When I was a kid, I had eyes like a hawk. At my best I had 20/12 vision. Then in high school things started getting blurry, and I eventually had to get contact lenses. Luckily, humans have spent a ton of time and energy in developing technology that helps us see better. Whether you want to see something really small, far away, or in the dark, there’s optical equipment that can help you out. The thing is that microscopes, binoculars, night vision goggles, and even glasses aren’t something that you buy casually–you want to buy from someone who knows his or her stuff. OpticsPlanet is a Northbrook, IL based company that employs a whole bunch of those people. They are “one of the world’s leading online retailers of a wide selection of sport optics, tactical and military gear, scientific products, hunting gear, professional grade products and eyewear.” I get excited when I get a new contact lens prescription, so I bet getting to play with some of OptcisPlanet’s offerings would make me giddy.
Internships in Accounting
Looking for more internships in Accounting? Check out the most recent internship postings in Accounting.
Below you'll find all of the companies that we've covered that may offer internships in Accounting. You can also look at entry level jobs in Accounting.
Last night I read an article from The New York Times about how two New York City taxi cab medallions recently sold for $1 million each. These aren’t some weird collectors’ items–they are actual pieces of metal that are attached to the hood of a taxi cab and are required for the cab to be able to operate in a given city. It’s a relatively common system (you can read about it here), and it limits the number and ensures the quality of cabs in the city. In some cities, the medallions can be bought and sold, and the secondary market for them is getting extremely expensive. Because of this, most cabbies can’t own their own medallions–they usually have to lease them or work for a fleet that owns it own medallions. That’s where Medallion Financial Group comes in. They’re a New York, NY based financing company that specializes in Taxi Medallion and Commercial Lending.
I’m starting to get settled in my new place. After living in two moderately new high-rises in downtown Chicago, I’ve moved into a more historic building–it was built in 1921 and served as a Chinese consulate at some point. Now that I’m starting my fourth year living in the city, I feel that it’s only appropriate for me to start learning a little more about the city’s history. That’s why I should probably make a visit to the Chicago History Museum, which is just a mile down the street from me. Ironically, the museum, having been founded in 1856, “is the city’s oldest cultural institution,” though they pretty much had to start over after the Great Fire destroyed their building and most of their collection in 1871. Three years later there was another fire that destroyed most of what remained. Luckily, there haven’t been any more fires, so the Chicago History Museum has had a decent amount of time to build a new collection.
If you’re going to plan an effective attack, you often need boots on the ground. This is obviously true in military endeavors, but it can also be true in marketing. Believe it or not, having actual people doing face to face marketing can still be remarkably effective–I’m sure you’ve even seen it on your college’s campus. When companies need temporary staff for event based or experiential marketing, they often go to San Francisco, CA based Attack! (which also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York). They’re yet another Inc. 5000 company, and they’ve seen 180% three-year growth to $7.9 million in annual revenue. If you’re wondering how it all works, you’ll see that it’s mostly based on skydiving sumos.
I spend a ton of time outdoors between fly fishing and playing beach volleyball. You’d think I’d have a cooler to take along with me, but I don’t. If I did, it’d have to be one of the models made by Yeti Coolers. They’re an Austin, TX based company that builds coolers that are more durable and keep things colder than any other coolers on the market. Yeti Coolers are built for tough conditions, which is why some of the biggest names in outdoors sports endorse them and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee has deemed them Grizzly Proof. You may think it’s cooler overkill, but the market for high quality coolers seems to be extremely strong. That’s why Yeti Coolers made the Inc. 5000 with 613% three-year growth to $13 million in revenue.
You can get insurance for just about anything. In the past we’ve featured companies that insure vocal chords, good (or bad) weather, and cars, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg (the Titanic owners should have bought insurance for that one). Petplan is a Philadelphia, PA based company that offers pet insurance to cover unexpected veterinary care. Considering that animals are getting more and more advanced medical care, the costs of owning a pet are going up. Petplan offers pet owners protection from the double whammy of a sick pet and a big bill. Yet another Inc. 500 company, Petplan has seen 2,207% three-year growth to $18.7 million in revenue.
