Martin Ringlein Martin Ringlein CEO, nclud, LLC

“Success isn’t always about money, fame or power; it’s much more personal.”

Name: Martin Ringlein
First Job: Newspaper delivery
Age: 11
Wage: $5.05
Current Job: CEO, nclud, LLC
What was your first job?
My first job was “paperboy”. Typically I’d have to wake up at 4:30am to meet the newspaper delivery truck and begin rolling papers. The morning papers needed to be delivered to every house on my route by 6:00 am. There is a paper delivered every day of the week, so I’d have to work every day of the week; from about 4:30 am to 6:00 am every morning before school and on weekends.
 
How old were you?
I was eleven years old when I started my first paper route, in 1992.

How much were you paid?
I was paid roughly $5.05 per hour; which was the minimum wage at the time.
 
How was your first job different than you thought it would be?
It was a relatively easy job to get at a young age, but was not nearly as easy as I had originally anticipated. Waking up early seemed to be something I was up for, but doing it every single morning took its toll rather quickly; especially on the weekends. It was the Sunday paper that was the most difficult, twice as big, twice as heavy.
 
What important lessons or skills learned in your first job have been instrumental in your success?
One of the most important lessons learned during my early paper route was simply time management. I had to be on time, every morning without fail; many people in my neighborhood depended on me for their morning paper. This was before the Internet really took off, so the morning paper was extremely important to people. I had to manage my own time, be as quick and efficient as possible while ensuring I was doing a good job. I also learned that there is a lot of responsibility that comes with a commitment. Quitting was not an option; I learned that when I commit to something, many people depend on me to follow-through. I could not simply sleep-in one morning or take a day off; there was no one else to step in and take over for my responsibilities.
 
Did any of those lessons specifically carry into subsequent jobs after your first? How do you use those skills in your position today?
Today I run a creative web design agency. I have responsibilities to both my clients and my employees; responsibilities which are built-upon lessons learned early on, regarding both commitment as well as time-management. There is a lot of pressure knowing that your clients depend on you for their success and your employees depend on you to make a living. Just as with that early paper-route, quitting is not an option. Many people are still depending on me to follow-through; and now the stakes are even higher. With every client we take on, I make a commitment to ensuring we exceed their expectations and with every employee we hire, I make a commitment to ensuring they have a job and can support their families. It is about knowing the difference between being selfishly responsible for your own well-being and understanding the responsibility that others ultimately depend on you for—for success.

Have you seen how lacking those first job skills could have negative effects on others?
I tend to believe that life and business are just a series of trial-and-error moments that ultimately shape us into the people that we are. We’ll always make mistakes and ideally. We’ll always learn from those mistakes in the pursuit of growth. My advice is to make your mistakes early, and as a result, enjoy your success sooner. Your first job will rarely be your last job; but your first job helps you define “work” and “success.” The hard work and responsibilities that come from that first job help define a perspective on future work that is better established earlier, rather than later.
 
Was there a specific event in your first job that taught you something you still  use today?
I remember the first time I heard something break when tossing a paper onto someone’s patio, it coincidentally was the same morning I had a dog chase me off someone’s lawn. I remember feeling like the character in Nintendo’s “Paperboy.” I thought that was just a game—clearly not! I remember learning that morning to expect anything and be prepared for the worst. I didn’t know how to handle the situation of breaking something. I never even thought it a possibility. So I did what anyone kid would do, ran away and hoped mom and dad would deal with it. By running away so quickly, the neighbor assumed I did it intentionally and proceeded to get very upset, even going as far as calling my boss at the paper company and then my parents! Had I thought about the issue before it was an issue, I would have been better prepared with how to handle it. Defusing a situation properly and early is often the difference between a positive relationship and a negative one.

 

Did you face any obstacles that had a significant impact on your career path?
Absolutely, the biggest obstacle I faced that significantly impacted my career path was the simple fact that I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew what my parents wanted me to do, I knew what would be easiest to do and I knew what might be most fun. However, none of those really helped me in figuring out what I wanted to do; and it took me a while to figure that out. Life and business are often one-in-the-same; you have to know how to “define success”, what will make you successful, and do what will get you there. You might want to save the world, you might want to make as much money as possible, and you might want to be on television or just work in New York City or do it all. Success isn’t always about money, fame or power; it’s much more personal.  Everyone has to define it for themselves and then go in pursuit of that!

 

What people or outside factors affected your work ethic or motivated you the most to succeed?
My parents had the biggest influence in both my work ethic and motivation as it related to success. I got to a point in life where I wanted to show them I could do what I wanted and be successful. I could pick the major I wanted, the job I wanted, and the career path I wanted and make it! I started freelancing for fun in college and before my senior year I was already able to pay for school, rent and really be independent. That was important to me personally. I still remember the sound of my father’s voice, the pride I heard for the first time, when he asked him how much money I needed for college the next year and I told him, “Don’t worry about it, I got this.” My parents were my biggest influences in my work ethic as well as my creativity and entrepreneurship. They always motivated us to work hard and be creative; I wanted them to be proud in a variety of ways.

What advice would you give to someone starting his or her first job?
The best advice that I can give that most people is that you’re going to make mistakes, lots of them. Be ready for it; be prepared for it; but you’ll never avoid it completely. You’ll probably get into an argument with a boss, perhaps upset a customer and you might even get fired or have to quit, but don’t let that discourage you! Learn from everything and anything. Realize that we rarely get it right the first, or even second, time out. Life is about learning. Your first job is rarely your last job; have fun and learn as much as you possibly can. You’d be surprised how much of it you’ll use later!

What do you find most rewarding about your position today?
Today, I have the luxury of being the boss, which doesn’t mean that I can work less or boss people around. It actually comes with more work and more getting bossed around. But it means that I now define success not only for me, but for the company and the people that work here. We are a creative design agency and I am a creative person. So creativity means more than growth and working with talented people means more than profits. We can work where we want, when we want and we can do as much as possible to ensure we are having as much fun as possible. We can enjoy the ride for as long as possible.

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