Temple senior Christopher Crawford is getting a head start towards a future career in business. Although he is currently majoring in advertising, he’s involved in much more. Single handedly, Chris has brought Campus Consumers Inc, from the ground up and is watching it rise.
This 22year-old entrepreneur started off at the young age of seven, selling blow pops for twice the price that he paid for them. At this time, he was not taught economics, but his parents instilled a strong work ethic in him during his childhood years. He took it upon himself to read heavily, teaching himself the dos and don’ts of the fast-paced business world.
Founded by Crawford, Campus Consumers Inc. is a marketing service firm that aims to bring businesses to students. Under the advice from an executive at General Magic Inc. (where he held his fourth internship) he awakened to the fact that many companies encourage college students to visit their web sites. In order to fill this demand, along with fulfilling the demands of students who need cash now, CCI was born.
For the last two years, Crawford has been consistently working on building CCI into a broad-based corporation, with aims to spread nation-wide. The company is dedicated to finding new ways for student groups to raise money.
“It is my goal to create a business that is economically profitable and socially responsible,” Crawford said.
Crawford is working hard to do just that. He’s nurturing this project with hopes to go nation-wide. Its growth, roots from a project that can benefit all college students aiming to reach businesses for employment and/or internships. CCI takes the weight off your shoulders and places the responsibility in their hands. All a student has to do is sit back and let the phone ring
His initial project was a resume posting fundraiser in conjunction with JobDirect.com. Crawford was searching for a site that would allow student groups and individuals to earn cash by posting resumes on the web site.
JobDirect.com is designed to help students gain exposure to businesses by posting their resumes on the site in order to attract the firm. Once the resume has caught the eye of a potential employer, an email from the employer will indicate their interest. Students understand the need for cash, which is what made the fundraiser successful.
Through an internship with JobDirect.com, Crawford helped launch a new voice technology product for college students by implementing a marketing plan designed to make students aware of new service. Crawford generated student enrollment and produced 5,960 new subscribers in six weeks. Students who participated earned over $5,000 dollars in less than six weeks during the spring semester, a portion of the total profit ($20,000) that the overall “off-line/on-line” marketing program raised. Through the program, Crawford developed a way to help on-line companies reach students through offline fundraising promotions.
“We are creating services that not only help companies, but benefit students at the same time,” Crawford said. As a student himself, he sees the potential of having such an important connection to businesses that students might not find otherwise.
Before venturing on his own, Crawford interned at Collegeclub.com, JobDirect.com and VarsityBooks.com. He used those internships to gain marketing experience where he used to develop CCI.
Crawford has high hopes for his now student-run, Philadelphia-based marketing service firm. An expansion into a collegiate marketing and community service “powerhouse” is in effect. He credits his accomplishments to his parents and positive attitude. He also encourages his fellow peers to take advantage of the benefits that online resume posting has to offer. When you “believe you can achieve,” the sky is not a limit but a mere checkpoint.
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