Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of the fact that I was able to push back some of the nervousness and continue speaking for the 30 minute requirement. That was one of my biggest concerns but I was able to achieve that goal. I was also proud of the fact that I incorporated a power point that I made on my own. I was never a technology person but I realized that it helped me keep track of what I was going to talk about through out my entire presentation.

(2) Questions to consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

     P

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

     P

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

What worked for me in my senior project was being able to attend several hours of mentorship and finding quality research because without those two things, I would not have sufficient information to support my three answers. I am glad that I was able to find a great place to mentor at.

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

If I could go back, I would have liked to mentioned a lot more information that I did not get to talk about because I got really nervous. I know I could have gotten more specific and included more information in all three of my answers. I would have also liked to get a second activity that had more to do with the "Spa" focus of my senior project.

(5) Finding Value

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

My senior project has been helpful because with mentorship and with completing this presentation, I was able to continue to gain and practice my communication skills. I was able to meet new people working at the front desk of the spa at the Pacific Palms. With all the hours I spent at my mentorship, I was able to gain experience in the working field and get a taste of how one should work effectively with others. I enjoyed the time and effort that I put into my senior project and opening a day spa is a goal I would really like to achieve in my future. I am also proud that even though I joined Ipoly my Junior year, I was able to show progress and feel like I am a part of the Ipoly family. 

Blog 21: Mentorship

LIA

Literal:

Mentorship log is updated and on the right hand side of my blog

Interpretive:

The most important thing I gained from my experience at my mentorship is that it is easier to communicate with people once you practice it and are more confident in what you are talking about. I was able to talk and meet many people through out my time at the spa. I also learned how to work effectively with others even when it comes to difficult or stressful situations. The work environment at the spa was something completely new to me, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Applied:

What I have done during my mentorship helped me answer my EQ, because I was able to play the roles of running a spa and actually putting each of my answers to practice. For example, I got to participate in one of the Customer Appreciation Nights that was held on Valentine's Day. I also got to work with the manager to see how he works as an effective leader and how he helps employees meet each goal. I ended by focusing on theme and learning why it is important. I was provided with great information that supported my additional outside research. 

Blog 20: Exit Interview

1. My EQ is What is the best way to profit as a day spa in Los Angeles?

My three answers are:

• The best way to profit is to hold local events such as Customer Appreciation Nights to encourage a large variety of returning clients.
• The best way to profit is to be an effective leader that can hold all employees accountable to the goal and vision of the business.
• The best way to profit is to focus on a specific theme for your spa in order to decide which treatments you can offer.

My best answer is: The best way to profit is to be an effective leader that can hold all employees accountable to the goal and vision of the business because according to the International Spa Association, the use of effective leaders in the spa industry increased revenue by 4.7% from 2011 to 2012. This is the best answer because keeping all employees headed in the same direction will help your business grow and achieve goals much faster. Tristan Stone was able to assure me that he has always focused on keeping his employees motivated. The more support they get from an effective leader, the more productive they will be in achieving goals. 

2. The process I took to get me to my best answer began when we had to turn in Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2. After I presented my answer in front of my advisory class and got it approved, I began to research more on what it takes to be an effective leader. The online training course at Masterclassmanagement.com, recommended by Purther, began to support my best answer. It emphasized that a good leader must keep all employees focused on achieving the goals set for the business. The best way to get that done is to motivate everyone on your team. After that, we were assigned our Interview #4. For this interview, I was focused more on getting the interview with the current manager, Tristan Stone, at my mentorship. I focused on asking him questions on the way he acts as a leader. after completing this interview, I was assured that being an effective leader is the best answer of the three answers I produced. He emphasized that an effective leader must set reasonable goals and when those goals are set, they must stand behind their employees and motivate them to get things done. There must be constant communication and interaction between employee and leader.

3. The first problem I faced was in the beginning of the year when I was trying to find an effective mentor. I was asking to get mentorship at the Pacific Palms Resort and Spa, but the manager would never give me an exact answer. I kept on asking and reminding him that I needed to know as as soon as possible. Instead of following up with me, I would follow up with him. In order to solve this problem, I new I had to be persistent. I was persistent for the whole month of September. Until around mid October it was confirmed that I would be able to complete my mentorship at this spa. 

