Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your 2-Hour Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

The thing that I am most proud of is learning business adminstartion. I thought that I would need to find a class and spend a ton of money but instead I got a free one course. It really opened my eyes and helped me see into my future and career path I would like to take. This is why I felt that by me completing this business course was very good for me.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your 2-Hour Presentation (self-assessment)?

      - I would say that I hit all the "P consideratin" boxes so a P.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

- I would give myself a overall P too because I did everything and it was not bad.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

- My research really worked for me, even though I was not getting high grade I was getting good grades. It worked for me because at the beginning of the year I was not doing good on my research checks. At the end I improved and it helped gain knowledge on how to research. I felt that it was important to have them and I enjoyed them.

4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

- I would say that the science component did not work for me. I would have choosen something better to do than what I previously did. It was hard for me to find out what scientific thing I could do because my topic was running a skate shop so I felt that my scienc component was not strong. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?  Be specific and use examples. 

- During my senior project I learned a lot through my mentorship and just by myself. For example through my mentorship I learned that when you buy from suppliers they check how far other skate shops are from you to see if they already sell to them to not cause competition. Over all I just learned a lot about business managment and the skateboarding culture.

Daewon Song vs H20

Having problems with the rain? Well Daewon Song has being battling H20 for a long time. Here are some clips with Song fighting against the water. It is really amusing and funny, you might even learn a couple of tips. Click the video and find out for yourself. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnqNEGePx0c

DVS in Brazil!!!!!

This an awesome video of the shoe team DVS. It shows them skating and doing some awesome tricks in the one and only country Brazil! Daewon Song has to be one of my favorite skaters, so this video was very awesome for me . Check it out!!!! Click the link the below to see it man!

http://theberrics.com/news/dvs-ill-in-brazil.html

STEE PREMIERE

Anybody going to San Diego this weekend? If yeah might as well and check out Sk8Mafia x Sweet Video premiere. It will be worldwide and you can get your free tickets at Pacific Drive Skateshop. It's all ages and you'll be seeing probably some great clips with the Sk8Mafia and Sweet skateboard crew!

BATB 6 Championship

Battle At The Berrics is where pro skaters come together to compete in a game of SKATE. This is the 6 BATB with the theme of Goofy vs. Regular. The game SKATE is played with two skaters that try to do the same trick the first skater did. Baiscally it is like a game of horse for basketball but with a skateboard. If you don't land the trick the previous skater did you get a letter, the person to get all letters loses. At the Berrics they have a competition and yesterday was the championship final with P-Rod vs. Pj Ladd.

It was an intense game and totally rad to watch, here is the link if you are interested. There may be some mature content (but not really) so just for the heads up.



http://theberrics.com/battle-at-the-berrics-6/championship-battle.html

Blog 25: Mentorship

    Literal

·     Log

·     Kurtis Beckstorm

Phone Number:1(626)551-8222

    

Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

• The most important thing I gained from my experience with my mentor was seeing and understanding how difficult it actually is to run a skate shop. At the beginning of the year I thought that being an owner of a skate shop would be the easiest and funnest job to have. It was shocking to see how busy Kurtis is and the struggles he faces with his shop. I learned how important it is to be connected with your shop at all times, just really being on top of things and getting them done. I learned that being connected with your shop 24/7 is a great thing but very diffucult to do. I found this important because it showed me the struggles and benfeits it would be to run a skate shop.

   Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

• I realized how important and diffucult it is to attract customers to your shop. With knowing how important customers are I reasearched marketing strategies  eventually leading me to a marketing plan.  Through my mentorshio I came to conlusion on how important marketing is. Covert Board Shop, recently moved locations so we sent fliers to previous customers that have boughten there. Every flier cost 40 cents each and we sent thousands of fliers to customers. I saw how important it is to keep in contact with your customers and trying to attract new ones.This is one example that made me believe how important a marketing plan is to have a profitable skate shop.

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

Content: 

(1) What is your essential question?  What is the best answer to your question and why?