A few years ago during the beginning of the recession, I featured a bunch of internships in the video games industry. All those people who lost their jobs were buying video games, and business was booming. Things have slowed since. I’m not sure if it has to do with the economy, but I do know that gaming on phones and tablets is really biting into video game industry sales. One video game related company that is continuing to grow is Intergi. They’re a Deerfield Beach, FL based company that “partners with the foremost gaming web publishers to provide advertisers with targeted ad placements.” They’re another Inc. 5000 company, and they’ve seen 2,383% three-year growth from $253,818 in revenue to $6.3 million in revenue.
For me water is all about recreation. It’s a place to fish, swim, kayak, and hopefully one day learn how to surf. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy drinking water–I’ve had servers at restaurant tell me that I drink more water than any other customer they’ve served–but it’s mostly an afterthought. Unfortunately, for nearly a billion people across the globe water is neither fun nor an afterthought. “Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.” charity: water is a non-profit organization that is “bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.” They’re based in New York, NY, but they’re doing work all over the world. One of the most interesting things about charity: water is that they’re able to put 100% of the public donations that they receive towards clean water projects. This is possible because a small group of private donors has committed to covering the organization’s operating expenses.
Today marks the beginning of the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. Musical festivals definitely aren’t my thing, but it seems that everyone in the city is talking about Lolla. If you don’t know what Lollapalooza is, you can get the full story at Lollapalooza.com or on the Lollapalooza Wikipedia page. I was most interested in figuring out what company puts on the festival, because there’s a good chance that they might have some interesting job opportunities. It turns out that Lollapalooza is “presented” by C3 Presents, an Austin, TX based (I hear they also have locations in Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL) company that “creates, books, markets, and produces live experiences, concerts, events, and just about anything that makes people stand up and cheer.” They were formerly known as Capital Sports Entertainment, and in addition all of the live events that they do, they also offer artist/talent management services.
I’m headed to Atlanta for a wedding this weekend, so I decided to do a little searching for interesting companies in ATL. Pretty quickly (no pun intended) I came across Quickparts, and they stood out because I’ve never covered a business that does what they do before. The Atlanta, GA headquartered company that is “dedicated to providing [their] customers with an online e-commerce system to procure low-volume and high-volume custom manufactured parts.” What does that mean? You can upload CAD drawings for some sort of part or product to their site, and they will instantly offer a quote based on “the part geometry, the required materials, lead time, and quantity.” If the quote meets your specs, then you give them the go ahead to start manufacturing. Yes, this company actually make stuff!
There aren’t many companies that have as many loyal fans as Netflix. I swear that everybody loves them. At least they did until yesterday when Netflix announced a change to their plans. They touted it as a good thing with their “lowest prices ever for unlimited DVDs,” but it really was a price increase for streaming subscribers. I guess yesterday was a good day for Redbox, which is based in Oakbrook Terrace, IL (with a major presence in Bellevue, WA). They operate more than 27,000 DVD and Blu-ray rental kiosks, or redboxes. Believe it or not, rentals aren’t dead, and Redbox has found a sweetspot between Blockbuster and Netflix. There’s definitely something I miss about the old school video rental shops–especially the pre-Blockbuster independent ones. But it’s mind blowing that Redbox is able to fit an entire video rental store in 12 square feet.
I have to admit that I’m a little bummed that the holiday weekend is over. Since it’ll be a solid 2 months until we get another one, we’re going to have to make do with Hill Holliday. They’re a full-service advertising, marketing, and communications agency with presences in Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Greenville, SC. It all started in Boston in 1968 as Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc., and now it’s a firm of more than 800 employees with some really big name clients including Dunkin’ Donuts, Major League Baseball, Anheuser Busch, CVS, Liberty Mutual, Bank of America, and more. Unless you are a total hermit, there’s almost no way that you wouldn’t recognize at least some of their work.
My mom is a graphic designer, so many of my childhood memories consist of me sitting in the car fighting with my sister while my mom went into the print shop to drop something off or pick something up. Today’s version of me probably has it a lot easier because leaving your kids in the car is generally frowned upon, and brick and mortar print shops are a dying breed. Today, if you have a serious print job, you’re probably going to use an online printer who can do your job and ship it to you more quickly and more cheaply than the local print shop can. We’ve already looked at one company like this, VistaPrint, and today we’re going to look at Mimeo.com. They’re located in New York, NY; Newark, NJ; Memphis, TN; and Hayward, CA, and they call themselves “the innovator of online, on-demand document printing and distribution.” They were founded in 1998, and since then they’ve been focused on developing web-based technology to make online printing even easier than walking into a print shop.
Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays. Some think that it’s unfortunate that the day has taken on a dual meaning, but I really enjoy both parts of the holiday. That’s why we took a look at Hope for the Warriors and their potential internship opportunities yesterday, and today we’re going to look at the lighter side of Memorial Day. In past years we’ve featured internships at Weber-Stephen, The National Park Service, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because all three have solid connections to the holiday. Today it’s all about Johnsonville Sausage, which is based in Sheboygan Falls, WI. I’m back to talking about grilling because it’s the first Memorial Day in three years that I’ll actually have a grill at my disposable. I’ll admit that Johnsonville products aren’t my first choice for grilling (I like steaks), but I do love brats.
There’s a long history of poking fun at Martha Stewart, and it started well before she went to prison. There’s just something funny about someone who takes perfection in domesticity as seriously as she does. My family even played an integral role in the satire of Martha with my little sister’s appearance in the parody magazine Martha Stuart’s Better Than You at Entertaining, which was a follow up to Is Martha Stuart Living?
(here’s a picture my sister as young Martha Stewart in the parody). We can keep laughing at Martha Stewart, but she’ll always get the last laugh. She has an amazing track record of reaching the top in nearly everything that she has done–from babysitting for Mickey Mantle’s kids to starting a successful catering company in her basement to building a New York, NY based media empire in Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Martha Stewart is apparently now worth well over half a billion dollars, and has used her personal brand to build amazing print, television, online, and merchandise properties.
I was a senior in high school on September 11, 2001. We were told what had happened during our morning announcements period, and a few of who had free periods after went to the beach across the street from our school’s campus. We knew that on a clear day you could usually see the Twin Towers from there, but all we could see was a plume of smoke. We listened on the radio and heard reports of the towers falling and rumors of other attacks in the works. I was deeply affected by what happened that day, and since then I have been waiting for our country to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Yesterday, a group of NAVY SEALs did just that under the command of the Central Intelligence Agency, which is based in Washington, DC but operates all over the world. I am extremely grateful to all of those who were involved–especially for those who risked their lives to make us safer. It’s a reminder of how important it is for our government agencies to have top talent working for them. WIthout great people working at the CIA and in our armed forces, bin Laden would still be at large.
Big day today–not only is it St. Paddy’s Day (in the past we’ve looked at General Mills, Shamrock Foods, and Luck Stones) but it’s also the first day of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. What ties those two celebrations together (besides being excuses for drinking during the day)? Shoes! It’s a little-known fact that all leprechauns are shoemakers, and we know that all basketball players love a good pair of kicks. That’s why we’re going to take a look at Wolverine World Wide, a multi-brand shoe company based in Rockford, MI. Their brands include Bates, Cat Footwear, Chaco, Cushe, Harley-Davidson Footwear, Hush Puppies, HyTest, Merrell, Patagonia Footwear, Sebago, Track ‘n Trail, and Wolverine, almost all of which are targeted towards rugged, outdoorsy customer bases. Most of the brands don’t offer great footwear for playing basketball, but they have plenty of shoes for leprechauns that wants to cause mischief and trek to and from the end of the rainbow.
Ever curious about the business behind One Day, One Job and One Day, One Internship? Read this interview I did with The Startup Foundry.
I never took an Accounting class, but I do run a business, so I need some knowledge of keeping the books. I may have never learned the formal definition of “accounts receivable,” but I certainly know it in practice. Right now there are 7 businesses that owe me money for advertising. That’s an asset worth something, but it’s not quite as valuable as actually having the money in the bank. Luckily, running this business is cheap, so cash flow is never an issue. For many other types of businesses, cash is vital. The month or two that they give debtors to pay invoices can be extremely costly (in terms of risk and the time-value of money) because it limits the businesses’ ability to make short-term investments like buying products wholesale to sell retail, paying for advertising, or making payroll. The Receivables Exchange is a New Orleans, LA (headquarters) and New York, NY based company that fixes this problem. They allow business to auction off their accounts receivable for cash. Businesses obviously have to pay a premium for the cash that they get, but it allows them to make short-term investments that should be far more valuable than the fees they pay to the buyers of their accounts receivable.
