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.