Individual Components Options

I've been looking over some possible Individual Components for my topic, and I've decided that I would mainly aim for business courses. After all, a lot (or all, really) of the information I do for research check are instrument care-related, and that's not enough information to run a business.

I have to think about my schedule (which is already pretty filled up, yikes...) and still make space for mentorship (and it's most likely to end up on the weekends), so I'm considering online courses.

Some links:

http://www.sba.gov/

- A government-sponsored website providing aid, information, and courses for people who are interested in starting a small business.

http://www.ed2go.com/online-courses/start-your-own-business?tab=detail

- An online course I considered taking. Sponsored by CalPoly Pomona!

http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/11/free-online-education-courses-small-business.html

- A list of, as the title said, free online education courses for small businesses.

http://smallbizla.org/calendar/

- A calendar filled with business-related workshops of an organization based in LA.

http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/

- A website that provides lessons in business management.

I'm a bit concerned on whether some of these would count, especially the online courses ones. I'm planning to ask soon.

It's too late for this quarter, but I am thinking about taking a business course in CalPoly Pomona. I'll have to research more into it.

I'll also have to think about using my bass lessons as a part of my Individual Component. Anything that can help will help.

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

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

My mentor will be Gene Iacono. He works in the Music Store, which he owns, and also in several other fields depending on the season.

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

• Could you give me a brief history of the Music Store?
• What prompted you to create the Music Store?
• What other occupations have you held?
• How long have you been acquainted with the music field?
• Do you believe that any of your former occupation has helped in managing the store? If so, which?

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.

August Blog: I Changed My Topic. Just Kidding.

For someone who told herself she's really considering to change her senior topic to guitar repairs, I haven't really done anything about it.

It's August 29 now. Any topic change is due tomorrow. So, you know. Too late.

I mean, my current topic, Music Store Operations, isn't bad. Not at all. I absolutely love my mentorship place (the Music Store), and I genuinely did like learning about instruments even if it's just for cleaning them. But to be absolutely honest, I got lucky. It's fortunate that I've been around the music store for some years now and they know me well enough that they allowed me to do my mentorship there.

But knowing guitar repairs would've been cool. It's somewhat a primary instrument of mine.

Moral of the story? Future IPoly seniors: HUSTLE. When they say you better get on with your topic, they mean it. There isn't as much time as you think there is because days pass quicker than people tend to think they do. Grab any opportunity you see, hunt for them, and don't take them for granted at all, especially when it's a chance of mentorship in a topic you're fond of. You will have time to change your topic after your summer mentorship, but it is not much time. Get that mentorship secured as soon as possible.

But don't be anxious; as long as you keep moving, keeping up with everything and doing them early at any chance to do so, you're good.

[Basically don't be like the procastinator me. It's barely a month into the school year and I'm already feeling it. Listen to your (recently) upperclassmen when they try to warn you about things because most of them truly means what they say and really meant well. I really should've listened to Genevieve when she said I should hurry...]

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

I plan to interview the owner of the Music Store I had my summer mentorship in, Gene Iacono. We have a good relationship between us, and he has extensive knowledge in music related fields and is very involved with his store. He knows a lot about how his store works and was very happy to teach the inner workings to me. I think he would be a great interviewee for my topic and could also recommend to me other people to interview.

2. You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• How did you become interested in opening a music store?
• Over my mentorship, I've learned that you have been in the music industry for a very long time. What musical occupations have you had? Do having previous experience in other music-related positions help with operating a music store? If yes, how so?

Blog Assignment 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1. List your topic here: Music Store Operations, or Guitar Repairs

2. What do you plan to do this year to show growth in each of the ESLRs?

• Effective Learner:
  I didn't do the best I could in school during my junior year, due to some reasons. I'll be aiming for straight AE's this year, and I think that I could at least improve this situation slightly by finding ways to either solve or work around my personal problems while doing schoolwork.
• Effective Communicator:
  I've been thinking of starting a discussion club since the end of last year. I think that a discussion club can promote the effectiveness of listening and knowing the views of people who believe differently than you, of how this could help in solving problems that affect the entire group.
• Effective User of Technology:
  Throughout my life, I've fiddled a lot with Office and Photo/Video editing software. I plan to learn new techniques and easier ways to do things as I create articles during the school year, such as finding a better way to add text into a footage, etc.
• Effective IPoly Citizen:
  I've been tardy a lot my junior year, so I aim to fix that by waking up earlier. In addition, I've also became a bit cynical on team projects. I need to perk up a bit; team projects are complicated in how there's a lot of organization and responsibility going around, and me being 'jaded' and lazy about it won't really help any bad situations. So I aim to work harder and be more involved in team projects.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

1) My Summer Mentorship Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0At3QKup-j6vHdC1yel9RQkNPdFJTLWNJSk5CMkY2UXc&output=html
(Notes taken during the mentorship and pictures of the store: https://plus.google.com/photos/100057649066833535168/albums/5910688707107408657)

2) Contact Number: Gene Iacono - (909)-598-1921

3) Questions that were raised in the 10 hours of mentorship:

• How does the store handle rentals? (the owner has told me that rentals are lacking during the summer but booms during the school year)
• Where does the store find their music teachers? Do they put a listing in a newspaper? Perhaps ask a current teacher for suggestions?
• How does the store handle a student that hasn't paid tuition in a while?
• In the event of a rental instrument being returned absolutely broken, how do we talk to the student about it?

4) What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
Through this mentorship, I've learned that there are many aspects to operating a music store or a business, such as bookkeeping, accounting, inventory orders, product care, and customer handling. By themselves, each of these seems like small chores. But these are all key to the running the store. As the store's owner frequently said to me, the employees there make cupcakes out of crumbs, and nothing there runs by itself.

5) How did what you did help you choose a topic? Please explain.
I've decided to choose 'operating a music store' as my topic due to me finding out that there are a lot of things I can learn about instruments in this store. This opportunity to learn furthermore about instruments and how they work is appealing to me. Despite me not being a trumpet player, I found that learning about its parts, even through just cleaning it, is pretty neat. The fact that I also got to learn some guitar care as well is also very cool. Music is not a life passion of mine, but I definitely love it. I want to be near it in any way and this is one way to do that.
In addition, the store also gave me a glimpse into running a business. My mother has been interested in starting a business for a while. While it would sell different products than what the music store has, I feel that my experience in a store would still help out a bit in her venture.