Evan's Job History

I think this is my final job. I got back to what I love doing which is building websites and build technology to help small businesses with their online and offline marketing efforts. This is a DREAM job for me. 

We have a dozen team members who are fantastic people and love doing what we are set out to do. Our goal is to be the premier technology company for home improvement contractors and so far we have had great success.

Some example sites we have built that are performing very well are:

• Dalworth Restoration
• All American Cleaning & Restoration
• Titan Restoration
• Fire Alarm Houston
• From the Rough
• Climate Partners
• and about 250 more domains :)

Finally, I had joined the big corporate world. Pitney Bowes is a great company and I loved my role as the SEO Manager. Pitney Bowes was mentioned in the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. So, I was in the right place. 

However, it is the corporate world after all and I'm not used to creating 5 tickets to get a title tag changed on a page. I was responsible for managing the SEO for the corporate site, but I couldn't make any changes without going through several layers of corporate politics. That being said, I did make headways in many areas but it was just too much and I'm not made for that world. So, I left to go to Central Station Marketing. 

I am the Vice Chairman at Technology Committee of Seymour, Connecticut. Goal of the committee is to improve the town website as well as improve other town processes via new internet technology.

While working at Basement Systems, I created the Facebook fan page for Seymour, CT. At the time, the town didn't have a Facebook page, so I took the liberty to build the page for marketing or testing reasons. I also created several other town pages since the town officials never bother to create such pages. 

In 2011, the town of Seymour reached out to me via Facebook to use it to communicate with town citizens. So, being the good citizen that I am, I gave it up. At the same time, the first selected gave me an opportunity to join the technology committee. So, the journey began :)

Ever see the ads for $1 a day child sponsorship? It's a pretty big commitment and very noble to sponsor a child. However, there is only one problem with the traditional sponsorship. You don't know how much of your sponsored dollars are actually going to the child. Doesn't it bug you?

It bugs me and that's why I co-founded Shapla Foundation, transparent child sponsorship program. What does that mean? It means you get to see exactly how your money is being spent on the child you sponsor. I am a programmer, so I build a system where a care taker logs all expenses for a given child down to the pennies. You as the sponsor get to see all expense including purchase of eggs, milk, medicine, school supplies, clothes, etc.
Check out how this works: http://www.shaplafoundation.org/profile-9-Bibi-Aesha.html 

Shapla Foundation is a non-profit organization and currently sponsoring 22 children in Bangladesh. 

Brand Cigars is a retail store selling premium imported cigars and all sorts of smoke related products. We sell cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, lighters, incense, humidors, lotto and more. I am the owner of two local cigar stores.

Brand Cigars Monroe
www.brandcigarsmonroe.com
Ahh the first business. This store was opened in January 2010. The store is located in route 34 in Monroe, CT accross from Waterview. I have a partner for this store who is an old friend from Houston, TX. The store is very successful which led to opening of store 2 in Newtown.

Brand Cigars Newtown
www.brandcigarsnewstown.com
This store is located in Newtown, CT. Store opened on December 23rd, 2011. This store has a 45 feet long walk-in humidor which has over 500 open cigar boxes. This store is owned by the family. Hope this will be as successful as the first one :)

My longest running job so far. I think that says a lot about the type of company Basement Systems is. I have accomplished so much in this company... The owner says "Luck = Opportunity meets readiness" I guess, I'm lucky then. There is a lot of opportunity for growth here.

I'm one of the many web geeks at Basement Systems. My job has many variables as I am equipped to anything and everything in the department. I have built many custom web tools/programs over the years which are used by most employees in my department. At the end, it's a team game. I have other team members who I can rely on to get the job done and be profitable. You can make all the cool designs and programs you want, but at the end they have to equal to efficiency, revenue and more importantly profits for the company.  

We have a great team at Basement Systems. It's been 5 years and I still love going to work everyday. Since I'm still working here, I'll finish this job overview later. Way too much to talk about...

We have many divisions here and the my department manages all web properties for those divisions. If you see any of the logos in the web world, know that our team has something to do with it :)

I moved to Connecticut to be close to the family and took the first job I could find once moving here. Smoke Junction is a cigar/cigarette store selling cancer related products :)

I learned a lot about cigars within 6 months because I managed the entire operations of the store. Retail business is a bit different and fast paced. I liked it.

Just like the first graduation, we had a portfolio show on our graduation day. I got me an interview on the spot and went to the company after a couple of days and got a job offer the same week. Talk about good luck.

This job is to manage datingchemistry.com a web site the company owner was very passionate about. Also, I was the in-house animator for before and after animations for infomercials. I got some good experience on working with strict TV deadlines, casting, production and a little bit of everything.

