Ed Kushins of HomeExchange, on Building a Career WHEN I was 8, we moved to a new tract home development in Monterey Park, Calif. My dad suggested that I ask neighbors if they wanted me to paint their address numbers on the curb in front of their new houses. I made stencils and charged $1 a house. After painting 10 or so, I continued selling the service but subcontracted the work, at 25 cents a house, to some kids I had just met. I made about $70, a lot of money in 1955. I bought a Rawlings Trap-Eze baseball glove that I still have. Noah Webb Ed Kushins is the founder and president of Home Exchange, Hermosa Beach, Calif. ALWAYS PACKS A noise-canceling headset During my junior year at the University of California, Los Angeles, I joined the Navy R.O.T.C. It was the Vietnam era, many people were getting drafted, and I didn't want to enter the Army. The Navy R.O.T.C. offered an alternative. After completing the program, I was commissioned a lieutenant and attended Navy Supply Corps School, then submarine school. I spent the rest of my time at Pearl Harbor patrolling the North Pacific near Russian submarine bases. I was in charge of the food, the stores and supplies, and the stewards who served the officers. I also supervised the cooking and menu planning for 120 people. I had to prepare for every eventuality. We loaded enough supplies for 90 days and couldn't replenish once we left port. On one patrol, we were scheduled to return after 30 days, but had to stay out for 67. We almost ran out of food, but the worst part was not resurfacing the whole time. We knew what we had signed up for, but it was still tough. To graduate from college and to be thrust into a situation with that much responsibility was a great opportunity. I learned more about management, communicating and organization skills than I did in any school. I couldn't have had that experience at that age without going into the service. In 1972, I received an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California. Next I worked for the Flying Tiger Line, a cargo airline, as director of market development for Asia. I married a Pan Am stewardess, and we traveled around the world together. In Los Angeles, my dad owned a scrap business that I took over in 1978 when he was getting ready to retire. He ran a two-man operation; I changed the marketing strategy and eventually expanded the staff to 50. I also added a partner, and, in 2006, he and I sold the business to another recycling company. By 1992, I was divorced with two children, Josh, 14, and Jordan, 9. We signed up for our first home exchange, in which people swap homes for vacations, to tour Washington, D.C. We enjoyed our stay so much that I offered to do marketing free of charge for the alternative travel company that listed the home. It wasn't interested, so in my free time I started a home exchange club myself. I signed up interested homeowners, printed and distributed a directory of homes and charged members a yearly fee. In 1995, I moved the business online. People were just starting to use the Internet for commerce. The Internet changed everything for us; without it, I probably wouldn't be in this field today. Production and distribution costs were too high. HomeExchange charges an annual fee, but no money exchanges hands between members. We have 42,000 members in 142 countries and our Web site is translated into 15 languages. Terry, my second wife, was an accountant when I met her. She was initially skeptical about the alternative travel concept but now she works with me. She still can't believe what an optimist I am. I believe in visualizing what you'd like to see happen. I always see a happy ending, even when things go sideways. I can't help it; life is good.