1. I plan on taking a class up at Cal Poly through Young Scholars. Most likely it'll be a pyscology class because in business it is ideal to know people and how they work. Taking a class will allow me to figure out how the human mind works; and let me build better communication skills.
2. Evidence will be shown through pictures of my notes, tests, and even recordings of lectures.
3. As explained earlier, physiology will allow me to expand my knowledge on how people take things differently. When I did my first interview, my mentor at the time told me hat working in business management forces you to work will all types of different people. People from different backgrounds and such, communicate differently than one might. When you understand how the mind works, it can give you a better understanding of why people are they way they are. This will lead to you managing your business better since you have more knowledge as to why people act the way they do.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Independent Component 1
LITERAL
(a) I, Yuritzi Mora, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) James, Geoffrey. Business without the Bullsh*t: 49 Secrets and Shortcuts You Need to Know. N.p.: Grand Central, 2014. Print.
(c) Refer to Senior Project Hours
(d) For my Independent Component 1 I completed an extra 30 hours with my mentor.
INTERPRETIVE
The reason I decided to do an extra 30 hours is because my mentor has so much experience and knowledge with business, that I figured the more time spent mentoring with her, the more information I could gather. Amy is the owner and manager of Maple Boutique, which of course, correlates to my topic; Business Management. The fact that I have perspective from a business owner/ business manager allows me to gain more insight from both sides. When I go into her store to mentor, she teaches me about how to work in college to prepare for beginning of my business career once I graduate, and what it takes to get there. 90% of the time when I go into her store, my job is to open any delivered packages and stock inventory with what we received. At times it can be mundane, but during those times she explains to me how to order the clothes, where to order them, how often to order them, and why she orders the things she does.
Another thing I do at mentorship is run a lot of trips to the UPS store, or post office. Since Amy also runs a website for her boutique, items are constantly needed to be shipped out and delivered to the customers. The first time I went was super embarrassing. Amy gave me a bag of clothes and asked me to put them in the package the post office provides. Well the thing is, the post office has like 10 different packaging options, and I didn't want to call her again since I had already gotten lost on the way there and had to ring her. I ended up going with a cardboard package that didn't seem to have enough room for all the clothes she handed me, but I was going to make it fit one way or another. When I finally finished shoving everything in the package it looked like a 2 year old tried wrapping a present, and didn't succeed so they just put tape everywhere to cover it up. I handed the post lady the package and she just looked at me and said, "You know they have these plastic packaging that is much roomier and easier to to fit what you need to fit in there right?". Yeah, of course I knew. That's why I spent 10 minutes sweating, trying to make everything fit in the package without ripping, and attempting to keeping it semi-presentable.
One of the things I really enjoyed was when she taught me how to read and input invoices. I had previously heard what they were, but I never knew exactly, so it was a true learning experience for me. To be honest, everything during mentorship is a learning experience. At times its nerve-wrecking because I don't quite understand what she wants me to do, and I don't want to ask again or else I'll feel dumb. Then again, that's a part of learning, and once I finally master the task it becomes easier for me to do it the next time.
I also attended a few in-store events which she hosts every couple weeks to interact with customers and get the business more known from any visitors who happen to come by. She offers goody bags, or some snacks and always has cute and crafty ideas for her and her customers to bond over. I can tell she puts a lot of effort into these events, and not only does she enjoy them, but so do the customers; which I have learned is the most important thing in maintaining a business. Below are a few pictures of my mentoring experience. Most of the pictures are of clothes and the store, because like I said before, my job is mostly to
take inventory, dress mannequins, and set the store up.
(I apologize for the weird picture display. I took pictures with a square, vertical, and landscape format, so they're spaced out really awkwardly)
APPLIED
I touched on this in the Interpretive section, but during my 30 extra hours, I realized that aside from all the managing part of the business, customers are what MAKES your business. Everything Amy does is to please her customers. She changes her window displays every so often to make her store visually appealing to customers, and keep them interested. She orders new merchandise 3 to 4 times a week to keep her store constantly changing and keep the variety for her customers. In-store events are to mingle with customers and keep them updated with anything new and upcoming. Without the customers, you merely have a store with clothes and price tags on them. Keeping your customers happy and satisfied is what helps your business grow and reach its full potential. That's not to say there aren't plenty other factors in having your business succeed, but customers are your consumers and if your consumers don't like what you offer then there will be no business.
