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While scrolling through Instagram in late 2013, college sophom*ore Ellen Yin saw an ad for Ledbetter, a health and fitness company.
She was intrigued, so she bought a three-month personal training program.
She had no idea the purchase would help her land a remote internship, score a full-time job and pay off $19,000 in student loans⊠before she even graduated.
What?! I know. Hereâs the story of how she accomplished it all.
Talking to Strangers
After purchasing Ledbetterâs program, Yin stayed connected with the company via its social media channels.
Soon, she developed a personal friendship with Josh and Julie Ledbetter â the married-couple CEO and COO.
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âThey share a lot of their own story and struggles through their fitness journeys,â Yin says. âI was able to relate to them in a lot of ways. I really got to know their story and know their hearts.â
In turn, Yin shared some of her own milestones and lessons learned through comments on Facebook and Instagram.
And when she visited a friend at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, she was comfortable enough to ask the Denver-based Ledbetters if theyâd like to meet up and chat.
During their two hour lunch meeting, Yin took a leap â and pitched them an internship.
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âI was like, âI really love your company,ââ Yin explains. ââI love everything it stands for, your mission, your products.ââ
She needed to complete a 60-hour practicum for school, and even though she wasnât studying public relations or marketing, she knew the Ledbetters could use help with their YouTube channel and blog.
Everything seemed to click into place. And although her pitch was pretty casual, it was successful.
âWeâve never had an intern before,â they told Yin, âbut youâre welcome to work with us.â
How to Create Your Own Job
During the initial unpaid, three-month internship, Yin accomplished many of the goals sheâd set and grew to feel like she was part of the small startupâs family.
So when the topic of planning for her next required internship came up at a summer dinner with some classmates, she knew what she had to do.
She texted Josh Ledbetter to say she wanted to pursue a second internship â and that she hoped it would lead to a permanent position.
âI knew that (I) was taking a risk,â says Yin. Ledbetterâs a startup with a small team and finite funding, and she didnât know if her candor would be read as too brazen.
But in retrospect, Yin attributes a huge part of her success to her honesty in pitching the internship and job.
In being transparent about her intentions, Yin created space for the Ledbetters to have a frank discussion to see where she would fit in their companyâs growth.
After Josh responded with a tentative yes, Yin wrote a formal proposal, identifying three tangible improvements she wanted to make in the companyâs public relations.
She planned to expand the wholesale program, create an ambassador program and increase media presence.
During her second three-month unpaid internship starting in August 2015, she was able to accomplish all of those goals.
Along with placing Ledbetter headbands in her college store and a downtown Corvallis, Oregon, boutique, Yin also organized a breast cancer walk fundraiser, organized a photoshoot for the site and relaunched the companyâs YouTube channel.
She helped build the ambassador program sheâd pitched from the ground up (down to writing the application) â and she managed the companyâs blog, which saw an increase from seven to almost 400 unique visitors per day.
So it wasnât that surprising when, after flying Yin and the rest of the company out to Breckenridge, Colorado, to partake in David Ramseyâs leadership conference, the Ledbetters agreed to upgrade Yinâs internship to a part-time, paid position for the rest of the school year, then a full-time job once she graduated.
Why Yinâs Pitch Worked
Some of the keys to her success?
Yin knew her strengths and found actionable ways to apply them to the companyâs needs.
âLook at a company and see which areas they lack in, or what you, uniquely, can solve,â Yin says.
Then, follow through and create tangible results, so the value you add to the team is obvious and unquestionable.
âGive first, and then ask for a mutual thing in return,â Yin suggests.
In her case, she showed what she could do during her first internship, then pitched a second internship â with the potential for a full-time job afterward.
But this tactic might not work for everyone.
âI know a lot of people who are full time in the working world canât afford to just take three months off and work for free,â Yin says.
âBut if you have an opportunity to give something to the company first and show them your worth and your value, [it can help] create that sense of urgency.â
Another takeaway from Yinâs story: You have to be willing to ask for what you want.
Talking to strangers doesnât come easy to everyone. It sure doesnât for me.
But none of this wouldâve happened for Yin if she hadnât taken the first step to reach out.
âIf there is a company that youâre really passionate about working for that you really believe in their mission and you would love to be a part of their team⊠try to start developing a relationship with them,â Yin explains.
In her position as public relations director, she continues to actively seek relationships with big companies like Bodybuilding.com â even if sheâs not sure itâll work.
âDonât be afraid to reach out to strangers,â she says, âbecause a lot of people have surprised me with responses when I didnât think they would respond.â
If this all sounds like a lot to you, keep in mind itâs OK to be afraid â Yin certainly was.
âI donât have any experience in PR, so when I [got] this position, I was scared, of course,â Yin explains. And even if youâre an expert in your field, itâs easy to feel inadequate for loads of other reasons â like if you donât yet have any work experience.
But Yin knew how to overcome her nerves.
âI just told myself, everyone is always learning,â she says.
The moment you stop learning is when youâre really in trouble.
And Now Sheâs Going to Graduate Debt-Free
Yin transformed her fear into an opportunity to overcome an obstacle â and earned valuable connections and a fulfilling career in the process.
While she finishes school, she works 20 paid hours per week for Ledbetter, managing its Instagram and email correspondence, doing monthly evaluations for the ambassador program she created, and more.
Plus, the job has helped her pay off almost $20,000 worth of student debt in less than a year.
In fact, Yin is on track to be completely student-loan-free before she graduates in June.
And before you ask, no, she doesnât live with her parents.
After reading Ramseyâs âTotal Money Makeoverâ â a gift from the Ledbetters â Yin was inspired to gain financial freedom. So she cancelled her loans for her final year of school and started devoting almost her entire paycheck to paying down her student debt.
To pay for rent, bills and everything else, she uses the wages from her second job at Applebeeâs, where she puts in 15 to 20 hours a week on top of her full-time studies and presumably catching a few hoursâ sleep here and there.
She also continued to apply for scholarships after enrolling in school, which earned her about $10,000.
âPeople should really go after the grants and scholarships,â Yin explains. âIt really is free money. Itâs worth the investment to take that time to apply.â
When she graduates in June, sheâll work for Ledbetter full time â but sheâs staying in Oregon for now. Since sheâs prioritizing her financial freedom, she wants to think hard before investing in a move.
Plus, Denver â as you may have heard â is snowy.
âIâm not really a snow person,â says Yin.
Your Turn: Have you ever created a job for yourself?
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links. Weâre letting you know because itâs what Honest Abe would do. After all, he is on our favorite coin.
Jamie Cattanach (@jamiecattanach) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder. Her creative writing has been featured in DMQ Review, Sweet: A Literary Confection and elsewhere.
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