Interested in the intersection of media and public policy? Then you have to check out the Washington Media Scholars Program.
It’d be pretty cool to have your home turned into a museum. Not only would it mean that you lived in a pretty sweet place, but it would also mean that you made enough of a mark on history for people to actually want to learn about your life. There’s no better example of someone worth learning about than Thomas Jefferson. Not only did he write the Declaration of Independence, but he was also the third president and founder of the University of Virginia. It’s no surprise that he ended up on both the two dollar bill and the nickel. Anyway, many might expect Jefferson’s Monticello to be run by the government, but it’s actually managed by a non-profit organization called the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, VA. They’ve been maintaining Monticello and 2,500 of its 5,000 acres for nearly 90 years with a dual mission of education and preservation, which is a great service to our country and its history.
Today the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For list came out. I’m not a huge fan of these lists, because they seem to be mostly driven by PR prowess. Still, they can be great tools to learn about new companies, which is why I’ve been running through the list to see which companies might offer great internship programs too. One that stood out right away was Build-A-Bear Workshop, which came in at #48 on the list. I’ve never built a bear, but I’ve walked by enough of their packed-with-kids stores to understand the brilliance of their business—they turn buying a stuffed animal into an activity. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, MO with stores across the country and a distribution center in Columbus, OH. Now, Build-A-Bear Workshop is really big on bear puns, so if you can’t deal with that, you better stop reading now.
Liquidity can be a big issue in college. Your parents gave you money for food, but it’s all in the form of “meals” at the dining hall. As far as I know, there’s no market for converting these meals into cash, so you’re stuck on campus with the same slop that you’ve been eating daily for past 7 weeks. In the real world, liquidity can be a much bigger issue. There are plenty of people who are millionaires on paper but can’t pay their bills because all of the assets they hold are illiquid or hard to sell quickly. SecondMarket is a New York City and Palo Alto, CA based company that provides the largest secondary market for illiquid assets. In other words they help buyers find sellers and sellers find buyers for a variety of financial products. It’s not like eBay where you can turn Pez dispensers into cash—it’s for serious financial instruments that just don’t have thriving markets like publicly traded stocks do. SecondMarket is yet another Inc. 500 company—they came in at #270 with 1,156% three-year growth to $35 million in annual revenue.
Who doesn’t love taxes? Why would you want your full paycheck when you can only get a part of it? Why would you want to pay the advertised price when you can pay it plus a percentage (it’s like a reverse sale every time—especially here in Chicago where we have the country’s highest sales tax of 10.25% and sometimes higher)? Obviously, paying taxes is part of being a good citizen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not terribly frustrating. Before you get a job (thank god internships are often unpaid), you should know that you’ll probably spend anywhere from 3-7 months of the year working just to pay your taxes. And by the time you’re in your prime and actually making a decent salary, it’ll be even more since our generation is going to have to pay off all of the debt that our country is accruing right now. Paying tax is bad enough, but imagine being the one responsible for collecting taxes. That’s the case for many business owners, and now that the Internet lets you do business in any state or country, collecting the right taxes can be an enormous headache. Luckily, there’s Avalara, a Bainbridge Island, WA based company that has developed software to “automate statutory tax compliance.”
I used to listen to a lot more music. In fact, my first website was music related (I won’t go into any more detail because it’s embarrassing). I guess I got a bad taste in my mouth from the shutdown of all of the file sharing websites. As new services have popped up that make it easy to listen to music for free, I’ve started to listen again. One of those services is Pandora, which uses The Music Genome Project to deliver users a radio station that is tailored to their individual tastes. It’s a simple idea, but a huge technical challenge. Not only does Oakland, CA based Pandora have to deliver different music to every user—and all at the same time—but they also have to be able to predict what kind of music you’re going to like based on songs that you tell them that you like. They do the hard part, and all you have to do is click a thumbs up or a thumbs down when they start playing a song for you.