I was able to secure a summer internship at a local branding agency. I was very well received and quickly became part of their full time staff. But unfortunately the dot com burst blew this bubble and the company shut down. Fortunately, I had the great experience of writing a business plan (from primary research, to situational analysis, to fiscal projections) as well as meeting with local companies to cross promote the product. It was a great experience and I also made one of my closest friends through that company.