Senior Project Update

(1) What are you currently doing in your independent component?

• So far I'm still not positive on what my independent component will be but for the moment it is helping run the shop with customer service, displaying new products, and working with events.

(2) What is a recent piece of research (article, interview, or audio-visual) that have you reviewed you would say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project?  The piece of research should be something you reviewed in November.  Please explain what you learned and where are you going next because of this piece of research.

• A piece of research was an article I read called "Build a Good Relationship With Suppliers", which baiscally explained how to have a better relationship with your suppliers for your business. This could be use full and I could proably get to see how the "suppliers" thing works.

(3) Provide evidence from your independent component or the piece of research as something you recently did.  For example, a photo of something you working on for your independent component or your notes from the video you watched. 

• Well I worked during a "Sticker Exchange" at Covert and I already uploaded some picctures down below. It was a fun event that was a first time experience. 

Sticker Exchange at Covert Shop

On Sunday, Covert Shop had an event where locals and non-locals came to look around and excahnge stickers. The event was free and had a good atmosphere with a Dj playing good music, just a great time at Covert Shop.

Science Fair Proposal

1. What is your topic?

• Skate Shop Management 

2. What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support that problem? (Expert citation must be MLA format.)

• "If your business has avoided exploring corporate sponsorship and cause marketing, thinking your marketing dollars are better spent on traditional advertising, you're missing valuable opportunities to"
• Bower, Gail S. "Too Small for Corporate Sponsorship? Think Again: How Your Business Benefits, Just like the Big Guys." Gailbower.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. <http://www.gailbower.com/pages/article_small.php>.

3. What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.)

• If a manager of a skate shop goes to more events, has more knowledge on skateboarding, or college credibility their skate shop will be more profitable.

4. Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment.  Include the tools you plan on using.

• This experiment will be performed by going to 22 skate shops around LA county and San Bernardino County. I will ask the owner or manager of the shops if they go to events, how much they know about skateboarding, and if they went to college to study business. After I would ask them if I can see their profits and see how much they are gaining.

5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:

• Mathematics & Computer Science

Blog 9: Working EQ and Possible Answers

1) What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?

• The working EQ used during my presentation was "What is the most successful way to run a skate shop?".

2) Did you decide to revise your working EQ after your presentation? If so, write your revised EQ here.  If not simple write "I am not going to revise my EQ at this time".

• I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.

(3) What are possible answers to your current working EQ? 

• Some possible answers to my working EQ are being passionate about skateboarding in general, having good merchandise in your shop, and having good employees that also have a passion for skateboarding.

Rough Draft of Presentation 1

10 Minute Presentation

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

1) For the independent study component I plan on to organize and display a bunch of new brand collections around the shop, hopefully people seeing it and becoming interested in buying it. Still not sure but that is one option that would work.
2) This plan will work because it would be on display through out days until new brands come in and replace it.
3) The independent study component relates to my working EQ by having a successful shop you must catch your customers eye and make money.

Second Interview Questions

The questions I have come up with so far, regarding on my mentor and his expertise in the field are:

1) Did you ever imagine being in this field?
2) What made you decided to own your own skate shop?
3) How difficult was it at the beginning to build your shop?
4) Did you receive any help or did it solo?
5) How long have you been in the business?
6) Did you take any courses to be in this field, if so which ones?
7) How exactly do you get your merchandise for your shop?
8) What is the biggest problem you have encountered so far?
9) What is the best thing you enjoy in owning your shop?
10) How long did it take for your business to start up and successfully make profit?
11) Do you regret anything and if yes, why?

Working EQ

The Pentagon:

1) Positive Statement: A positive thing that has happened as a result on what I have completed so far is that I had to make a resume, which I haven't done besides a college resume. Another thing, I have been skating more and I really enjoy it.

2) EQ Content: When I interviewed Angelo, an employee who works at Utility Board Shop, he mentioned that in order to be in the "biz" I need to surround myself on my topic and gain knowledge on it by. That's what I have been doing just surrounding myself to skateboarding and skate shops trying to understand more of it.

3) In this senior project what has worked for me so far would have to be the interview. It went really well and was not as dificult I thought it was going to be, maybe because I got along with the interviewee.

4) What hasn't worked so far is the mentorship part. I have not yet found a mentorship to work with and it is kind of stressful trying to find one but I won't stop.

5) Finding Value: Based on my experience,

• The kind of questions that come to mind regarding to what I would like to study would be, where can I learn more about business management?
• My goal for the end of the year, is to learn and take what I have experienced to my next chapter of my life.
• I would like to talk to a manager of a skate shop next because they would have more knowledge on skate shop management.

Problem Statement

1) Skateshop Management 
2) Sometimes the customer service is not the greatest and could be very rude, leading in the clients in not wanting to purchase any items. Once I figure out a better solution in customer service and better away to attract customers to purchase items I will tell other local skateshops.
3) Sometimes some shops don't get the best quality items they can get and the boards are really bad. I will find out why the board is really bad and why the skateshop can't get the good quality board. After I will see the best solution on a material of a board.

Interview Preperation

1. The person that I plan to interview is Joseph, the manager of Platform Skate Shop. I want to interview him because I feel like he can give me a lot of information on a skate shop. Also he can give me any ideas or recommendations since he is the manager.

2. Additional questions I plan to ask:

• How did you get into being a manager?
• Do you enjoy being the manager, how so?
• What's the hardest thing you have to do?
• What's your daily routine?
• How do you manage the business side?
• Why did you choose being a manager of a skate shop?

Blog 2: Topic Choice

A. My topic choice is Skateshop Management. I choose this topic because I want to learn the business side in owning your own shop and see if it is difficult to have your own shop. I specifically picked a Skateshop because I have always been drawn into skating and always liked it since Elementary School.

B.I will accomplish these four things:

• As an effective learner,  I will learn all that my mentor-ship is willing to teach me.Also I would take what I learned and try to apply it to the real life. 
• As an effective communicator, I will ask all the questions I have so I can learn and gain experience. I will also listen to what my mentor says because he is the one who is teaching. 

• As an effective user of technology, I will use it as much as possible to help me out. I would try to see shortcuts when managing your own business with technology. 
• As an iPoly Citizen, I will apply what I learned into my school work to try and make more creative. 

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship Component

Literal (Know)

• Log Specific Hours
• Dawn Van Allen
• (909) 938-2435
• dawnvanallen@gmail.com
• Carlos D. Carrillo
• (909) 625-2248
• ccarrillo@uncommongood.org

Literal (Need to Know)

• How much money is spent in a week?
• What happens if the harvest isn't all sold?
• Where exactly would be the best location to put a farm?
• Does location really matter and if so how?
• What is the best amount of land for a farm?
• Is the old methods of farming better than the new methods?
• Would you need to contact the city council if you want to start your own farm?

Interpretive 

• The most important thing I gained form this experience was learning how difficult farming really is and that it is no fun games, it is serious business. When I first watched "Charlotte's Web" I thought farming was a piece of cake but that is because it was based on the animals but not the farmers. When I started seeing all the stuff that needs to be done and all the hard labor you actually have to do I realized it was very hard. You have to be really serious about what your doing because if your not your harvest might go wrong and that won't be good at all.

Applied

• This experience really helped choose my topic because I was debating if I should do my senior project on farming. I figured that farming wasn't going to be my topic because I was not passionate about it and expected it to be a little more exciting. Farming is like a business and I liked that part of farming so I think I am going to do my senior project on business. Something around the lines of a skate shop, I would really enjoy that since I like skating.