• My essential question is “What is the best way to sustain a profitable skate shop?” and my best answer is having a good marketing plan. This is my best answer because by having a good marketing plan, your business will become most profitable and be stable. It tells you the strengths and weakness your shop has, giving you the opportunity to improve it. Also, you will have the kind of marketing strategies you will have, which is very important in a skate shop because you want to attract customers. 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

• The process I took to come up with my answer was at Covert Board Shop, I was just evaluating what was going on at the shop when some days the shop would be busy and other days the shop felt like a ghost town. I asked Kurtis Beckstorm and he said the best thing you can do is have good marketing plan. This will include marketing strategies that can help you gain customers from all different parts of areas if they are really good. The marketing plan is key in making your shop run according to Beckstorm.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

• The problem I faced was at the beginning of the year, I could not find a mentorship to get my hours at a skate shop. I only had one week to find a mentorship because if I did not I would have had to find a different topic for my senior project. I really did not want to change my topic, so I looked up “skate shops” on Google and a bunch of locations appeared on the screen. I wrote down all the skate shop’s addressees and went to every single on personally to see if I would be able to get my hours there. Luckily, Covert Board Shop was the only one that said yes, which I’m very grateful for.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

• One of my most significant source would have to be what I did for my second independent component. I took a free online course, at saylor.org, called BUS305 Small Business Management. In this course I had to do read a lot of articles about entrepreneurs, building a team for your business, business plan, marketing plans, and financing. The book Principles of Marketing by Saylor, really helped me understand my third answer. This course helped me gain knowledge on the business side if a skate shop.
• Another significant source has to be Kurtis Beckstorm, founder of Covert Board Shoppe. I really got see how a skate shop is most profitable and what it takes to run one. I have learned a lot from Beckstorm when it comes down to business and just personally level in creating a good atmosphere. 

(5) What is your product and why?

While at doing my mentorship at Covert, I really did not have an expectation how involved the business was going to be with the community. Now I have an expectation that a business should be more involved with the community. Covert has many events that involves getting the community together to have a good time. These events are sticker exchange, skating contests, and live music. It was really cool seeing some of the same faces showing up to these events and just having a blast. I feel like by having the business be more involved with the community it showed me how really important the customers were.

Covert Board Shoppe Grand Opening!

Covert is moving locations and will be having their grand opening this Saturday! They are closing down the old shop and will be moving to a different location nearby. There will be live hip hop from 2MEX and Aceyalone hosted by MC Ducer. The doors will be opening at 7pm, so drop on by to show support and have a blast! The directions are down below.

Epic Skateboarding Culture Poem

This is a poem that describes a skater and the skateboarding culture. I find it very epic and simply just amazing! It may have some foul language and parental advisory is advised(It's not that bad though).

Kick, push, kick, push.  He journeys down the dark lit paths

of The City of Angels. The scriptures on the walls speak of the sacred soul of his home. He is one with his board.

A magical piece of wood that grants his every wish and takes Blazer Skater wherever he desires. Steals from the rich,

takes from the poor, and gives to himself. With his head held high he rides the endless journey of what is life.

He takes a heroic hit for all the shit he has suffered,  owing to the tears that hit him like bullets, as his heart drenches in blood.

With each inhale of that precious gift from god, he gets the courage to live for one more day. The nightmares that haunt him vanish as the wind takes them away and disappear into the cloud of smog overhead.

Whenever the cursed cloud gets too close he packs the hollow airways to heaven and the problem fades away, along with him.

It’s a Crip. It’s a Blood. No! it’s Blazer Skater, who’s not delirious enough to be defined to any demeaning silly gang. He rides solo, as he climbs the treacherous steel pole. With the can full of freedom of speech he marks his territory. Warning those that think they have the balls, to fuck off. 

By: Anonymous

Blog 23: Junior Interview

1.  Who did you interview and what house are they in?

• Angel Arredondo and he is in East House

2.  What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

•  I honestly dont know what im going to do for my project. I want to do something in the medical field but i dont know where to get started.

3.  What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

• I dont know that answer too. I havnt really looked at my options. Maybe doctor shadowing of some sort.

4.  What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

• I hope to see a presentation that relates to my interests 

5. Any questions?

• Do you know of anyone doing a senior project in the medical field or any field of science? Yeah there is Ghina Thi doing her project on a clinical pharmacist or Zhailah Graza is doing something with Anesthesiologist.

Blog 22: 3 Column Chart

Content:
3 Column Chart

Zumiez Strategy

In this article it was really interesting to see how big retail chain skate shops work, like Zumiez or Tilly's. It said that their plan is to open 60 new shops in the year of 2013. Through the years of 2010-2012 they had open of 133 new stores, with the total net sales increasing. In 2010 they had total of 4.7% ,  2011 7.3 %, and in 2012 11.2% of total net sales. It has showed me that opening new stores increase the net sales dramatically. With small skate shop business they well never really open 133 unless it really has the capability, but they can still  open more than one shop. Utility Board Supply has more than one shop, they have a total of 5, 3 in wonderful California and 2 in Arizona. This comes to show that many skate shops can increase their total net sales by opening more than one shop, but it sure is not easy. 

