Kaleb Leatherman
About Me
I am currently a senior at Althoff Catholic High School. Ever since I was young, I dreamed of owning my own business and getting my name out in the open. I hoped to get closer to this dream, by taking the CEO class and learning how to efficiently work in business.
I am a proud member of the National Honor Society and participant of the Youth Salute program. I am very active in my church, as a Junior Deacon and head of the Junior Media Ministry. I volunteer in my church’s community fair and back to school bash. When it comes to volunteering, I have much experience. Each year, I participate in the Spring Cleanup at my school as well as participate in soup bus, an activity that feeds those in need. I have been a part of my school’s bowling team since my freshman year, and in my junior year, was able to make it on the varsity team. Prior to this, I was named the captain of the junior varsity team, where I had the responsibility of leading my teammates. For around six months, I have worked as a back waiter for the St. Clair Country Club. This job experience has led me to being able to meet the leaders and families of local businesses, and instill a sense of familiarity.
Like an excellent student should be, I am focused, punctual, and always ready to learn and improve. My plans for the future include successfully getting admitted into college, and then graduating with a degree in either/both business management and marketing. My ultimate goal is to start and run a successful business that would not only make me very profitable, but well known. I want to lead a life that will make me be remembered.
About My Business
My Featured Journal Entries
This year, with me being a part of the CEO class, has been a very eventful and one filled with load of new experiences. This class has allowed me to do many things I have never done before and speak with business owners and other significant people I would have never thought I’d speak with. I experienced what it was like to go around various communities and ask businesses and business owners and pass out papers that ask to sponsor our event, in exchange for advertisement. I experienced the difficulty of trying to sell tickets to people, including even your family sometimes. Searching for sponsors and selling tickets both lead up to an even bigger experience: the talent show. For our class business, we decide and to host a talent show, where we personally chose 10 people to perform, paid for a venue and for catering, and set up and decorated the venue. What I did personally to help out everything was create and help create the two logos we used for Belleville’s Got Talent and the Artitorium, respectively. I believe that these were two main factors that pushed me to make my personal business what it is.
In addition to learning so much about business, I enjoyed being able to meet new people from different schools, and being able to learn and growing in entrepreneurship together. Towards the beginning, we had a few minor rough patches, where a couple of us had disagreements and maybe even some character conflicts, but in the end we came together and reached success.
I always considered, but never actually went through with, actually creating a business until I had the opportunity to in this program. With my business, Graphogo, I provided the service of creating personalized logos for a considerably affordable price. The things that I appreciated about my business the most were my lack of expenses and the fact that I was actually able to make profit due to it. I created a total of of 8 logos, and the people I made them for each seemed to be satisfied. I hope that in whatever business I get into, may it even be this one, that I will have as much success as possible.
I hope the next CEO class will be able to become even more successful in their endeavors and will learn as much about business and entrepreneurship as we have had the opportunity to.
05/04/2018
This week was filled with many visits and speakers. We started off the week speaking with Tony Brian of Midwest Cyber Center. This visit allowed me to learn a good amount about cyber security and the importance of it. My favorite part was when he talked about Steve, an expert hacker of sorts who shut down a marketing company simply because they upset him and basically has the ability to spy on everyone. Though I’m confident that I don’t know how to hack or cyberly attack a person or businesses and wouldn’t have much need to, after this I’m sure I wouldn’t want to since there are people like Steve out there.
We also went to Lindenwood University and talked with the President, Dr. Brett Barker, and the vice-president, along with students that are in the various business departments. Though I wasn’t personally, we were grouped up with a student who represented a certain aspect of the community, such as a citizen for or against the problem, or an alderman. The problem we went over was whether implementing a college into a community would be beneficial for it, or whether it should be done in the first place. I think that we reached the conclusion that adding a college into community would be beneficial since they would bring in more younger people, creating revenue for the surrounding business and a potentially larger workforce. Other than the exercise, I thought it was interesting how they had foreign students present, such as the guy from Germany or the girl from Egypt. I think it’s always cool to find people of different origins perusing similar things.
