Month 11 – June 2013

I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I began my career here at Hajoca Corporation. It feels like my first day was only a couple of months ago. There was so much that happened this month; I’m not even sure where to begin. I was only at the branch for 8 days this entire month. Otherwise, my schedule was completely booked.

Nothing too crazy during the first week, so let’s skip right to week two. Kohler Company hosted a “Team Building” event with us. This began with a relatively short meeting/discussion about our future business relationship and goals as well as showcasing new Kohler products. The rest of the evening entailed a culinary adventure where we all got together (under the guidance of professional chefs) and prepared our own dinners! The following morning we played 9 holes of golf and got together for lunch. Although at Lansdale we don’t do much business directly with Kohler, I know that once I move to Philly, we will be doing a lot of business together. As I said in my previous posts, I make use of every networking oportunity. Who you know is very important to succeed in any business!

On the 18th and 19th, I spent two days working with and learning from the district credit manager and the rest of the credit department. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew that the credit department approved our customers’ applications to open accounts and that they also worked to collect payments, but I had no idea what else they did. As it turns out, our credit department is very involved in risk management and often directly engages with our profit center managers to provide guidance. The specifics are beyond the scope of my blog post today, but all I can say is that I have a newfound respect and appreciation for all the work that they do. I’d like to give Roe, Tammy, Tom, and Renee a special thanks for their time and help in training me.

This was immediately followed by a vacation from the 20th to the 25th. This was my first long vacation since I have started with Hajoca. I had a blast. I’d like to write all about it, but as the saying goes, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” ;]

Last but not least, I attended the WANE (Wholesalers Association of the North East) Executive Leadership Conference with my regional manager at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. The event was a combination of seminars and vendor showcase. I saw some familiar faces, as well as many new ones. Again, I took full advantage of this networking opportunity and came back home with a new stack of business cards. The most inspirational moment, however, was the talk that the keynote speaker had with us. His name is Chad Hymas. I highly encourage anyone to check out his message and passion on his website. He gave me a signed copy of his book, which I am currently in the process of reading. I’ll briefly touch on this topic again in my blog post next month after I finish reading the book.