When the time came around to start planning my answer for my 30 minute presentation I had no idea what to do. After mentoring so much with Amy, I realized every time I went into her store she was always updating something to Instagram for the business. That's when the answer the my essential question hit me. Amy was kind enough to further help me develop my answer, and explain what examples I could use for my presentation. She gave me several examples about how social media helps businesses expand to become bigger than they already are, and why is it easier then anything else she does to promote her boutique.
I can genuinely say one of the reasons I presented so well was because over the last weeks Amy has granted me so much information about managing a business, that I had no knowledge of prior to mentoring with her. These extra 30 hours I completed with her allowed me to develop a better relationship with Amy and I am now a lot more comfortable asking questions about the business, or calling in when she's not expecting me, to ask if she needs any extra help around the store. I'm glad she has agreed to have me interview her for my 3rd interview, especially since I highly value her wisdom of the business industry.
(a) I, Yuritzi Mora, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) James, Geoffrey. Business without the Bullsh*t: 49 Secrets and Shortcuts You Need to Know. N.p.: Grand Central, 2014. Print.
(c) Refer to Senior Project Hours
(d) For my Independent Component 1 I completed an extra 30 hours with my mentor.
INTERPRETIVE
The reason I decided to do an extra 30 hours is because my mentor has so much experience and knowledge with business, that I figured the more time spent mentoring with her, the more information I could gather. Amy is the owner and manager of Maple Boutique, which of course, correlates to my topic; Business Management. The fact that I have perspective from a business owner/ business manager allows me to gain more insight from both sides. When I go into her store to mentor, she teaches me about how to work in college to prepare for beginning of my business career once I graduate, and what it takes to get there. 90% of the time when I go into her store, my job is to open any delivered packages and stock inventory with what we received. At times it can be mundane, but during those times she explains to me how to order the clothes, where to order them, how often to order them, and why she orders the things she does.
Another thing I do at mentorship is run a lot of trips to the UPS store, or post office. Since Amy also runs a website for her boutique, items are constantly needed to be shipped out and delivered to the customers. The first time I went was super embarrassing. Amy gave me a bag of clothes and asked me to put them in the package the post office provides. Well the thing is, the post office has like 10 different packaging options, and I didn't want to call her again since I had already gotten lost on the way there and had to ring her. I ended up going with a cardboard package that didn't seem to have enough room for all the clothes she handed me, but I was going to make it fit one way or another. When I finally finished shoving everything in the package it looked like a 2 year old tried wrapping a present, and didn't succeed so they just put tape everywhere to cover it up. I handed the post lady the package and she just looked at me and said, "You know they have these plastic packaging that is much roomier and easier to to fit what you need to fit in there right?". Yeah, of course I knew. That's why I spent 10 minutes sweating, trying to make everything fit in the package without ripping, and attempting to keeping it semi-presentable.
One of the things I really enjoyed was when she taught me how to read and input invoices. I had previously heard what they were, but I never knew exactly, so it was a true learning experience for me. To be honest, everything during mentorship is a learning experience. At times its nerve-wrecking because I don't quite understand what she wants me to do, and I don't want to ask again or else I'll feel dumb. Then again, that's a part of learning, and once I finally master the task it becomes easier for me to do it the next time.
I also attended a few in-store events which she hosts every couple weeks to interact with customers and get the business more known from any visitors who happen to come by. She offers goody bags, or some snacks and always has cute and crafty ideas for her and her customers to bond over. I can tell she puts a lot of effort into these events, and not only does she enjoy them, but so do the customers; which I have learned is the most important thing in maintaining a business. Below are a few pictures of my mentoring experience. Most of the pictures are of clothes and the store, because like I said before, my job is mostly to
take inventory, dress mannequins, and set the store up.
