Blog 18: Third Answer

• EQ

What is the best way to profit as an independent music store?

• Answer #3

One way some independent music store can profit is to be specialized and unique.

• 3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

Specialized stores have a special appeal to them that would attract customers to them instead of large chain stores. For example, Matt's Boutique, a store that was talked about in one of my resources listed below, began to get more sales when they started to focus on providing high-end boutique guitars.

Specialized stores can better provide specific products then the general music store.  A store specialized in drums most likely have more drum products than the general music store.

Specialized and unique stores can benefit by being individualistic. A store with its own unique identity can be charming, as Kinney from my resource below said.

• The research source (s) to support your details and answer

Kinney, Shane. "Tips for Interior Retail Display." Musical Merchandise Review Jan. 2014: n. pag. Print.

Kailus, Katie. "Boutique Expert." Music Inc Mar.-Apr. 2014: 34-38. Print.

• Concluding Sentence

A store with a unique identity, or in addition to a specialization, can have a charm that attract customers and increase sales, therefore profit.

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?

I was too busy with other things during the break (college apps, sigh...), so I couldn't do much with my senior project. However, I did keep up my mentorship.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

I learned that it's really key for you to do all the things needed to run a music store (for ex., remember to tell students if their teacher's going to miss some lesson days) and not lag behind. Otherwise, things may start falling apart.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

Well, I would just usually talk to the owner of the music store, Gene Iacono. But, I did get a possible new mentor named Orlando (he fixes the music store's rental instruments and also owns his own music store) so I'll definitely talk to him.

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ? & 2. What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.

EQ: What does it take to effectively operate a music store?

• Organization and coordination. Each record of sales, of new items coming in, of student paying for a new term in lessons, etc. is carefully kept for future reference. Also take care to keep the schedule of classes for each teacher up to date. This will limit future problems of conflicting information (such as class time) between the store, the teachers, and the client, which is important when half of the business essentially deals in people's time.
• Backbone. As with operating most businesses, there will be people out there who'd try to take advantage of you. Don't let them.
• Knowledge. Know the store's system well. Know the discount programs for the students or the procedure that needs to be done whenever there is a sale, or the procedure when signing up new students. Know basic maintenance of the store's rental instruments. Know basic knowledge of the instruments and accessories that the store sells in order to be able to help the customers more.

3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 

My summer mentorship + regular mentorship (which will happen in the same place as my summer one).

4. Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

My mentor is Gene Iacono, and for my project, I've been volunteering in his store, the Music Store, which doubles as a store providing sales and rentals of instruments and a music school. My mentorship puts me exactly where my topic is and gives me the frontline view of how things work in a music store works.

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

1. Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?
As a result of what I've completed so far in this project, I've grown to be more knowledgeable about many instruments and have also became closer to the music store/school I've been going to for years, but yet not close to. This is also my first direct look to the behind the scenes of retail, and though the owner has told me that each type of retail store (grocery, music, clothing, etc.) tends to work differently from each other, I still think I can learn something about retail in general.

2. EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?
I actually just had an interview today with my summer mentor, Gene Iacono. The interview has shown me that there are a lot of things involved with running a music store and there is almost zero guide to it except for experience. This interview has also shown me how sellers and customers in this industry tend to be the same type of people--musicians--therefore they tend to think in a similar wavelength. This probably applies to other retail fields as well.

3. What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
I've decided to take a few weeks off mentorship in order to figure out a sure schedule, so that I wouldn't have to force my mentors to work around an everchanging schedule. I did think that this just seemed like a cop out on my part, but I've proven myself wrong today; I had to reschedule an interview at the last minute due to an event that overlapped with the interview time.

I'm taking on a lot of things this year. This break has allowed me to assess which days I will have available for any interviews or mentorship and to figure out some kind of structure to my busy days. If I am able to organize my time, my days may be busy but it wouldn't be hectic. And that'd help.

4. What hasn't worked so far?  
Doing things on the fly, as I tend to do, does not and will not work well this year. I may be willing to stay up late to do homework, stick around at school until 8PM for, etc. But it doesn't mean that others might be. I can't afford to weigh people, like my mentors, family, and friends, down with my kneejerk way of doing things.

I also definitely cannot keep my contacts (mentors, interviewees) in the dark about any changes. I think the interview today could've gone a lot smoother if I had figured out things before.

5. Finding Value:  
 What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)
'What does it take to run a music store?' or 'How do you effectively run a music store?'

What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  
I will be continuing my mentorship at the music store and will be attempting to try to find other mentors in the music retail field. My mentor has suggested that I talk to teachers as well so not only would I have the perspective of a student and an employee, but also of a faculty.

Blog 1: 2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Blog 1: 2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Label:  Research
Due Date:  Monday, June 11th by 8AM

1. What presentations did you see?  Name the topic and the person's first name.

1) Natalie N. - Weight Loss

2) Sebastian Y. - Woodworking

3) Natalie O. - Interior Design

4) Antonio A. - Locksmithing

5) Alicia R. - Child Life Specialist

6) Brittany H. - Clinical Social Work Therapy

7) Manuel G. - Healthy Mexican Food

8) Cristopher H. - Video Game Journalism

9) Saul A. - Firefighting (but he transferred schools, so we had a free block)

10) Eric S. - Running a Skateshope

11) Angel D. - Political Campaigns

12) Cherokee M. - Animal Control

13) Jocelyn D. - Physical Fitness

14) Zhailah G. - Anesthesiology

2. (Need to know) What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  

Woodworking - Would wood carving be considered a part of woodworking?

Interior Design - What is most important in redecorating a residential bedroom?

- Would the tips given be able to be applied to the redecoration of other rooms like offices or living rooms?

Lock smithing - Is it possible to rekey padlocks?

Child care Specialist - Do the child care specialist base their suggestion of medicine on how the children react their prescripted medicine?

Clinical Social Worker - If the social worker's client is a family member instead of someone with a romantic relationship, is the bias still anticipated?  

Healthy Mexican Food - What counts as a non-authentic Mexican food? Is authenticity determined by the meal's ingredients?

Game Journalism - Are video games judged similarly to how movies are reviewed, considering their similarities?

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

Hitting the time requirements. It is a very simple thing, but it seems rather difficult to fulfill as it looked like presentation and talking time was the last thing on the presentator's mind.

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

I'm thinking of doing music production. I like music and I always felt like music producers are the hidden aces of the music industry. It'd be awesome to know the details of what they do and their techniques, because I only know a little bit about them.