Our visit to Chick-fil-A made me realized how well acclaimed the business really is and how sought out it is in regards to ownership. According to Matt Gilreath, a national advisor of sorts, there are about 300,000 people who try to gain ownership of the limited 2,000 Chick-fil-A stores. This is mainly because renting the building only costs about $10,000 and I’m sure because of the bragging rights. Mr. Gilreath’s story about how he came to get his position and how he described the headquarters and origins of the chain were all interesting parts of the visit. In addition, I was grateful for the delicious, free chicken biscuit sandwich we all received.
04/27/2018
The trade show seemed like it was successful for our class as a whole, since we were able to sell some of our products and because of the interest the people showed in all of our businesses. For me personally, I don’t think that this was the best way for me to advertise, since my market of business owners was not prominent, though I was able to receive a couple of potential customers and the people seemed to appreciate my work. Additionally, a lot more people showed up than I originally thought would, and I’m glad they did since we were able to receive a good level of support. I enjoyed creating my booth and I was glad I was able to do it, and make it look good, at a considerably cheap price.
04/20/2018
These past few weeks have been pretty eventful ones in regard to our CEO class. We had to complete the tasks of finalizing our business plans, creating and giving an elevator pitch, and presenting our business ideas, plans, and financials with a designated banker from any of three banks. Trying to get my business plan in was an interesting experience, as my printer at home had no ink to print it, and the printers at school were broken. This lead to Mrs. Siebers having to come up to the school and wait nearly 30 minutes for a couple other students and I to scramble to get it printed. Being prepared beforehand is a very important lesson gained from this.
I was satisfied with my elevator pitch, as I thought that I covered the important aspects of my business and I believed I made the pitch somewhat interesting or engaging. The one thing I knew I messed up on was trying to remember the names of the websites I would have used in order to market my business. But, I don’t think that it had that big of an impact on my performance. I honestly would have liked to place in the top three, but I trust that the judges’ decisions were fair in choosing the winners.
The experience of talking with the banker was not as bad as I initially thought it would be. At first, I thought I would be a lot more nervous going in and that he would ask me a lot of really difficult questions that I might have struggled to answer. However, this wasn’t the case, as he asked fairly simple questions that I was actually prepared for, and I actually enjoyed our talk as he was a cool guy in my opinion.
Other than these three major things we did, we visited a couple businesses and their CEOs, such as Phillip Hickman and one of my personal favorite presenters to date, Ed Horton.
04/13/2018
...we then visited Gas Light Vinyl and spoke with one of the founders, Greg Bach. The interesting part about this visit is learning about how Greg did not really have any prior knowledge of owning a business, and seemed to struggle with it for the first half of his startup. I liked how he did not give up on his business, even after having to struggle money wise for a good amount of time and while still paying off his loans. I think that he shows a true entrepreneurial spirit. Before this visit, I always thought that cars who had those designs and such were painted on, and always thought about how tedious and painstaking that process must have been for the people doing it. But now I know that cars actually have vinyl put on them, which makes a lot more sense.
03/23/2018
This week and the one previously was filled with visits and tours, along with our talent show. Last week we met with James Farmer of Men’s warehouse, along with an associate, and Bob Bunch of Bunch of Biz.
With James Farmer, we discussed the importance of “dressing for success” and went over the do’s and don’ts of dressing professionally. Other than discussing our apparel, we talked about how to make a good first impression, what to out in a resume, and what you should do before and during an interview.
Bob Bunch went over the importance of networking with other business people. He went over things such as exactly knowing how to network, who to network with, and staying on top of your own mind.
Before our visit with Nick Bauer of Empire Stove Company, I didn’t even know that there was a company that specialized in making fireplaces, nonetheless that there was one that had been around for so long. Anyway, we learned many things ranging from their core values of leading with love and customer commitment to their key principles of listening to the voice of the customer and visually managing.
