Ask an Alumnus: Patrick McAnulty, Charlie Hustle
McAnulty graduated from the KU School of Business with a marketing degree in 2016.
What is your job?
I work for Charlie Hustle, LLC. We are a vintage apparel company located in Kansas City. My title is social media manager/customer support. The main part of my job revolves around managing our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest accounts. I post to these accounts multiple times a day and manage an ongoing social schedule for upcoming events, releases, promotions, giveaways, etc.
Another huge part of my job is customer support. I, along with our logistics director, answer any email that comes through our customer service channel, Zendesk. This involves working directly with customers who email our info@charliehustleshop.com account. A lot of these are customers inquiring about their online orders, donation requests, upcoming events and general questions about our company. I work closely with our marketing team to make sure we are hitting quarterly goals, execute sales and promotions, and following our advertising budget. I am also in charge of our College Campus Brand Ambassador Program. This program is aimed to build awareness of our brand on campuses and engage more with students. We just launched this program at K-State, Mizzou and KU.
What School of Business experiences best prepared you for this?
I believe the School of Business has many resources that prepared me for success after school. During my time in the School of Business, I experienced many different events, club meetings, and worked closely with many professors and students. Getting to see people like Steve Wozniak, the CEO of QuikTrip [Chet Cadieux], and many others were some eye-opening experiences that many do not have the chance to see. Mainly, I believe the people (students and teachers) prepared me best.
What is your advice to current students?
To try everything that the School of Business has to offer. Try different classes that don’t necessarily directly correlate with your major or interests. You never know what kind of doors these classes may offer.
You may think that you have it all figured out and have a path of success paved, but sometimes a fresh perspective on things is just what you need.
These classes invite you to think differently and let you create some real insight of your own. Whether these classes are offered by the School of Business or a completely different school, these are a good way to break out of your mold. Also, I implore them to enjoy their time there. Don’t rush your experience. I know these were some of the best years of my life, and I made numerous life long friendships. You may be thinking, “I can’t wait to graduate”, but trust me, it doesn’t take long for you to think, “Man, I wish I could go back.”
What are some of your best memories at the School of Business?
Some of the best memories I had at the School of Business involved the people that I got to meet and see everyday. I still see a lot of these people around town and to know that we have had these prior connections is pretty cool. I will never forget walking out of my MGMT 498 final and calling my dad and saying, “I did it! Thank you, Dad!”
What was your favorite class, or who was your favorite professor? And why?
It’s hard to choose a favorite class, but I think my favorite teacher would have to be Jana Fitchett. Jana always provided her students with the tools of success and was always willing to help. I went to high school with her daughter and to have her as a teacher of multiple entrepreneurship classes was awesome. Jana knew about Charlie Hustle and was always eager to hear what I had to say about the company.
She actually reached out to me to have my brother and me speak to one of her classes in the fall, which was pretty cool. It was crazy to think I had been in the same position as kids in that classroom just a year ago. Another favorite of mine was Doug Clopton. Doug always told it how it was and provided very thought-provoking conversations. I will always remember “Dougie Fresh.”
What is the best part of being a Jayhawk?
It seems impossible to pick just one, but the sense of pride of being a Jayhawk is something I will forever cherish. Seeing both my parents, my siblings and many friends go to KU before me, I knew I wanted to be a Jayhawk and now I feel part of a bigger family and something bigger than myself. I knew that Lawrence was a place that I could call home. I got to see what they did, and being able to say I had a part in advancing the university is pretty cool. I will always be a Jayhawk!
By Anna Pankiewicz