The article also mentioned that their succes of the shop was "brand exposure that we receive from our marketing events, promotions and activities that embody the action sports lifestyle". With retail chain stores like Zumiez, they have the capability to do this marketing events and promotions. By having connections with other skate shops or skate shop related businesses you can plan and have these events. If you want to read more feel free to click the link below.


Zumiez Plans To Open 60 New Stores In 2013

Blog 21: Independent Component 2

LITERAL
(a) I, Eric Santizo, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) With the help of Ortega, I did my independent component on saylor.org, a free online courses built by proferssors. There are many courses anyone can take with topics like art history, philosphy, to economics. This is where I did partially most of all of my independent component, which I surprisingly enjoyed. 
(c)Spreadsheet hours
(d) I completed Unit 1, talking about the elements of an Entrepreneur, on the course I was taking, BUS305: Small Business Managment. It had lots of interesting and knowledgable readings, so I did a LOT of reading. There was also some videos and assements but it consisted more of readings. I also did part of Unit 2, building your team, to get my hours. I plan to finish all Units but it really is time consuming but enjoyable. 

INTERPRETIVE
For my indepent component, it is a lot of reading and watching videos on my own will. Through every unit and subunit I have written down notes.

This was my first assesment were I had to plug in the right vocabulary in the passage. The words are red but it actually means that I got it right not wrong. 

This is my Saylor Portfolio. The cours that I took was BUS305. I am done with 30 hours but not done with the whole course yet, it is 151 hours total. I am planning on finishing it.

This is the first page of notes I took. It is on the Introduction Readings of Unit 1 talking about entrepreneurship and economist. 

These are futher notes into the course.  

And more notes about the difference of an entreperneur and intrapreneur. 

APPLIED
This component really helped me understand my second answer better which is understanding business. I got a history background on small business and how popular they were until around the 1880s, with bigger businesses coming up. Even though big compaines and businesses have down sized small business, they are still popluar because they cultivate characther and builds democracy. It has also taught me the meaning of an entrepreneur, the elements one has, and what they do. Right now I am on Unit 2 talking about managment; I plan on finishing that and the rest of the Units.  

Blog 20 : Three Column Chart

3 Column Chart Draft

Tampa Pro 2013

Everyone who is interested in Tampa Pro you can click on the link to watch the final runs LIVE! You may also just roam the website and see some clips. Enjoy! http://skateparkoftampa.com/tampapro

TRANSWORLD ACTION SPORTS STOCK INDEX

• I found this article on Transworld Business; I found it very interesting because I feel like it is important to know what the prices are in the market in order to know what the best supply is for your retail. You can see that it reached 39.5 in the closing of Feburary, which increased from January, breaking a new record! To read more about this you can click on the article yourself, you can find it below the graph.

Graph of Member Stock Prices Monthly

TRANSWORLD ACTION SPORTS STOCK INDEX POSTS ANOTHER RECORD HIGH IN FEBRUARY

Blog 19: Senior Project and ESLRs

1.  What ESLR have you excelled in most in your senior project? 

• The ESLR that I have excelled the most in my senior project would have to be "Effective Learner".

2.  Please explain why you think you have excelled in this ESLR.

• The reason why I think I have excelled in this ESLR because the only way to gain knowledge on your senior project is for yourself to do research and find interesting facts involving your project. I try to find a lot of resources and look for research involving skateboarding. I do the same thing when it comes down to the business side of it.

3.  Provide evidence from your senior project to support your claim (evidence is a photo of something you are doing, photo of something you made, etc).

• This is some stuff I gave away in one of my presentation that all came from the skate shop, Covert. I feel like this is good evidence because I did struggle finding a shop for mentorship and I really have learned a lot from it.

Blog 18: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #3

1.  What is your essential question?

• What is the best way to sustain a profitable skateshop?

2.  What is your third answer to your essential question (write your third answer in a complete sentence)?

• My third answer to my essential question is marketing/marketing plan your skate shop, this well help your business gain profit.

3.  What are three details to support or justify your third answer (details are examples or facts)?

• By marketing you get the word  out of your shop attracting customers to your shop that may be potential buyers.
• With marketing you get reputation with your buesiness because it builds brand name reconigiton and is involved with the community.
• Also your shop will get higer sales due to the fact that you are attracting more customers which is always a good benefit. 

