This document summarizes the author's internship experience working at Jimmy John's sandwich shop. Some key points: - The author learned about Jimmy John's guerrilla marketing strategy of handing out free sandwich samples, which increased store sales by 18%. - The author gained confidence speaking to customers and learned important skills in marketing, management, and working with others. - By attending local business meetings, the author was able to secure new catering clients and consider a career in real estate. - The author worked to build relationships with local schools and coordinated some sponsorship and promotion opportunities between Jimmy John's and a high school.

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Co-op Work Experience Essay
Working at a sandwich shop and delivering free samples to nearby businesses has not
been the most glamorous job I have ever had, but what it has been is an amazing learning
experience that has given me direction once I graduate next May. During my time with Jimmy
John’s, I have learned the essence of Jimmy John’s competitive guerrilla marketing strategy and
how to work alongside a wide variety of people. Going from door to door giving out free
sandwiches with a smile and a menu seemed silly to me at first, but has proven to have had a
drastic influence on both of the stores sales. In fact, sales increased by 18% this summer with the
help of my sampling efforts. While I have had an influence on sales, working in the stores has
had an influence on me in the way that I appreciate what I have more. Working at Jimmy John’s
has been an eye-opening experience because I have learned more about management, people
skills, and most importantly marketing.
Walking into both Jimmy John’s stores I could feel all eyes were on me. The music was
booming, bright colored signs were hung all around the store, and people were questioning.
Wondering who I was and what my purpose was. As the new girl, I had to earn their trust. For
the first several weeks I started to get to know people.
First and foremost I had the marketing coordinator and right-hand-woman to the local
owner of Jimmy John’s, Lexi Russell beside me. Lexi was a former class-mate, and as I got to
know her better, she has also turned into a very caring and hardworking mentor.
The first day was very basic, Lexi gave me my t-shirt and she guided me through the
computer system and Jimmy John’s systems and procedures. The following day Lexi and I drove
to both the Clifton store and 25 Road store to make introductions with the general managers:

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Lorry Williams and Shannon Mulloy. Right away I could sense a semi-friendly rivalry between
the two stores. Lexi wisely advised me to ignore their remarks and remain neutral/professional.
Week two of my internship we got started on making samples and disbursing them.
Essentially, we make 30 samples a day, three times a week at the 25 Road store and one day a
week at the Clifton store. There are four ham & cheese sandwiches, also known as our “Pepe,”
four turkey sandwiches, also known as our “Turkey Tom,” and two roast beef sandwiches, also
known as our “Big John.” Cut into thirds, gives us 30 samples to hand out. Lexi explained to me
the grid system and delivery area. We wanted to stay within one grid at a time, and even more
importantly we wanted to make sure that we stayed within our delivery area.
At the 25 Road store we started and continued to work in Grid 2 for the first two months.
This grid runs from 26 road, up to F road and over to 24 Road. It included businesses such as the
Barney Brothers, Wiggy’s, Ross and we later found out over a hundred others! I was shocked
with how many businesses were condensed into just one grid, and even more so encouraged by
the catering potential. I have included an example of how we tracked where we went in this
portfolio. While my original sixth objective to complete all eight grids within six months, was
starting to seem a little ambitious and farfetched-it was still potentially attainable.
Jimmy John’s guerilla marketing strategy is to keep the message short and sweet, so
when we enter a new business we simply say “Hey how’s it going? We are doing a little
customer appreciation today and handing out free sandwiches to business in our delivery area.
Would you like one?” They almost always say yes, and we then proceed to ask what kind of
sandwich they would like. We offer to give a sandwich to everyone within the office. It does not
matter if their office has one person or 30, no business is too small or too big to sample at.

