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MSLCE Student Helps Entrepreneurs During Internship

by Priyanshi Katare

Marcus Farne loves working with entrepreneurs.

He’s also had to be entrepreneurial himself. After starting the MSLCE program in the winter quarter, Marcus has been learning to cope with the demands of a rigorous academic curriculum all while searching for opportunities to help expand his experience. In true entrepreneurial style, he leveraged his network and resources to land an internship that could help him further his pursuit within the creative industry. This summer he has secured two internships, one of which is at Shinabery Agency.

The Shinabery Agency helps organizations promote their brands at trade shows, liquor tastings and other events by providing ambassadors, promotional models and demonstrators. “I’ve been working with entrepreneurs since before graduate school…I just wanted to learn the trade of the creative industry before I actually started working,” Marcus elaborates. He’s worked with Toby Shinabery, the founder of the agency, since 2006 as a spokesperson for her trade shows. This year he reached out to see if she had an internship opening. For him, she was the perfect fit as a boss and a mentor. “She’s honest, an entrepreneur, ethical and great at communication,” he elaborates, “she’s just so positive.” A positive working culture is essential to him and he finds the agency’s environment to be the perfect motivator.

This internship provides him with an opportunity to work in the creative field while simultaneously trying out new aspects of the industry. “I have familiarity with sales, marketing and the interpersonal communications work that goes on the outside [of Shinabery], but now I wanted to see what was on the inside.” he mentioned, “From my previous experience I knew what working for a talent agency looked like but I wasn’t sure what working for a trade show agency looked like, so I knew I had to take up the opportunity.”

In the current environment, he is mainly tasked with helping redesign the business model to fit the needs of the Covid-19 economy while also exploring ways to take the agency’s operations online. He’s also vetting talent and ensuring that they are a good fit for some of the ongoing projects. One of the projects that he is most excited to work on during the course of his internship is expanding the organization’s commercial print department and finding more revenue streams for the organization; he also wants to find ways to provide people with more employment opportunities.

“I think the most important skills needed for this kind of work is professionalism, perseverance and passion for the job,” he adds. Marcus’ biggest takeaway from his time at Shinabery is a keen understanding of the importance of supporting one another in the creative industry going forward. “Stick to your purpose and support other people in their purpose,” he elaborates, “I think that’s something we’re supposed to learn during this time.