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.