This week, we finally had the chance to visit Josh Mcdermott, my mentor. That day was actually the first time I saw his workplace, though we have already had multiple meetings with one another. Something unique about this visit was when he told us about his four core focus areas for success: body, being, balance, and business. Doing a little bit of exercising a day and paying attention to what you eat and fuel your body with positively affects the body area. In regards to “being”, meditation allows for you to have peace of mind and increases focus. To become successful, a balance between relationships with your family, friends, siblings, and yourself must be kept. Obviously, if you’re trying to become successful in business, focusing on it and learning all you can about it is important. Though my mentor and I have discussed what his business and what he does before, this visit allowed me to understand it a bit more since I got to see it first hand.
02/16/2018
I think the thing that surprised most of us in the class is the amount of tickets we actually sold. A couple days prior to Friday, we only had around 70 or so sales. However, by the time we counted the tickets up, we had well over 200 sold! All of our hard work of selling tickets actually managed to bear fruit, and I am proud of the class, as well as myself, for being able to be so productive. I am now confident that we will actually become profitable because of this, and our businesses will be able to run a bit more smoothly now.
I was able to meet with my mentor once again this past Friday and I told him of our successes with the class businesses. We were able to speak a bit more about my personal business and he voiced his concerns about what to talk about when it was his turn to present to us in class. I offered my help to review his ideas and he seemed grateful.
We learned that the FKG Oil Company was founded 1955 when James Gorman Forsyth purchased 3 gas stations. The own various brands such as Gia’s, Orange Leaf, and more popular things such as Motomart. Their annual revenue exceeds more than $300 million and $60 million of that comes from lottery sales. They amazingly go through 80,000 cups of coffee and 100 million gallons of fuel. Also, they have around 10,000 costumers per week, which is a lot more than I expected.
Though we learned a lot about their sales and how much resources they go through, we also learned valuable things about company culture and how to act or what to do within a business. Some of these things include creating a comfortable environment, leading by example, staying organized, being competitive, having good team work, and showing respect. In order to gain more customers, we should focus on becoming new and different, focus on building and developing loyalty in customers, and provide good customer service and maintain cleanliness within our businesses. On a side note, I would have to say that the breakfast at FKG Oil was the best one we have had out of all the places we have been to.
02/02/2018
This Friday, my mentor and I finally had some time to meet together once again. During the visit we mainly focused on the progression of the class business and my ideas on my personal business, along with connecting me with other possible sponsors and offering advice. I explained to Mr. McDermott how we were approaching the end of the project, and that our current main concern is selling tickets. Thankfully, he and his wife are most likely coming to the show, so that will be two more tickets sold. In regards to my personal project, I think we have come up with a good idea as to what I could do. Since I was involved in creating the logos for both the talent show and Artitorium, and enjoy Photoshopping, we figured that I could make logos for other businesses and work with other photo-editing related projects. I voiced my concerns about how I could be come profitable doing that and if anyone would even want me to do those kind of services. He offered me some good advice, including how low-cost that is for me, and how much actual graphic designers charge for those types of services.
The mayor of Belleville is one of the few in Illinois who is a full-time mayor. In order to be a good mayor, and a good leader in general, one must have good communication skills and a good character, which includes being punctual, respectful, and a decent person. You must also surround yourself with good people, which is another common tip that I have heard from many leaders during my time in this program. More specifically to becoming a mayor, and relating to having good communication skills, one must be a good public speaker, since obviously, a mayor does a lot of that.
01/19/2018
Last week was our first week back from winter break. During the break, I wasn’t really able to sell tickets since I was out of town, and I highly doubt that my family members would drive all the way out from where they reside to come to the show. Anyway, on Friday, the previous members of the CEO class came in and discussed their activities and the difficulties of college. From what they described about their personal businesses, it can be said that most students do not really continue on with them after they finish the program. However, I would like to continue on with mine, what ever type of service I might be doing or product I may be selling.
