Who

Kay English, 58, started English Maids, a cleaning service, in 2006.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

Kay English, owner of English Maids cleaning service. The 58-year-old started the company in 2006.

1st summer job

Working in a dental office. She did a variety of tasks, including pouring moldings of teeth.

Age

English was 16 at the time and lived in Liberty, Mo. She got the job because her mother worked as a dental assistant there.

Pay

English doesn’t recall how much she made. But she figures it was whatever minimum wage was in 1969. She does remember what she spent the money on — her car and upkeep for her horse.

Loved

The town was the summer home of the Kansas City Chiefs football team. Players came into the office for check-ups and English remembers being amazed by how large the players were. Some had trouble fitting in the examination chairs, she said.

“That was one of the highlights,” English said. “I’ve been a football fan ever since.”

Hated

English said she can’t remember anything she didn’t like. She kept working there until she turned 18 and then went into the dental field herself. She worked as a dental assistant for many years in a number of different practice settings, she said.

Lessons learned

It’s not what an employee says or does that is the most important. It’s how an employee makes a client feel. That’s a lesson English said she has carried with her throughout her life. Figuring out how to calm the nerves of anxious dental patients was a good training ground, she said.

“You have to make people comfortable, make them feel important,” English said.

Summer job advice

“Always present yourself professionally,” English said. “Appearance is very important.”

English also cautioned teens about what they post on sites like Facebook.

“Social media can be your friend,” she said. “But when it comes to employers, we do look at that stuff.”

RELATED SEARCHES

• 1st Hot Job: Photographer got start with snow cones
• 1st Hot Job: Investor started as newspaper typesetter
• 1st Hot Job: Investment adviser was once a beekeeper
• 1st Hot Job: Waco monument maker a model of hard work
• 1st Hot Job: From gravel hauling to party planning
• 1st Hot Job: Head of Waco title company learned good work habits as a waitress
• 1st Hot Job: Auctioneer learned about hard work on the farm
• 1st Hot Job: Freddie Kish juggled 3 jobs as young man
• 1st Jot Job: Chamber CEO Laveda Brown learned goal-setting at Dairy Palace
• 1st Hot Job: Owner of Spice Village learned people skills at first job in video store
• 1st Hot Job: Waco firm's president learned customer service sacking groceries
• 1st Hot Job: Waco car dealer Peter Kultgen washed trade-ins at age 14