4.  What source helped you prove this answer is justified for your essential question?

• The source that helped me prove this was an article called "The Importance of Marketing for the Success of a Business", on Houston Chronicle, Kristie Lorette and Demand Media.

5.  What do you plan to study next and why? 

• What I plan to study next is more marketing strategies and the marketing plan itself. Just ways to attract and gain profit by marketing.

Fourth Interview Questions

1) What is the best way to sustain a profitable skate shop?

2) How did you get in the position you are in?

3) Did you have a role model or something that inspired you to manage/own a skate shop and how did so said person do so?

4) What makes you different from other skate shops?

5) How important is location?

6) How do you choose your employees?

7) Are making connections important? If yes why?

8) Is understanding the skateboarding culture important to run a skate shop and why?

9) Do you attend or host any events?

10) Can you describe how your business plan works?

11) How do you attract customers?

12) Customers may say the price is overpriced what is your input on this?

13) What is the biggest demand in your shop?

14) Do your suppliers have a lot of control/power?

15) How much supply do you usually buy from your suppliers?

16) Is social media a good resource in make your shop better?

17) How does sponsoring skateboarders improve your shop?

18) What are the best marketing strategies for a skate shops?

19) How do you manage the money the shop is making?

20) How do you display your merchandise? 

21) From your experience what would you tell someone wanting to open a skate shop?

Blog 16: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #2

1. My essential question is, what is the best way to sustain a profitable skate shop?

2. My second answer to my essential question, knowing and understanding how business works. It is baiscally the foundation of your shop and is a key factor.

3. One of details would be how to start your business. How can you gain profit with your own brand? What kind of business are you running?

4. Surces that helped me justify my answer would be entrepreneur.com, my mentor, and an interview with Utility Board Supply I did.

5. I plan to continue my study of answer 2 by doing more reserch and focusing on business related topics, also by checking out more books on business.

Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

1) For my independent study component I will probably try to find more connections with skate shops and get more into the business side of the shop. Finding another skate shop might be hard but I'll still try. Going more into depth the business side of it is also important, so I'll try to get more involved in that.

2) My plan will reach the 30 hours by reading a book about business or maybe finding a class with business. Also if I find another skate shop I can get hours there.

3) My independent component will relate with my working EQ because without knowing business you will not be able to run a succesful skate shop. Also by finding another skate shop it will give me a different perspective because skate shops are not all the same. They all have a different atmosphere.

Blog 15: Independent Component 1

• Literal
• (a) I, Eric Santizo, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
• (b) Kurtis Beckstorm (626) 551-8222. And the berrics.com to get a better feel for skateboarding.
• (c) Log
• (d) What I have completed has been something that as a manager at a skate shop has done is currently does; which is surrounding yourself with the skateboarding industry and culture. At Covert Board Shop I went to two Sticker Exchange events, I learned and experienced a lot. There was a DJ, lots of stickers, people taking pictures, and people interacting with one another. I also learned how to clean and assemble a skateboard which is important. Another thing I did was skate a lot which I have been improvingover the time and still want to improve.
• Interpretive

                                                        Stickers from Covert




At the Sticker Exchange

                                                Injury from skating at the skate park in Montclair

• Applied
• This component has really helped me understand the foundation of my project beacue what I did was surround my self with skateboarding things. I went and helped at events, I went to talk to employees at a different shops to see how they do and folded clothes, I even got hurt trying to skate a bunch of times. It just really has improved my knowledge about skateboarding and I feel like I would know what to put in a shop or how events work. Like I really never heard or thought about a sticker exchange until went to the two at Covert.

Blog 13: Rough Draft of 30 Minute Presntation

Rough Draft 30 Minute

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

1. What is the best way to sustain a profitable skate shop?

2. What is the best marketing method to gain profit?

3. Are employes key in running a good skate shop?

4. What do you think "a good skate shop" consist of?

5. How do you attract customers?

6. When hosting events what are the main goals?

7. If selling you own brand in your skate shop, how will this benefit your business?

8. How do you choose which brands to sell at your shop?

9. How do you get certain brands to sell at your shop?

10. How do you handle your money when having rough times?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1. I'm doing my mentorship at Covert Boardshop in West Covina.

2. My contact is Kurtis, the ownwer of the shop.

3. I have done 13 hours at the shop so in total, about 23 hours.

4. At the shop I normally see how the shop is runned and usually ask my mentor questions. I have also gone to events that the shop has hosted, which are always interesting and fun.