(I apologize for the weird picture display. I took pictures with a square, vertical, and landscape format, so they're spaced out really awkwardly)
APPLIED
I touched on this in the Interpretive section, but during my 30 extra hours, I realized that aside from all the managing part of the business, customers are what MAKES your business. Everything Amy does is to please her customers. She changes her window displays every so often to make her store visually appealing to customers, and keep them interested. She orders new merchandise 3 to 4 times a week to keep her store constantly changing and keep the variety for her customers. In-store events are to mingle with customers and keep them updated with anything new and upcoming. Without the customers, you merely have a store with clothes and price tags on them. Keeping your customers happy and satisfied is what helps your business grow and reach its full potential. That's not to say there aren't plenty other factors in having your business succeed, but customers are your consumers and if your consumers don't like what you offer then there will be no business.
When the time came around to start planning my answer for my 30 minute presentation I had no idea what to do. After mentoring so much with Amy, I realized every time I went into her store she was always updating something to Instagram for the business. That's when the answer the my essential question hit me. Amy was kind enough to further help me develop my answer, and explain what examples I could use for my presentation. She gave me several examples about how social media helps businesses expand to become bigger than they already are, and why is it easier then anything else she does to promote her boutique.
I can genuinely say one of the reasons I presented so well was because over the last weeks Amy has granted me so much information about managing a business, that I had no knowledge of prior to mentoring with her. These extra 30 hours I completed with her allowed me to develop a better relationship with Amy and I am now a lot more comfortable asking questions about the business, or calling in when she's not expecting me, to ask if she needs any extra help around the store. I'm glad she has agreed to have me interview her for my 3rd interview, especially since I highly value her wisdom of the business industry.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Mentorship this month was nothing out of the ordinary. I went in to help Amy twice a week usually to help her tidy around the store and stock inventory. One thing I really enjoyed was helping her out with her window display. Every couple of weeks Amy sets up a really creative, cute window displays to go along with the season or holidays. This month she decorated the windows with dip-dyed, hanging pine cones to go along with the winter season. She tells me that the reason she takes window displays so seriously is because it is what attracts customers, and makes her business stand out from all the other boutiques in The village.
Since presentations were this month, I asked Amy to give me any advice she had with my project. I went over my first and best answer with her, and she's agreeed with what I had come up with. My best answer is "If you get your business known through social media, then profit for the business will increase due to popularity". Amy went on to tell me that social media is what got her business booming, and it is still her primary way to connect with her customers and let them know what she has in-store. Not only did I do a great job presenting, but it paid off once I recieved my grade. I appreciate that Amy helped with my presentation, since she of course is a business owner, and she knows what has helped her. For the next month, I would like to start going in 3 times a week and have her help me process my next two answers so I can research more on certain aspects of the industry.
Since presentations were this month, I asked Amy to give me any advice she had with my project. I went over my first and best answer with her, and she's agreeed with what I had come up with. My best answer is "If you get your business known through social media, then profit for the business will increase due to popularity". Amy went on to tell me that social media is what got her business booming, and it is still her primary way to connect with her customers and let them know what she has in-store. Not only did I do a great job presenting, but it paid off once I recieved my grade. I appreciate that Amy helped with my presentation, since she of course is a business owner, and she knows what has helped her. For the next month, I would like to start going in 3 times a week and have her help me process my next two answers so I can research more on certain aspects of the industry.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Presentation
1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
I am definitely proud of how well my presentation flowed. Before I was up to present, I was extremely nervous, because I felt as soon as I went up I would forget everything I had to say. Quite the opposite happened instead. As soon as it was my turn, I was pumped and ready to inform everybody about my topic. The words rolled off my tongue, and I had little to no problem getting across what I wanted to say. 2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
AE
b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
It is rare that I self-asses myself an AE, but for this presentation in particular I feel like I did a good job explaining why I picked my answer to my essential question. I didn't overwhelm the audience with any unneeded facts, or bore them with a monotone voice. I felt very comfortable in what I was saying, and although Business Management may not everybody's interest I think the class was engaged in what I was saying. Not only did I give good information, but I had several examples to further guarantee understanding from the audience.
3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
As explained above, I really like that I used a ton of examples. Some of the information I had might have been a bit confusing to some, so using those examples allowed a more clear understanding. The examples I used also gave the audience insight on how social media is used not only to connect with friends, but how businesses take them as an opportunity to expand themselves.
