Ryan Taub: What’s it like to be a Campus Manager at Fresh Prints?
What is it like to be a Fresh Prints Campus Manager? That’s a great question. And who better to answer this than one of our rising campus managers? Meet Ryan Taub from the University of Delaware. He’s been with us for over a year now and he’s super excited to share his Fresh Prints experience.
Hi! Ryan here. I was in your position once asking that very question. But one year in, working with 10+ different orgs daily, seeing how the company approaches work, going through highs and lows -- things worked out well! In this article, I’ll go over what to expect as a Campus Manager in the position and what Fresh Prints is like overall!
The Job
As a Campus Manager, you will be building a collegiate apparel business that you’re in charge of. Crazy, right? It may sound pretty serious and tedious but that's not at all the case! As a CM, you will have an excellent support team that includes your Business Development Manager (BDM), who helps you with questions and staying organized. BDMs are former campus managers, so they know the ins and outs of balancing college student life and CM life. They’re pretty much like older org mates. Then there’s the internal team as well! They help out with anything involving custom art designs, order questions, or quoting, which is of great value for any aspiring CM!
The Culture
When I first started at FP, I was introduced to the Fresh Principles. I thought, am I really going to use all of these daily? And the answer is YES. The core values of Fresh Prints are encapsulated in those Fresh Principles. When I am reaching out to clients, working with the internal team, or just doing anything FP-related; they are all present.
At FP, we live by these principles. Every time I ever reach out to my BDM, the art team, or the ops team, they’ve always been incredibly friendly and easy to work with. No matter who you talk to, candor over comfort is always evident. Everyone is honest with one another (without being hurtful) making the environment less tense as you always know what they truly mean.
Another value is irrational persistence. Roadblocks are pretty normal. They can discourage you or they can push you to stand up, learn, and go for the win! When talking about merch to busy college students, you won’t always get quick responses. I could’ve taken that personally and questioned my ability as a CM but I am a college student, and I know how the uni life goes! Understanding this, I persistently follow through with my client interactions. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have closed one of my biggest clients today!
The Community
The sense of community at Fresh Prints is massive. As far as my experience goes, I’ve seen how everyone feels incredibly connected to one another both at work and on a personal level. And it’s not like that fake friendliness that many companies incorporate into their daily routine, it’s actually genuine. I feel very comfortable talking to my BDM (shoutout to Emily Klevan for being awesome!) about anything I need. She’s someone I would definitely get along with outside of work too. I’m working with people I would get a drink with after a long day. Not everyone can say that!
The Skills I Learned
I’ve picked up a couple of student entrepreneurship skills as I worked as CM for over a year. I learned how to effectively and efficiently communicate with not only potential clients but also with the internal team to make sure that everything is running smoothly. As someone who first thought it may be awkward to reach out to people you don’t know over text or email, I've realized that it’s not the case unless you let it be.
Going back to the Fresh Principles, candor over comfort guided me to be respectful and honest with everyone involved in the process of creating custom apparel. Being with Fresh Prints, I learned to be honest without hurting people's feelings. As long as you remain respectful, your clients will acknowledge and appreciate your honesty and you’ll get along well with your teammates.
For example, letting a client know the truth about what is happening with their order is incredibly important -- even when the update is not great! It’s something that needs to be done often to keep them in the loop as things may need changing or updating. This taught me to be on top of things with confidence.
There you have it! I still have a lot to learn but I’m glad to have shared my experience so far. I hope this can help enlighten you if being a Campus Manager is the right decision for you. Signing off now! Good luck.
Is someone cutting onions? Ryan has come a long way since he joined Fresh Prints. From being a CM trainee to giving out his knowledge and advice to college students looking for skill-building part-time jobs like Campus Management. We couldn’t be any prouder!
For more first-hand stories about being a campus manager at Fresh Prints, you can check out these articles about Shai Katz, Ryley Fredricksen, and Michael Berglass.