Blog#10 The End 12/13/2011
Today is the last day of WLE. I can't belive it's over. My mentor and myself will miss this experience. When I look for a WLE next year, I hope to find one just like my current WLE. The environment that I'm in now is so open and freeflowing. I have learned many things while at my internship, like how to cooperate when the owner/my mentor was not around or available. Also, I've learned the bussines structure of a shop and what to do when certain problems come up in the mist of working in your shop. I can't wait to manage my own business some day. I might even make cupcakes in my restaraunt.I want to thank my mentors, Rosie Lugo and Yolanda Diaz for letting me partake in this experience at their shop. Also, I want to thank Anastacia for helping me out at internship. Ana, you were really helpful. This experience was so much fun and rewarding, and I can't wait to do it again next year!!!! Add Comment Blog#2 My mentor 12/13/2011
I know that talking about my mentor at the end of my WLE is wrong but I need to tell yiou about them anyway. I have two mentors: Yolanda and Rosie. Yolanda is the owner and the mother of Rosie. They both are owners of the shop. a typical day for them requires lots of communication. Yolanda has to drop off her other daughter in the morning before she comes to the shop and Rosie has to open the shop for us and bake all the cupcakes in the morning. It's very funny to watch them argue about doing what, but in the end, they both work together to make sure the orders are ready and the shop is running. I know for a fact, that Yolanda got the idea to start a shop from her grandparents. They inspired her to make cupcakes when she was a teen. They died a few years ago. Now Yolanda has started the business in their honor and is passing the cupcake torch to her daughter. Blog #9 Life at my WLE 12/06/2011
Today I had my WLE presentation at my workplace. I was really nervous before I started and I was late and had trouble trying to print out my project ahaead of time. But, in the end, after several questions and presenting my project, I passed! Ms. Becht actually told me I passed. I 've learned that ,even being an intern, comes with responsibility. I have inmproved in my task skills everyday. I've learned to complete my projects with effort and efficiency, which makes my mentors proud. I also, feel as though, my people skills has improved too. Talking to customers now is not as difficult as it was 8 weeks ago. This whole experience is a great opportunity for us to improve in professionalism and public speaking. Working at Crumbs is a great place to work. Working in an environment where, you make cupcakes all day, serve customers, and make little kids smile is a great place to work. I could'nt imagine any where else I would want to work. Also, at my particular WLE, you have the freedom of expression. When I amek cake pops, I can decorate them with polka dots or stripes. It doesn't matter! My mentors are great people to work for because they put you to work yet give you a little bit of freedom too. I can'y believe our WLE is coming to a close so soon. I will definitly miss my internship when we come back from break. And I knoew my mentors will miss me too! Blog #8 Proffessionalism 11/29/2011
I remember when I first started looking for an internship. It took a lot of searching and seeking. I called many places and had set up appointments to meet with the owners for interviews. I went to a few places. Some asked to see my resume and others were more concerned about keeping their family recipes a secret. I believe the most effective way to look for a WLE or any job is to do yur research. When I was looking, I tried to find places within my area, close, to my mom's job and was the same field I wanted to go into. With the help of Google and my advisor I was able to find what I was looking for.My first internship diddn't work out to well, as I mentioned in my first blog, but that may happen sometimes.You just have to keep on looking . That is what a professional adult would do. Professionals have to be able to deal with problems and then learn from then. Being a responsible adult in the work world also means that you are capable of handling any issue or problem. Usually,someone comes into the shop and asks me about discounts, pricing, or the shop's name change. I handle all of these questions with the help of Ana. My internship does reqiure alot of professionalism. I have to be mindful of where I eat lunch and what sweets I eat because it always about making a good impression for the customers and my mentors. So far, I belive I am very professional at my WLE. My presentation is next week and I'm almost done with my keynote. I can't believe our WLE is coming to a close so soon. Blog #7 My reflection 11/22/2011
I'v learned many things about myself since I have started my internship. I have learned that I work well in small environments. On tuesday, the shop does not have many people working. It's just me, Anastacia, and our mentors. It's fun working in my shop because it is easy to pick up basic tips about running a business and making cupcakes. Since my stay, I have learned how to make cake pops and carmel apples. They take some time and patience but they are fun to make. By learning how to make them at the shop, I'm now able to make them at home and make them with my family. Also, since I have started my internship, I have had to interact with people on a regular basis. Most of the time these are people I don't know, but I will have to practice doing this for future jobs. So far, I believe I have been doing really well. As I said in recent posts, my internship is in the process of changing there name because they had the same name as another franchise. When I own my own restaraunt, I will make sure and take the proper precautions when choosing a name that is original. This problem that happened while I was at the shop was great experience for me because it showed me how to react to this type of situation. My mentors were stressed yet calm about the problem. Right now,they ahve solved that problem and are finalizing the name. There were also many challengeS that I faced at my internship. Since I was not allowed to drive to work, my mom had to drive me and herself to work. Sometimes, my mentor was late and I had to wait for her which made my mom late sometimes. But, this didn't happen to many times. But, so far, I love my internship and I can't wait to see how my project turns out! Blog #6 My Leadership Skills Usage 11/16/2011
