My First Job: Eric Knudson, principal of Base Camp Communications, a strategic marketing firm

March 30, 2007

My First Job: Eric Knudson, principal of Base Camp Communications, a strategic marketing firm

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Eric Knudson

Current position: Principal of Base Camp Communications, a strategic marketing firm.

First job: My first job was – no pun intended – quite a racquet. From seventh grade until I graduated from college, I gave tennis lessons. Every summer, I'd think about getting a "real job," but I could never find one that was more fun, paid better and let me wear shorts to work every day!

Pay: I started out charging $6 an hour for private lessons. Eventually I worked my way up to running the tennis program at a local country club and was making $2,500-$3,000 a month. Then school would start and the weather would turn bad, which would shut down my business until next summer.

How I got the job: Basic guerilla marketing: I bought a ball hopper, printed up some flyers and posters and hung out at local courts trying to drum up business. Later, I got teaching jobs with the parks department and private clubs.

What I learned: I quickly learned that you had to have a plan for each lesson – and be willing to change it to better meet your customers' needs. When you're teaching, you are "on" all the time and students can tell if you're winging it, thinking about other things or just doing the same cookie-cutter drills. Most important, you have to make things fun.

In addition, I learned a lot about promoting myself, making presentations to groups and being a problem solver – all of which I do today with my marketing and advertising clients. And I still sometimes wear shorts to the office.

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My First Job: Eric Knudson, principal of Base Camp Communications, a strategic marketing firm

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