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If I am sampling to a dentist office, a bank or somewhere that is likely to have monthly
meetings I “feel it out” and ask if they have meetings of some type in their office. If they say yes,
then I automatically pull out a catering menu and explain to them that we are the perfect last
minute catering solution, we are affordable, we are fast and on top of that we deliver! If they
have been to Jimmy John’s before I ask them what their favorite sandwich is, and that I would
love to bring them a free box lunch so that they can see what we have to offer. The box lunch is
totally customizable for every individual, and includes their choice of chips, cookie and
sandwich. If they have a large office, then I suggest doing party platters which feed 10-12
people for $45. It is extremely difficult to feed 10-12 people for that amount and even more so
for that much convenience! They are normally more than willing to listen to me once “free
lunch” enters the conversation, but if their office does not do catering or if they are just pressed
for time I leave a menu with each sandwich that has the given stores phone number on it and go
on my way. Most times, this is the case, but I was able to deliver around twenty free box lunches
this summer and each time we received extremely positive feedback. For example, at Wiggy’s,
the owner e-mailed me a few days after I dropped off a box lunch for him and he expressed his
gratitude towards the free lunch and that he was going to have Jimmy John’s cater their next
monthly lunch, (which is around 50 people). He never had Jimmy John’s prior to me dropping
off the lunch, so it gave me great job satisfaction knowing that I had directly influenced that
decision. The free box lunches work, and in my opinion they should be used to continue
expanding Jimmy John’s business.
Lexi showed me the ropes on this entire sampling process for about a month. She then
moved on from the job to pursue her Master’s degree. While I was initially sad that I was losing
my sampling buddy, it ended up being ok. It taught me to be more independent and forced me to

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gain a new sense of confidence. This was particularly true when entering into unknown
businesses and talking to dozens of new people in a given day. Talking to people/strangers will
be an essential skill that I will carry with me for the rest of my professional life. With the
absence of Lexi, I was able to interrelate with Jon Labrum, Jimmy John’s local owner, and work
more directly with him.
Jon is a very motivated, young entrepreneur in the grand valley. His hard work is very
evident and inspiring. I was very impressed to learn that at 31 years old he owns four businesses:
Provelocity (IT company), Jimmy John’s (Sandwich Shop), Crestone Aviation (Airplane
Company), and OBJ Group Ltd. (a business partner to Century Link and Charter). His resume is
very impressive, but just by meeting him you would have no idea that he does so much. He
wears jeans, a tattered polo shirt and casual brown shoes every single day. He is also very soft
spoken and easy going. I really enjoy working for him because he gives his employees a lot of
flexibility.
I am able to create my own work schedule and agenda while working for Jon. During the
summer I worked Monday-Wednesday from 9 AM-1 PM, and on Thursdays from 7:30 AM-1
PM. This gave me the opportunity to make samples in the stores and then distribute them to
various businesses. After that I would return back to the stores and help bag deliveries/float
around and help. This really helped cut down on delivery times, and also cut down on drivers
stress level because I would have the orders completely ready to go by the time they got back to
the stores.
While bagging the orders I always followed Jimmy John’s standard of one napkin per a
sandwich, and to always place a menu in every bag that goes out. I would also retrieve the
drinks, chips, and cookie for any given order. The ultimate goal of deliveries is by the time a

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delivery is sent through, whether it’s by online ordering of by phone, we have it in the hand of
the customer in ten minutes. That is what Jimmy John’s is known for and in essence of why they
exist. They are not known so much for their high quality meats, or friendly service-even though
they have both of these. Jimmy John’s is known for being freaky fast, and that is by far the most
important part of their brand image. I gave a presentation at the Chamber of Commerce leads
group meeting in July and I shared a story with them about the company. I think it does a good
job of summing up where Jimmy John’s has been and where they are going, so I will share it
with you as well:
Ahh, A Taste of Gourmet History. 1983 was a big year for America. Change
was in the air. Reagan and old Bush were leading the country through the
Cold War, GI Joe was dating Barbie, teenagers "tight rolled" their pants and
slow danced to Total Eclipse of the Heart. For many, 1983 was a confusing,
hungry place. People cried out for more, and not just more fondue.
It would be a 19-year-old with two first names that would answer America's
cry for lunch – Jimmy John Liautaud.
Jimmy knew that if he kept it simple he could create the world's greatest
gourmet sandwich. With a handful of cookbooks checked out from his local
library, Jimmy perfected his award-winning bread. After creating four
sandwiches, Jimmy tested them on friends and family, receiving praise he
needed to press on. With no hesitation he opened the very first Jimmy John's.
Paying a whopping $200 a month in rent, he could afford only used equipment
consisting of a refrigerator, a chest freezer, an oven, and a meat slicer. The
first Jimmy John's served soda with no ice (there was no room in the budget
for an ice machine). As any good business story goes, things were not easy in
the beginning. So Jimmy John Liautaud did what any young entrepreneur
would do – he took to the streets with armfuls of free sandwiches. College kids
loved his irreverent attitude and dirt-cheap prices. The fact that he delivered
was icing on the cake. Jimmy John's has grown up over the last few decades.
The irreverent attitude, low price, great food and delivery with a smile remain
the same, but what was once the bratty little brother of the sandwich industry
is now the super cool older brother that everyone else wants to be. We
currently have over 2000 stores open.
What makes Jimmy John's different from the rest is that it's honest, it's damn
good, it's damn fast, at a decent price! Jimmy John's definition of fresh is

