Extra Post: December

New Mentor

This month I was forced to change my topic completely to Human Resource Management because I finally found a stable mentor that is of great help. Fortunately I had the honor to start mentoring with her this past Monday in one of her customers business called Rail Delivery Services in the city of Fontana, where she had me look at the way they do the employee pay roles as well as let me into one of the meetings that had to do with a case she's currently working on. I am way more relaxed about my senior project now that I have the help I need as well as looking forward to mentoring with her.

Extra Post: November

This book was very helpful for me because it gave  me a lot of insight as to how family coaches help out their clients and what it takes to be like them. It also gave me a lot of tips as to how to run/manage a successful business and the problems that business owners go through on a daily basis and the way to avoid/resolve them. 

***This month I also started looking for a new mentor and although I got a few responses back I'm still in search of the right match that can help me take my senior project to the next level***

EQ

Research 

1."I reviewed the rule of three for writing and EQ."

Essential Question 

Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
•  Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

2. Review following EQ's:

a) What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
☑ Provides a framework for studies by allowing research to be able to be breadth/depth and no yes/no question
☑ Takes a stance by allowing the person to incorporate other methods of healthy weight loss and argue different points
☑ Format does make sense 

b) What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
☑ Provides a framework for studies by not being a yes or no question as well as allowing more depth/breadth to take place 
☑ Takes a stance by letting the person have multiple answers and argue different points 
☒ Format could be worded a little differently 

c) What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
☑ Provides a framework for studies by allowing more breadth/depth to take place and its not a yes or no question

☑ Takes a stance by allowing the researcher to get multiple answers to and argue different points

☑ Format does make sense 

d) How can anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
☑ Provides a framework of study by not being a yes or no question and allowing research to be more in breadth/depth 
☑ Takes a stance by letting the person argue different points of study
☑ Format does make sense 

3. What is the best coaching method in order for a  family business to be successful? 

-How can a coach best help a family resolve their problems in order for their business to be successful?

*****Disclaimer: I am currently in the process of wanting to change my topic to Coaching in the Family Business because most of my research has been on that and it's something that's very much caught my eye. I have two potential places for mentorship in mind but I have yet to hear back from them as of right now.*****

Lesson 1 Reflection

Presentation 

 Positive Statement

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

-I'm most proud about making time because that's what I was the most nervous about and I kind of proved to myself that I was able to accomplish 1/3 or our final presentation.

Questions to Consider

2.    a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.
-I believe I deserve a P because in my opinion I did everything that was in the contract plus I completed the time required and I got pretty good feedback after so now I know some of the things that I need to fix on.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

-I believe what worked for me was explaining the different aspects that go into family businesses and showing them the different, well known family businesses there are. Not only that but explaining some of the different coaching methods that take place when dealing with family disputes and how it differentiates based on families.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

-I did not like the time I decided to present because I kind of felt like I had to hold out a little bit since it was right before break and personally I hate when people go on and on while its my own break time and therefore I did exactly 8 minutes. Now that I look back at it I wish I would've done my own thing because at the end of the day it's my own presentation and there's a couple of things that I wish I could've said but I guess you live and you learn.  

Extra Post: October

                                 

Interview 2

Having a more personal interview with my mentor was very helpful for me. I got to learn the motives as to why he got into the business world and the things that take to own a business like his. I realized that a lot of the things he mentioned too, I've read about on the 2 books I've used for my WB and therefore allowed me to put the things from my research into a more personal manner. 

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

Research

EQ: What is the most effective way to run a successful family owned business?

• Family problems must be dealt/resolved outside of the business and a great way to do that is through family coaching
• Know the business and the type of people needed for the job therefore only hire family members that are the most suitable for the job

3. My best source so far has been:

4. My mentor is Wilder Gonzalez. I'm doing my mentorship in his own business, El Duende Party Supply. This relates to my EQ because he's had his business for awhile now and regardless of the struggles that come with owning a family business he's showed me that you can overcome the difficulties and succeed in what you set your mind into. 

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

Independent Component 

1. For my independent component I was debating between two options: 1) since I've been reading books that have to do with coaching in the family business I was thinking about finding a coach that deals with this kind of stuff and maybe mentoring with them and hopefully at the end of the process I can help coach someone struggling with their business but being the person that I am I have to have a plan B 2) which can be a lot more due-able so I'm kind of leaning more into maybe starting like those online stores, for example Etsy, or Storenvy with my sister and possibly selling these cute origami star jars as decorations that we started doing in the summer to decorate our room, as well as knitted head bands and any cute arts and crafts of that matter. 

2. To meet my 30 hours we would have to hand make these type of decorations as well as plan and organize our website, buy materials and of course advertise it. 

3. I feel like this component would allow me to see/experience what its like to start a small, somewhat, "family owned business," in a budget as well as have fun doing little stuff I like doing and most importantly spend time with my sister.  (✿◠‿◠)    

Extra Post: September

Initially, I was having a hard time trying to think of different fields that go into my senior topic since its so broad but in all honesty, I'm quite satisfied with this book being one of my starting points into going more in depth with my senior topic.

Coaching in the Family Owned Business: A Path to Growth by Manfusa Shamns and David A. Lane was a very easy read with a lot of information that I didn't give much thought into when picking my senior topic. This book allowed me to understand that in a Family Business although family is suppose to make work seem a lot easier, in some cases they can create additional dilemmas within the business. There's a lot of things that can go wrong in a family business and this book mostly talks about ways to coach/go about resolving some of those family disputes as well as what those disputes are and how they make your business less successful. What I found most interesting about this book is that it not only gave me research and data but in some chapters it also gave me real life scenarios, allowing some of their topics to make sense realistically speaking.  I felt like over all, this would be a great book to refer back to furthering my senior topic research as well a very great source of information.