I worked on several web sites for the company as well. Converted the company site to HTML from flash which was a pretty good move to get it in the search engines. I also took DatingChemistry.com and got it to function as a full blown match making web site. It was fun.

When I moved to Florida, I worked at Sears for first 6 months as I was attending Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Then in December, I got a temp job at Chase Merchant Services. My job was to go through REAMS and REAMS of documents to find a single bank account and dollar amount the account was processing. (2 weeks project going to paper after paper). Talk about boring OMG. But, no worries, I made the best of it.

The guys in the surrounding cubicles were getting frustrated because another dude had to print reams and reams of paper for me to go through... talk about NOT GOING GREEN, lol. My boss at the time was Michelle Drolette, the Director of Internal Auditing.

So, after couple of weeks, now that I proved I could handle such tasks, she asked me to do the same for another account. So, by this time, I asked if I could have access to the database where the file is being printed from. Somehow, she got me access and I used a popular computer function called COPY and then PASTE the data into excel and clicked on CTRL + F to find the account number. LOL

Voila, two weeks of data crunching done in 2 hours, lol. I take it she was impressed because I lasted on the temp job for 19 months till my graduation from college.

More importantly, I was getting good at auditing. Michelle helped a lot in teaching about the professional work world. She took me to many big meetings, gave me chance to grow into my position. One lesson that I learned from here which I apply even today is "Use common sense". Very simple and effective.

I also worked on the web site for Institute of Internal Auditors (Miami Chapter) on the side for her. She knew I'm going to school for art and web and she gave me an opportunity. I'm getting paid to do something I like??? I kicked ass on that site. Michelle being the president at the time helped, lol.

It was the best job I had so far...

On the Graduation from the Art Institute, you get a chance to display your work at the portfolio show where potential employers lark around and scout for talents. I was one of the few who got a job offer on the portfolio show. My portfolio wasn't the best, but my attitude was.

I got a part time gig making $12.00/hour animating and creating graphics for the company. My first professional job. I was a rookie and didn't make a lot of money. Hence the reason to move to Florida to continue on my Bachelors degree.

I was still working at Sears and the Fire Department during my employment here. Boy o boy, talk about time management issues, lol.

When you are in your teens, you do stupid things to your car... at least, I did. I was one of those rice boys with 17" rims, intake, painted interiors, big fat stickers, big ass amp that rattles the truck, etc. So, one day, I go into Sears to get some new rims and just having some chats with the store manager, Mr. Boadi, as he was at the counter making sure everything is cookie.

I suppose I was a good boy and he liked what we had talked about and offered me to work as he needed some people to fill in that week. I came in, and with a little training, I was one of the best tire/battery techs of the place. We worked on commission, so that gave me motivation to work a little extra hard to push it to an average $10.50/hour. Yea, try making that kindda money when you are in your teens, I was kicking ass!!!

In June 03' I moved to Florida, where I transferred the job to Sears in Plantation, FL and worked there for additional 6 months.

As I was going to College at the Art Institute of Houston, working at Adam's Mark Hotel and Sears Auto Center during the weekdays, my friend Nevan and I joined the local volunteer fire department for the weekends.

After 6 months of special training, we graduated and became volunteer fire fighters. Since it was a part time gig, it was the best job ever. I went into 3 burning houses in three years... houses don't catch on fire enough :( lol... but when it does, it's FUN!

Room service! That was the tag line as I knocked on door to door with breakfast for rich folks who spend 20 bucks on omelet, toasts and juice. You can get that for 4 bucks at McDonalds. I have also worked as a waiter time to time on the restaurant when the regular servers called in sick or had busy days.

Also, worked as a bartender couple of times and made TONS of tips. People tend to pay more when they are drunk ;) Highest tips on a 8 hour day: $172.00.

Made a lot of new friends here... it was a fun job.

Started as a bag boy, and very soon got downgraded to get basket from the parking lot. lol, it was tough but after couple of months, I became a cashier with 50 cents raise.

After a year or so, I go a position as the Scanning Coordinator, putting up price tags, adding sale prices in the system, creating ALL weekly sales signs in the store. I mean this was a good position, with a FULL dollar raise :)

After a year or so when I have learned a lot about how the store is structured, became the Dairy Department Manager. First job as a department manager, chi ching... but no raise. So, then the Grocery Manager made me an over night stocker/supervisor with 50cents raise. By the time I left Fiesta in 1999, I was the highest paid employee among my friends.

I left at the end of 1999 because I started college and I couldn't do overnight job anymore. I got a few friends hired in Fiesta by then and left the job with all smiles and bosses telling me that I'd have a job anytime I want to come back :)