Alec Hoerr
- Partner / Sales Lead
- Hoerr's Blacktop & Sealcoating
School Information
School: University of Illinois
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2008 to 2010
Career Information
Working For: Hoerr’s Blacktop & Sealcoating
Title: Partner / Sales Lead
Industry: Construction
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Co-owner in start up company founded in 2008. I do everything involved in running and growing the company; from marketing to management of employees, sales, production over site, strategic planning, and butt kicking.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Seeing my business grow bigger and bigger with each year.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting, for me, can be summed up as the single most important and impactful decision I have ever made in determining what I want to do with my career/ life; to become an entrepreneur.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
College Works Painting allowed me to land a great job, before graduation, making more money than 99% of my friends with ease. It also allowed me to determine 10 months into that job that I need to resign and grow my business full time. College Works Painting gave me the tools to be able to do that with confidence and success.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Work hard play hard.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Take advantage of the College Works Painting internship opportunity you have. You are participating (or have the opportunity to participate) in the greatest, most impactful internship of your life. You are surrounded by the best of your peers and mentored by successful entrepreneurs who want nothing but to help you succeed. Never again will you have the opportunity to try your hand at entrepreneurship with this amount of amazing support in your life. Will it be hard? Yes. Will it be one of the toughest, most challenging things you have ever done? Probably. But I can tell you from personal experience that it is the most rewarding and beneficial experience you can have. So, is it worth it? ABSOLUTELY.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
Booking Dylan Herman, one of my interns, his first job (14k). His excitement when the client signed the contract and handed over the deposit was priceless.