So far, my WLE has been going very good. We are still dealing with the name problem but, we are in the process of finalizing a name. A leadership skill my mentors use is Thinking Critically. Everyday they are both asked questions about things regarding the shop's status. They take alot of time thinking of ways to inform the customers about when cupcakes will be out, business hours and lately the shop's name. They , my mentors, are very goodat using this skill. I have been using this skill as well when talking to customers about cupcakes and the shop. I also think I have been using the Completing Projects Effectively and Collaborating Productively every tuesday. As I mentioned before, Anastacia works at my internship too. Sometimes, our mentors may ask Ana to core cupcakes while I fill them. We have been working together really well. Each of the leadership skills are used frequently at my internship. All day at my intership I am asked to complete projects all day that are really important for my mentors. I believe I'm doing my best to complete my projects adequately. My mentors also work together alot and they are a constant representation of how to use the leadership skills properly. But Ibelieve that everyone is in need of improvements, especially me. I make mistakes sometimes and most of the time in someone's way, but I am working on that and I believe I am getting better. Hopefully, my internship will get better overtime. Also, I have already started my project and I'm really excited about how it is going to turn out. Blog #5 Progress on WLE Project 11/10/2011
Right now,my first project of creating a name contest is in full affect(see blog 4). So far we have 3 options for names:Cupcake Cafe, Cupcake Factory, and Cupcake Couture. My favorite is Cupcakes Couture. My job today was to make sure I got customers opinions on the new name. A lot of people had very different opinions on the name. But besides that. my mentor has given me the okay to start my project doing an application for incoming employees. She is excited about the process but she needs my project to be done sooner than it is suppose to be turned in. So far, I have an example application that will help created a condensed version of the application for the incoming cupcake shop employees. I'm very excited about this process. My WLE has been a great experience so far and I wish I could do it forever! The experience has opened my eyes to the troubles and successes of owning a growing yet successful business. Blog #4 My WLE Project 11/01/2011
Right now, my shop is undergoing a bit of a crisis. The name of the shop, Crumbs, has to be changed because another shop in New York has the exact same name but the have trademarked their name. They are threatening to sue the shop. So, I came up with a plan to come up with a suitable name that is original. Every time a customer would come in, they would write down therer idea for a new name. This would happen over the course of a month. At the end of the month the owners, would pick out the best name and the person who wrote that name would win a prize (free cupcakes or gift card). O told one of my mentors and she thought it was a good idea. But I have another idea for my actual project. Since the shop is very new they don't have many workers. I thought it would be a good idea to form an application that has guidelines about who can work in the shop. It would be like a job application. Also, with the application, I wanted to maybe organize some type of discount system for teachers, students and business owners. I know for a fact teachers have parties for their students in the classes, so it would be nice if they got a discount because they will most likely need to order several cupcakes. The same idea would be for students who have birthday parties ant want to have signature cupcakes. For customers they have often, who might have meetings often and want to bring cupcakes they would be offered a discount as well. I am excited about working on this project because this would be a new experience for me and I get to present my project to my mentors like a real employee would do for big companies. Also,I can;t wait to figure out which of my many ideas will be able to be put into place at the shop! My WLE has been a great experience so far. It has definitely showed me the different challenges small business owners go through everyday. Blog #3 My Role 10/26/2011
My internshipso far has been going great. I now intern at Crumbs Cupcakes and More Shop in Hayward. My role is just to assisit when I am needed. I usually do things such as cleaning , making boxes or helping customers. It's alot of fun to me. My intern , Yolanda, always refers to me as her intern. But I always do odd jobs too. I run errands to the store or go and buy ingredients for the day. It's an easy task because the store is literally 2 minutes away which means I can walk and be back quickly. But, my main responsibility is to make sure nothing burns and that customers are helped and that there are enoughj cupcake out in front of the store for incoming customers. Also, to restock boxes when needed. A day in the life of me on a tuesday varies. I get to the shop at 7:45am and the first thing I do is clean dishes to start making cupcakes for the day. Rosie,my second mentor makes all of the cupcakes for the day. She usually has me making fillings( cutting strawberries) for cupcakes that day. By about 8am, Anastacia comes in and help me make boxes and cleaning up the store so that we can be open by 10am. We both put out the signs,get baloons for the day,clean tables, and the windows before we open the shop. People don't actually starts to come to the shop untill about noon. And then by the time I leave at 4pm, there is always a big rush of people who want cupcakes. Our most popular flavor has been red velvet and Rosie always ends up making 2-3 batches of red velvet everyday! But my favorite part of the dayis when I get to see the smile on a little child's face after I hand them a cupcake! We get about 2 or 3 kids who come in with there parents wanting a cupcake. So far, I like my internship alot and I get a free cupcake at the end of the day! First Day of WLE: great. 10/04/2011
Today is the first day of my new working experience. I was very excited to start my internship. I was prepared,on time and very juiced. When arrived at Karen Bevel's Custom Catering, no one was there. The door to the establishment was open but no one was inside. Several people came in but not one of them was my mentor. I was told to arrived early but she was not there. This made me a little nervous and and confused.My mother was mad because I had to sit there for an hour and a half waiting but no one arrived. I left a note for her(if she ever arrived) and left and went to school. I called back about two hours later and she told me she lost her purse and credit card and was very overwhelmed with the assignments she had for the day. She told me to come back next week. I was pissed!! I knew already that she had a busy day ahead of her that day because she told me that when I met her. It was a great way to start off my WLE. I just hope she calls me back and doesn't forget about me next week. My mom is so upset and angry that I may not even be working with her next week. Next week is another week. I can only pray for the best. And also, guidance. |  Morgan PalmerAge: 16 DatesDecember 2011 Categories |
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