The other problem I faced was in beginning my research checks. I felt that it would be smart to just begin researching on spas themselves and what it takes to run them. But I soon found out, with assistance from Mr. Purther, that I had to begin with my foundation. My foundation focused on entrepreneurship and all aspects of running a business. Mr. Purther helped me solve my problem by setting me in the right direction. He started me off with a book called "Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!". After that he then suggested an article called "Principles of Entrepreneurship and I soon figured out when I could transition into researching my potential answers.

4. The two most significant sources I used to come up with my best answer for my essential question are my mentor Tianna Negrete and the online training course Master Class Management. The online training course is a great source because it gives examples on what an effective leader should be doing and breaks it down into something more specific. for example in order to have your employees achieve a goal, you must motivate them by praising when praise is due and providing them with the tools necessary to get the job done. An effective leader should be able to balance the responsibility. Mentorship is my other best source because it is where I have been observing the effective leader, Tristan Stone, and how he manages the spa. I get to focus on the way he interacts with his employees and how they work to achieve the goals that are being set.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Literal:

a) I, Tannia Negrete, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

b) Credit goes to my mentor: Tianna Negrete & Pacific Palms Resort & Spa as a whole.

c) The Log has been posted up.

d) What I completed for this component was extra mentorship hours at the spa and focused on the different sections and their services. I focused on the massage services, facials, and salon services. I was able to find out the training that each person needed and what exactly it is that they do for the clients. In doing this, I came up with my own spa service menu that I would want to offer my clients. They were based off the ones that were most requested at my mentorship.

Interpretive:

The spa service menu shows my 30 hours of work because I ended up only including the services that were both recommended and requested by the clients at the spa. I also explained the way each massage therapist, aesthetician, and salon specialist should be certified / trained. That is the only way you can have these in your spa. I was able to provide a picture of the actual salon in the spa too. During my mentorship hours I was able to use the information I was learning and answering any questions the clients may have on what a specific service was.

Applied:

This component helped me answer my EQ because it focused me on the types of services that I could offer in my spa. It helped me understand that in order to provide those services, you must have the best certified and trained people in that specific field. This component actually ended up helping me form my third answer because it focuses on which treatments your spa could potentially offer. These are only a few that can be provided but they are the most popular among the clients of the Pacific Palms Resort and Spa. The menu is simple, easy to read, and informative.

This is the link to my "Spa Service Menu".
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XIEtMFszbkbPt9RA9_kiPDf1NnsmsLrZJ54R8hP087k/edit

Interview

I am really hoping that I end up interviewing the manager or the head person in charge of Pacific Palms because I have been trying and trying to get this interview done. He is trying to fit me into his schedule but has had to reschedule our meeting more than once now. I am being persistent and not giving up on succeeding with this interview. I can see now that as a manager, they have no time to do even the simplest tasks. He is constantly working on several things at once. Just like I pushed forward to get this mentorship, I will push forward to attain this interview.

Blog 18: Third Answer

EQ: What is the best way to profit as a day spa in Los Angeles?

Answer 3: The best way to profit is to focus on a specific theme for your spa in order to decide which treatments you can offer.

Details:

1. Theme is important in providing the perfect environment for every client. 

For example, your theme can be relaxation, rejuvenation, spiritual, or health and wellness.

2. Theme creates a clean, safe, and friendly atmosphere to the clients who come to relax and refresh.

The colors you have and the furniture in your spa makes a difference.

3. The treatments you offer can be decided based of your theme.

For example, if you are going for a "Citrus" theme, you may offer treatments with lemon or any other kinds of citrus essential oils and extracts. 

Sources:

Mentor Tianna Negrete from Pacific Palms Resort and Spa.

Massage Today website that provides massage and spa therapy news, research, and info.

Consonance Company Inc (CCI) - a salon furniture and beauty equipment company.

Conclusion:

Theme is a major aspect of opening a spa business because it determines what treatments and other details you want to include in your day spa. Theme drives the environment and atmosphere of the spa.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

Interview 4 Questions:

1. What do you look for in your employees?

2. What kind of skills do you feel are necessary for every employee to attain in order to work at a spa? 

3. What kind of relationship do you hold with your employees?

4. How often do you interact with your employees?

5. How important is it for you to understand the differences between each of your employees? Why?

6. How do you as a leader prepare your employees for what's next each week?

7. Is there a system that you follow to get something done, or do you just go on a day to day basis?

8. What have you noticed works best in communicating with your employees? One on one? Or group meetings?

9. Are you one to take employee feedback into consideration? Why or why not?

10. How much say or input do your employees have in what goes on in your business?

11. What long term & short term goals have you set for your business?

12. In how much time so you expect your goals to be achieved & why?

13. Have you ever missed any of your goals? If so, how did you manage to make up for it?

14. In what ways did you motivate your employees to reach those goals?

15. What kinds of rewards do you offer to the employees that exceed expectations? 

16. What do you consider as "exceeding expectations"?

17. As the leader, how do you handle situations where employees make a minor/major mistakes?

18. In what ways have you ever lead your employees in the right direction?

19. What kinds of skills have you helped your current employees improve with?

20. As of today, what among both you and your employees do you feel needs to be improved on and why?

21. Why would you consider yourself an effective leader for your employees?

Excitement

I am really looking forward to working on my Independent Component 2. I am going to focus on what the spa has to offer and why. The best part is that I am going to end up making a sample of what I would offer on my Spa Menu. Currently I have found that there is even a food menu included in a spa. You can serve fresh fruit flavored water and small portions of fresh fruits, cheese, & crackers. Those are only a few options. I am excited to see the outcome of this component!

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

What is the best way to profit as a day spa in Los Angeles?

The best way to profit is to be an effective leader that can hold all employees accountable to the goal and vision of the business.

1. When you keep everyone focused and inspired on at least on key point or one main vision, you will have a more unified / better performing team to help you reach the goal of your business. Make sure to motivate your employees so that they are looking in the same direction that you are.
If you are focusing on providing the best customer service, make sure everyone understands what needs to be done.

2. Make sure all your goals are attainable and reachable through a reasonable timeline. You can miss your goal if you ask for something impossible at an unreasonable time.

3. Focus on the employee's strengths and accomplishments in order to unlock all of their potential for your business; lead them in the right direction. For example, you would not want to promote an employee who is a great tech engineer to a customer service manager.

Sources: 

Master Class Management.com which provides free lessons on business management and leadership.
Inc. which is a website that provides small business ideas and resources for entrepreneurs.

Conclusion:
Keeping all your employees headed in the same direction for your business & allowing them to grow will help you carry out a better team and help you achieve goals much faster.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  For my 30 Hours, I plan to do additional mentorship hours. During these mentorship hours, I will be focusing on what the Spa has to offer and what certifications they must have in order to provide each specific service. I will also learn what services are most popular to the customers. I will be producing my own "Spa Service Menu". 


2. In order to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence, I will be taking pictures of the days I am doing additional mentorship and produce my own Spa Menu that I would want to offer in my business.


3.  This will help me explore my topic more in depth, because I need to be familiar with what types of service a spa is able to offer and which ones are most popular / appealing to customers. This will also help me practice making my own spa menu and how to organize it in a way that is informative and easy to understand.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

• Literal

        (a) I, Tannia Negrete, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 30                  hours of work.

        (b) The online service that helped me complete the majority of my independent component is the U.S                   Small Business Administration. The other credit goes to my mentor Tianna Negrete.

        (c) My Independent Component 1 Log is posted up

        (d) What I completed for this component was taking online training course and looking at "Webinars"                 with real experts from the Small Business Administration and took Cornell notes on each one I                       went through. The other two days were training days that I got to be a part of at my mentorship. I                 also took Cornell notes on what took place these days because I could not take pictures of the                     programs and other things that were being used during those times.