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worlds apart from everyone else's. Bread is baked in-house everyday and
served fresh. Meat and veggies are sliced fresh in-house everyday. The turkey
is real turkey, the roast beef is real roast beef – no additives, no vegetable-
based fillers, no fake stuff. Nothing is delivered pre-sliced. Real Hellmann's
mayo, real Grey Poupon, real olive oil and red wine vinegar – it's the best of
the best.
With perfect bread, systems in place, spectacular employees and leaders who
lead and don't pass the buck, Jimmy John's box rocks. The culture that was
created in the restaurants is the same culture that drives the corporate office.
"Make a deal, keep a deal" is the Golden Rule. Do it now – make it happen –
be a go-getter, no excuses. Jimmy John's employees are the ordinary people
doing extraordinary things. They want to be the best. They don't mind doing
whatever it takes to get the job done. Their hustle is part of how they live their
daily lives, and they enjoy the fruits of a hard-earned entrepreneurial lifestyle.
Once again, Jimmy John's wants only the best for the best.
So as you can see, Jimmy John’s early success came from taking to the streets and
handing out free sandwiches. That is what I did, and amazingly it increased sales by 18% over
the course of the summer! However, I did do more than just hand out free sandwiches and talk to
people about catering. Like previously mentioned, I went to the Chamber of Commerce meetings
every Thursday at 7:30 A.M. and met with a multitude of businesses.
At these meetings we took turns sharing what our businesses offered and what a good
lead would be for us. The first thirty minutes of the meeting was dedicated to focusing on one
group members business and then we went around the room and had one minute to share what a
good lead would be for us this week. Little sheets of white paper with a yellow carbon copy are
used to write down leads for one another. I have included an example of one in this portfolio. I
quickly formed a relationship with the 20 or so people that attend these weekly meetings. I was
able to do an informational interview with Heather, owner of New Image Realty, I was able to
seal a catering deal with Ryan Ellington from Edward Jones, I coordinated a radio ad with
Maggie LaHue from MBC Broadcasting and I was even able to go to a Fire Soccer parents

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meeting and give out free sandwiches. This was all possible because I attended this hour long
meeting once a week. I gained a lot from this both professionally and personally. Heather has
hinted multiple times for me to come join her Real Estate team, which I am seriously
considering. It goes without saying that despite being early, I thoroughly enjoy going to meet
with this great group of people.
Business after hours is a much larger group of people that I have also met with outside of
work. The first meeting took place at KREX News Channel 5’s studio. It was an unexpectedly
lavish event. I parked in the old City Market parking lot, and then we rode up a little hill by
carriage. Once there, they had a photo booth, free drinks, and smoked meats. It was a lot of fun
mingling with other businesses in the valley and I was able to talk about Jimmy John’s catering
to a handful of people.
One of my main objectives when starting this internship was to form a relationship with
Central High School and Grand Junction High School. I sampled to both schools and spoke to
both of them about catering/sponsorships. Ultimately, I was able to form a very strong
relationship with CHS while GJHS was more limited. On my initial visit to CHS I brought over
30 samples and was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time because the school’s
principal was in the front office when I entered in. I simply asked him if his school would ever
be interested in being involved with our sponsorship program. In this program we give 20% of
the sales for a specific date back to the school. He told me that they would absolutely be
interested in that, and then he invited me to next week’s head of department’s staff meeting.
There I made contacts with the head football coach, the student council advisor and Trey
Downey who is in charge of the schools newspaper and student of the month program. I
followed up with each one and this was the result: Phil, the head football coach ended up not