We explained to them what our class business is, and what would be included with it, such as the auction and our catering service. They seemed to like the idea and provided us with some advice, mainly about to importance of ticket sells (which we are apparently having trouble with, me included) and how we could make money more efficiently. Near the end, they asked us to tell them what part of CEO we liked the most, and what part we disliked the most. Being at the end of the line made this much harder for me, but it made me think. I decided that I disliked having to make small talk with others the most, since it is very hard for me to come up with a relevant or somewhat interesting topic, and because I generally find them awkward. However, I like the fact that we are able to have this opportunity of learning about entrepreneurship and making connections with already established business owners.
As for the businesses we visited this past week, we went to Memorial Hospital and the St. Clair Country Club. At Memorial, the CEO Mark Tuner described how hospitals received profit. Memorial, and I’m guessing hospitals in general, are very low-margin operations. Hospitals require a lot of money to run, and only receive profit from commercial patients. Mr. Turner also described his three phases of business. First is operation, having to be good at your job to move up, management, and leadership.
Our visit to the Country Club was a bit different, as Thad mainly focused on proper business etiquette and eating etiquettes. An interesting part of that visit was learning about a different way to shake someone’s hand, and I have been trying it out on others.
01/12/2018
At our last day at Precision Practice Management (PPM), we were able to sit and speak with Renae one last time. She provided us with a bit of her own background and told us the history and creation of PPM and her reasoning for creating it. Renae discovered that she was good at organizing and billing medical transactions, and figured that she could do it for others. She started on her own, billing for only one doctor, but the number of doctors gradually increased, and so did her business. Though she originally worked in her own home, with the help of one other person, she eventually hired even more people and this led to the need of a new workplace. Renea found the building that is currently the PPM headquarters, and began building it into the company that we know today. We gave her a bouquet of flowers before we left, ands she seemed to appreciate them, so that was a good thing.
For our last day of meeting before we started break, and before beginning the next semester, we met at King’s House with Dough & Geri Boyer. There, Mr. Boyer gave us a tour around the facility, and explained what their purpose was and how frequently people came there. Mrs. Boyer explained how she traveled and took classes to be able to teach others how to meditate. We talked about stress and what stressed us all out individually and how we often waste our energies. From there, we all did a meditation excessive together, and I do have to say that I did feel a bit more relaxed afterwards. On a side note, I liked that we were able to get a cup of hot chocolate, which was very good, but very rich at the same time.
Regarding the class business, I think we are making very good progress. We have already chosen all the contestants, though I personally did not agree with some choices. However, we still need to work on how the whole venue is going to look and getting funds. To help us with that last point, we all went out in an attempt to get more investors from around the surrounding areas. I’m proud that my partner and I, Jacob, happened to be the only group that were able to receive money from an investor that day. I am also proud of John and I’s design and work on the Artitorium logo. We thought it was good, and it seems as if everyone else liked it as well, which is a great bonus. Again, I hope this business will be as successful as we project it to be.
12/17/2017
This week, Andrew and Erica Barnell of Genescopy came and discussed their business with us. During the visit, we learned interesting facts such as the fact that digestive diseases affect roughly 25% of the of the US population and that since the treatments for those diseases are so uncomfortable, customers often have a poor experience. What is unique about this company is that they were able to develop an RMA extraction process, and become the only company to extract from stool. I’d say that that’s an accomplishment that a company should be proud of. Andrew and Erica provided us with lessons they have learned over time. A few of them are the importance of commitment, how age is just a number in regards to business, never say no a conversation, and have a criteria for success when conducting experiments.
We also got the chance to speak to their father, Mike Barnell (PPM CEO), along with Alan Pulliam and Angela WIllis. They spoke of their experiences before joining PPM and their experiences within it. