Let me take a brief post to introduce myself (although if you’re a consistent reader of this blog you’re probably sick and tired of hearing my name mentioned). I’m Justin Ho, a student at the real USC (Southern Cal, NOT South Carolina), a board member of the USC Credit Union, and a Marketing/Gen-Y Consultant for Glatt Consulting, LLC. I consider myself the luckiest 20 year old in the universe to be able to take on the responsibility of helping a team manage a $300 mil in assets credit union. My so called Gen-Y “expertise” stems from being born into a generation full of early adopters, opinion leaders, and technology oriented individuals. Beyond all my professional and academic credentials, though, I attribute more of my success in marketing and developing entrepreneurial initiatives to my internet junky, “nerdy” nature.
* Let me take a moment to explain how my “nerdy” and “business-minded” nature as a child has contributed to my growth into a full-fledged credit union director. First of all, I was never the average kid. In 4th grade, I was buying boxes of 10-pack baseball cards for $19.99 and selling them for $5 a pack (yes, this was above the market value written on the pack) and putting the difference in my savings account with a 3% interest.
* I was an early adopter of the first dial-up FREE internet service, NetZero. Free wasn’t good enough for me, though, as I was figuring out ways on how to hack it so the banner ad would disappear and there would be no time limit. After these steps, I would then sneak online at ungodly hours, against my parents wishes, to go chat with random strangers over the internet through mIRC about video games, piracy, and new technology.
* As a 6th grader, I founded a 850-member-guild/group on the virtual world of http://www.neopets.com (now a $160 million dollar company) called “LilJustin’s Neopet Guild,” gaining such accolades that I had daily conversations with the founder of the site. Recruiting, hosting, and managing a guild set me up with the fundamentals that I use today in creating and developing credit union initiatives.
* Does anyone out there remember freeipods.com? Well, before the “offers” on the site became ridiculous hidden cost subscription services, I was there when you could get 5 people to sign up for ebay.com and then receive a free ipod. Everyone, EVERYONE, thought the site was a scam but I showed them up when I showed up at school one day with my two brand new ipods.
* In college, I set up a partnership with the USC bookstore, buying out all authentic Reggie Bush jerseys during the USC run to the national championship in order to capitalize on the ebay demand for this outfit. I also contacted various manufacturers in India and bought their factory overstock for ridiculously low prices.
* There’s more, but I’ll stop for now. Nowadays, I have basically dedicated a good 5/6s of my life to 1) being a good student 2) serving as a board member and helping the USCCU continue to remain an industry leader in attracting/retaining members of Gen-Y, and 3) packaging my experience and services in a Gen-Next consulting package that I am offering to credit unions.
Ok. That’s enough about me. I’d truly appreciate it if any readers out there would take the time to say hello and leave a comment and subscribe to the RSS feed via reader or email (which will enable you to receive instant posts/updates via email, etc.). This is located on the right hand column of the website under the hyperlink “Subscribe to Glatt Consulting, LLC by Email”. It would be great to know that I’m not just writing to myself and there are people curious in exploring this market.
Future posts will not be about me, but rather, about a young board member’s perspective on the credit union movement and Gen-Next segmentation. My next post will be centralized around an interview I conducted with the rest of the USCCU board and their perspectives on the advantages, disadvantages, strengths, and fears of having a very young board member. An important topic in this post will be how to actively recruit a successful Gen-Y board member. Please leave a comment, subscribe to the blog, and stay tuned!
