For Ed August, the most gratifying part of his job is going deep with a customer—moving past simple, everyday transactions and tackling a complicated project from inception to completion. “When you have more interaction with a customer,” Ed says, “And you’ve put in a little more effort, that’s very satisfying.”
Ed has been selling labels for EIM since 1998—and although his responsibilities as an Account Manager have shifted and changed over the years, he’s still all in on labels. “My favorite part of my job is the variety of customers we have.” Although Ed notes that labels aren’t very exciting by themselves, he thinks, “It’s how the labels are used that’s interesting. Working with everyone from small manufacturers to universities doing multi-year studies—you name it, we deal with them. You never know if you’re going to be talking to someone who’s an educator who works in the government or someone working on a shipping dock in a warehouse.”
Outside of work, Ed remarks that, “I’m kind of a born audience member. I like to go to concerts, see movies, things like that. I like to read when I can stay awake. Definitely part of the nerd culture, if you will, comic books and things of that nature. I tend to make it difficult on myself in that I never go with what the popular choice is, so sometimes it’s hard to find the things I like. It’s more fun to go for the obscure.”
Another pastime is making work feel a little more homelike—at a previous job, that meant quite literally wallpapering his cubicle with his favorite album covers. “I figure you spend a lot of your waking hours sitting in the same spot,” Ed reflects. Currently, Ed’s cubicle boasts calming lava lamps, a small bonsai tree, a poster of RWBY, Terry Moore prints, a Tardis USB port, and a photo of him meeting William Shatner at Comic Con. 
But what most people notice when stepping into Ed’s space is his accidental Funko Pop collection. “That was all Kevin Smith’s fault. I used to think, ‘I don’t know why people like those Funko Pops, they seem so stupid’ and then they had one with Kevin Smith wearing the Fat Man hockey jersey and I thought, that’s pretty cool,” Ed says. The Kevin Smith Funko Pop was purchased and Ed found that having it at his desk inspired him to buy another… and another… and, “The next thing you know, I can’t really buy any more, because I don’t have a place for them!”
If you’re into labels, creator-owned comics, progressive rock, or collecting Funko Pops, connect with Ed on LinkedIn!