• Interpretive

          The Cornell notes show my 30 hours of work because I made sure to take notes for every single one of the training courses that I took. Each one had something to do with entrepreneurship, business, and other aspects that are important in a business. This is the link to my log of Cornell notes.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17jwgXBQE-mfQ_7Hvpt5ALSM18UKQ7kIqskkHx9BRXeQ/edit

• Applied

          This component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better because I now understand               that there are many things that come with being an entrepreneur and wanting to open a business. But             with the help of the Small Business Administration, they helped me understand that there are mentors             and training counselors that are there to help you along the way. The SBA can help you find a mentor           in your area and based on what is right for you to get started. The SBA also gave good information on           customer service, business plans, and ways to use current technology for the benefit of your business. 

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

     In my Lesson 2 Presentation, I am most proud of the fact that I used a power point to help keep me on track of what I wanted to talk about. It was there as a guide and is something I did not do for my first presentation. I am not a big fan of power points, but I did see how it helped me.

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

       AE       [ P ]      AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
             
              I would give myself a P because I had everything prepared on time including the rough draft and final draft typed lesson plan. I referenced my mentorship and research that I did, using the Small Business Administration. I think I did better this time on my voice volume and practiced what I had to say to prepare.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
   
    The thing that worked in my lesson 2 is, like I mentioned before, that I used a power point. This is something new that I incorporated into my presentation that I have not done before. The power point helped me stay on track on what I wanted to say next and organized my presentation better. I feel that I did well with not reading off of my power point screen

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

     What did't work for me and what I would have done differently to improve my lesson 2 was that I need to remember to reference all the other research I have done to get all my information that I am presenting. I was too focused on saying my information that I skipped over mentioning where I got most of my information.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be? 

   I think my answer #2 is going to be for spas to only offer what they are certified to do because no one can offer more than what is possible.

The Business

For my independent component, I had been focusing on taking online training courses on every aspect that comes with running a business. So far this independent component has helped me gain more research on the types of things that need to be done. The U.S. Small Business Administration provided me with accessible training courses that were simple to understand. The information was presented clearly and I actually enjoy going through the online training courses, and the "Webinars" that they also have to offer. I like these "Webinars" because they are professionals in this field that have a chance to provide good information. Anything that has to do with business technology, customer service, or other ways to help your business, they give useful information. The Cornell notes that I took along the way will certain be helpful when it comes to referring to my research. 

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

1. What is the best way to profit as a day spa in Los Angeles?

2. What is considered as good profit for a day spa business?

3. In how much time do you gain that profit?

4. What main factors contribute to the profit and success of your business?

5. What do you know about your company and its competitors?

6. What is the toughest decision you have made for this business?

7. What criticism have you or the business received and what did you do about it?

8. How do you promote or advertise what you have to offer?

9. What do you offer that makes you stand out from other competition?

10. What kinds of initiatives would you take to draw in more clients to your business?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1. I am doing my mentorship at Pacific Palms Resort & Spa

2. My contacts name is Tianna Negrete.

3. Currently I have only 12 hours recorded on my WB.

4. In the 12 hours I have completed at my mentorship, I was basically placed in the front, to greet the costumers as they were coming in. It was great practice for my communication skills and has allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there.

Blog 10: Senior Project: The Holiday

1. Over the break, with my senior project, I began looking for other pieces of research that I could use for my research checks. But before that, I was able to finish up my Cornell notes on my previous research article called Principles of Entrepreneurship. I was only able to go to my mentorship once because during the holidays, it is way to busy and too much that needs to get done. I of course could not do much because I'd be in the way rather than being any help.

2. From my research Principles of Entrepreneurship, I learned that more often in today's time, it is cheaper for one to have some type of online business since the costs of maintaining and running a website have gone down. I have realized that this could be an option, but to sell and advertise the products I would use in my Spa. I have also learned based off my mentorship that there is so much more to deal with and handle during the holidays and that is when the most costumers come in.

3. I would actually want to try to talk to all the employees in the spa department that run the different sections of the spa, to find out what their perspectives would be on the questions related to my EQ. I would get different answers based off of what they see in their specific department and then I could finally talk to the actual manager who sees the business as a whole.