4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
I felt myself speaking a little too fast in the beginning, which did slow down throughout, but if I could go back and maybe speak a little bit slower it would have felt a little less rushed.
5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
My second answer will most likely be, "Running a well maintained, and organized website"
I am definitely proud of how well my presentation flowed. Before I was up to present, I was extremely nervous, because I felt as soon as I went up I would forget everything I had to say. Quite the opposite happened instead. As soon as it was my turn, I was pumped and ready to inform everybody about my topic. The words rolled off my tongue, and I had little to no problem getting across what I wanted to say. 2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
AE
b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
It is rare that I self-asses myself an AE, but for this presentation in particular I feel like I did a good job explaining why I picked my answer to my essential question. I didn't overwhelm the audience with any unneeded facts, or bore them with a monotone voice. I felt very comfortable in what I was saying, and although Business Management may not everybody's interest I think the class was engaged in what I was saying. Not only did I give good information, but I had several examples to further guarantee understanding from the audience.
3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
As explained above, I really like that I used a ton of examples. Some of the information I had might have been a bit confusing to some, so using those examples allowed a more clear understanding. The examples I used also gave the audience insight on how social media is used not only to connect with friends, but how businesses take them as an opportunity to expand themselves.
4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
I felt myself speaking a little too fast in the beginning, which did slow down throughout, but if I could go back and maybe speak a little bit slower it would have felt a little less rushed.
5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
My second answer will most likely be, "Running a well maintained, and organized website"
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check
1. Where are you doing your mentorship?
Downtown Claremont at Maple Boutique
2. Who is your contact?
Amy, the owner of the store
3. How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?
13 hours
4. Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
Mentorship for me includes setting the store up, opening new clothing packages, steaming items, running to the bank to deposit money, sending out packages at the post office, re-clothing manequins,
inputting invoices, and occasionally attending events Amy sets at the store.
Downtown Claremont at Maple Boutique
2. Who is your contact?
Amy, the owner of the store
3. How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?
13 hours
4. Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
Mentorship for me includes setting the store up, opening new clothing packages, steaming items, running to the bank to deposit money, sending out packages at the post office, re-clothing manequins,
inputting invoices, and occasionally attending events Amy sets at the store.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Blog 11: Holiday Project Update
1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school. What did you do over the break with your senior project?
Over break I did not go to mentorship. Both my mentor and I were busy for the 2 weeks, and seeing that she was out of state to visit family for the holidays, there wasn't a way I could help or learn from her anyhow.
2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why? What was the source of what you learned?
As stated in the question above, I did not get a chance to meet up with my mentor. I will be heading to her store both Thursday and Friday to hopefully assist her and I will hope to gain any knowledge she may give. I look forward to asking her more questions about the business, especially since I would like her to be my next interview.
3. If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
1. How did you start your business?
2. Did you do anything in college specifically to move your business along?
3. What do you think the differences are between managing a boutique and larger retail?
4. How long did it take to get everything you needed to start your business?
5. When did you notice it was becoming successful?
6. I would like to set up a small clothing website while I'm in college. What advice would you give me?
7. Is it hard to manage your personal life and the business?
8. How would you go about opening a second location?
9. If you had the chance to go to business school instead of FIDM would you?
10. Did you consult with a lawyer or accountant before opening your business?
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
December: Extra Blog Post
For this month, I have to be honest and say I didn't do a lot to progress my senior project. For the past two weeks I have not gone to mentorship, due to prior responsibilities. I do however plan on going this Friday and Monday. Seeing as mentorship hours will be counted soon, I deem it necessary to have as many done as possible. Besides the lack of hours, I thoroughly enjoy going to mentorship and assisting Amy. I can tell that she really cares about me succeeding in my senior year, and gives me a lot of insight about the business. She often invites me to events she sets up for The Village, and her customers so I can gain more knowledge about running a business. The reason she likes to invite me to these events is because she says I can see what the business is about besides what she does in the store. These events range from Girls Night, where customers can come together and have a couple drinks while making crafts and during that she provides discounts, or a simple holiday party. I am glad Amy gave me the chance to work with her, and I look forward to whatever more I can learn from her.
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