with the job for a year and a half before she accepted a contractor position at Motorola doing event planning. The temporary gig led to a full-time marketing position where she worked on sponsorships and events with the NFL and ISF. More importantly though, she was able to gain great experience in the marketing field.

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Gary grew up in show business. His father was a press agent for big names like Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, and many others. His father was one of the best in the business. He must had some clout to have his young son Gary be babysat by Marilyn Monroe herself!

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We met up with Lisa down on Fifth Avenue in New York City. We were running a little late after catching a bus. Unfortunately, once we got off the bus we had to walk three blocks in the pouring rain. And I mean it was pouring! Tamir and I tried to take cover as we made our way to her office on a Thursday evening and when we arrived we were sopping wet. After a futile attempt at drying off in the bathroom, and some odd looks from Lisa’s co-workers, we managed to start our interview with a sympathetic Lisa.

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Brandyn was our tour guide for a day which would prove to be the most eventful and memorable experience of our whole trip. Brandyn introduced us to a variety of people and took us to the Nike basketball gym, the Jordan building, and the infamous Nike Kitchen (not the place where you cook food, but the place where they make Nike shoes from scratch). We also saw Lebron James walking the Nike campus and even got to shop at the Nike employee store where everything was 50% with no sales tax, thanks to Oregon state tax law.

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Pat Gallagher is the President of Giants Enterprises and has been with the team for over 30 years. He went to San Diego State University and Humboldt State where he was an art major. While in school he had the goal of becoming a professional artist at the commercial level. After three and a half years of college, he came to the realization that art would not financially support him so he dropped out of college and made a left turn.

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P.J. went to San Diego State University. As a Marketing junior, he was the captain of the surfing team. With his team needing surf sponsorship, P.J. wrote a business proposal to surf companies like Reef, Rip Curl and Hurley. Through his efforts, his team was soon sponsored by Rip Curl.

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Ronnie Ghenender is a financial partner for the Lifted Research Group Clothing Company, better known as LRG. The retail industry has always been a part of Mr. Ghenender’s life as his father was a dress manufacturer. Ronnie has excelled in the retail business for over 40 years.

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Lindy Williams is the Public Directions director for Reef Company in San Diego, California. Lindy attended the University of Arizona and graduated in 2001 with a degree in marketing.

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