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doing a sponsorship with us, but instead I did secure a date for the school’s basketball coach for
February. The student council advisor gave my information to the Junior class vice president,
Gage. Gage and I coordinated a sandwich eating contest for the schools homecoming pep-
assembly. Unfortunately, I was in class during the scheduled time and was not there to ensure
that the sandwiches made it to the school on time. The Clifton Jimmy John’s store dropped the
ball on this and never delivered the sandwiches. I tried to make it up to Gage, by dropping off a
$10 gift card for all his hassle and of course I sincerely apologized. After this incident occurred,
Jon Labrum and I came to an agreement that I would not make promises to sponsor events unless
I could personally be there and see it through. Which is a good lesson to learn while in
marketing. Lastly, the plans made with Trey Downey did go through without a hitch! We are
doing a $300 sponsorship for their newspaper program in which we are able to send out six mass
push notifications throughout the year. We have control over when these push notifications get
sent out to CHS students. So any student that has the app, which is around 2/3 of the student
body will receive it. We are planning on sending out messages like: "Now hiring," or "Hungry?
Order now on jj.com or call (number) for freaky fast delivery" or "Free drink if you show this
coupon and buy a sandwich today," or even "Hungry? Come grab a Gargantuan form Jimmy
John's." In addition to that, we are on their website with a link to our website, and we are also
able to promote on the schools Twitter and Facebook page. While not all ties with CHS went
according to plan, I am glad that we were able to help out their newspaper program. We are also
supporting the school by giving a $10 gift card to each student of the month. These are small, but
I believe powerful impacts from a community and marketing stand point.
In the most recent weeks I have taken on more then what I initially signed up for with this
internship. I was flattered when Jon asked me to help with several marketing projects for his

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other companies. Like previously mentioned, in addition to Jimmy John’s, he owns Provelocity,
OBJ Group LTD, and Crestone Aviation. Instead of sampling, I started to work out of the OBJ
office to further the marketing for these businesses.
At OBJ I have done a number of projects; including coordinating with a local designer to
form a design involving fiber internet which is largely what this company is pushing for in terms
of sales. What we came up with is “Got Fiber Internet?” and then we put the company website
on there as well. It turned out great, and I have included an example of the sticker we used for
Fiber One bars at the Kiwanis Golf tournament in this portfolio. At the Kiwanis Golf
tournament, we did a $500 dinner sponsorship and were able to give away Jimmy John’s gift
cards. We also let them borrow a tent and a Jimmy John’s bean bag toss. They were super
grateful, and we ended up gaining a very large catering order later on because of it.
The same OBJ design that was used for the stickers was also used to make a 72” x 42”
vinyl banner. This banner will be used at future events that we sponsor, such as the Kiwanis Golf
Tournament next year. In the meantime, I am currently forming four ideas to place on a
billboard. I have gotten very familiar with the website 99designs.com and am planning on
starting a design contest for this within the next week or two. I have included what I have brain
stormed thus far in this portfolio. In general, not many people are aware of what OBJ is and what
they do. I think that this new banner, billboard and our continued efforts to support community
events will definitely help with brand recognition later on.
Crestone Aviation is an entirely different type of business that I am scratching the surface
on learning more about. They are a company that does flights and rentals. In September, I helped
write a press release for them about their upcoming Young Eagles Event. This event was catered
towards 8-17 year olds who were given the opportunity to go fly around the valley with trained

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pilots for free. It was a really neat event that had a great turn out! It gave the company great
exposure throughout the community, and was featured on the front page of the Fruita Times. It
was also mentioned on several radio stations, and in the Daily Sentinel. I released the press
release to the local news stations as well, but am unsure if they ran the story or not. I have
included the press release in this portfolio. In addition, I made a flyer and raffle cards- but
ultimately those did not get used. On the bright side, I am able to coordinate with The Business
Times and they have ran a few full page ads for us.
Provelocity is another company that I am starting to get familiar with. The work load for
this company has been minimal thus far, but I did help Lexi, when she was still working for Jon,
pick out a billboard design that is currently being used in town. It’s really neat to see something
tangible that I was able to help with.
Moving forward, I am so extremely grateful for having such great opportunity with this
internship. It has not been the most glamorous job, I have gotten my hands “dirty” quite a few
times, but it has paid off. I am working in an office now, twice a week, which works great for me
with school and having a family. If I do end up moving out of town after school, this internship
which has turned into a career will look remarkable on my resume. In the meantime, I enjoy
what I do and look forward to going to work every day. Very few people are able to say that, and
I am very fortunate to say that I love the degree I have chosen and I love where it is taking me.
Thank you Mr. Mayer, for giving me this opportunity to share my experiences with you, and for
initially telling me about the internship-it has been an incredible journey.
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