Blog 6: Second Interview Preparation

Interviews

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

•      My mentor is Wilder Gonzalez and he works at his own store called El Duende Party Supply.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

•      What made you go into the family business world and what can you say is one one of the most difficult things about being the owner?
•       In what ways would you consider your business successful and productive?
•       Do you have any goals to expand your current business in the future or do you think maintaining a small business is better in your case?
•     How would you say owning a family business or a business overall has shaped you into the type of person you are today?
•    Have you always been interested in owning a business and what would you say is one of your most memorable experiences about owning your store?

Blog 5: Mentorship Reflection

Research

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?

-I had a hard time looking for a mentor at first because people are not as willing to understand that someone is wanting to learn from them and their levels of expertise as well as work/help out around their business for free. I gave up and then soon realized that what I was looking for was closer than I thought and then gave my uncle a call. He was very open-minded about it and glad to help me out. Although it's going great with my uncle I am now looking for a second mentor with a family-business  that has multiple chains to help me more and give me more of a clear understanding into how one small family business can grow out to be and the management it takes to run them.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

- The most important article I have read so far is, "How to Teach Your Kids to Take over the Family Business," by Issie Lapowsky because not only does it tell you to start teaching your children at a young age about the business and the different aspects that go into running the business but it also gives you an understanding about all the different contracts that go into handing your business to your kids and being on the same page in order for your business to continue being successful. I found this very interesting because one of the questions in the article was, "What if you have more than one kid that wants to take over your business?"  and Issie talks about how making a business plan can make it less problematic and then she somewhat goes into business law and the lawyer/accountant/attorney or financial planner aspect for a bit which can also be a branch to my topic and now, thanks to her, I'm somewhat interested into looking a little further into that to see if that can be helpful for my working EQ as well as my senior topic or just take another route.  

Extra Post: August

 Library Experience

- For me going to the library was very beneficial since my topic, Family Owned Businesses, is very broad and therefore need a lot of resources to rely on. There, I was able to find a lot of really interesting books that contain great information about my topic like:

                               

-Also I was able to find up-to-date journal articles that are well credited by professionals like:

• Family Owned Business: Journal Entry

Now, I'm more confident on my senior topic and willing to research more in depth on it.



Blog 4: Interview Preparation

 1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

• I plan to interview my mentor, Wilder, to start getting more of and outlook as to why he decided to own a business and all the things that come behind running it. 

  2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask? Ask open-ended questions.

• What made you pursue owning a party supply store out of all the other businesses out there?
• What made you stick to the store's original name?
• What would you say is the most difficult aspect of running a family owned business?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

Research

  

   1.  List your topic here: Family Owned Businesses 

                            

   2.  Write a question that helps to focus your research this month

• What is the most effective way to run a successful Family Owned Business?

   3.  WB Link: Working Bibliography

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

Mentorship

 Literal 

  1. Summer Mentorship Log

  2.  El Duende Party Supply

        +1(909)629-5342

  3. Questions Raised:

• If it includes your same senior topic, is it okay to change mentors?
• Do we have a specific schedule when we have to meet up with our mentor or is that according to us?
• Is it okay to have multiple mentors about our senior topic?
• How in depth do we need to get about our senior topic?
• Do we also have a certain amount of hours we need to complete with our mentor during the school year or no?

  Interpretive

 4. The most important thing that I gained from this experience was not only hanging out and working with my own family a little more but also being able to see what it takes to accomplish and or own something that I've always wanted to do.

    Applied

 5. Ever since I've known that Ipoly requires you to have a senior presentation in order to graduate I knew my topic would have to be about something dealing with businesses. I previously wanted it to be about business and advertising cause that's what I see myself doing in the future but since finding a mentor within that area wasn't possible for me I decided to change it up a bit. My uncle, who's now my mentor, has been owning his business since I was about 6. I've seen him accomplish a lot through the process and I thought that maybe, possibly, owning a family owned business wouldn't be so bad and perhaps I can learn a lot more about the field through the process. Since we do live in the same city and don't see each other often, I decided to make Family Owned Businesses my topic and hope to enjoy my family's company and guidance through my last year of high school.

Blog 1: 2-Hour Presentations

 1.  What presentations did you see?

• Music Performing and Promoting
•  Educational Nonprofit Management
• Creating a Franchise
•  Suicidal Youth
•  Photography
•  Graphic Design
•  Music Industry
•  Piano
•  Music Store Operation
•  Pharmaceutical
•  Marketing Management
•  Advertising
•  Cal Poly Parking Trans. Services
•  Business Management
•  Product Marketing and Advertising.

 2.   What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project?

When do they start preparing for their final presentation? Is it better to have multiple mentors or just one? How often do you meet with your mentor? How do you come up with the questions that you ask your mentor for the multiple interviews you have to perform for your final presentation?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

I believe it might be your EQ because although there might be tons of information on your senior topic your EQ makes your research way more specific making your presentation and answers more detailed and clear.

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

The topic I'm considering is Business/Advertising because this is something I've always been interested on or want to pursue as a career. Not only that but I have a connection on that specific field that I'm thinking of making my mentor.

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

I have yet to speak to my connection on the topic I'm considering doing but if it all goes well I will be mentoring in LA for the summer and trying to prepare myself for my final school year to come. ☺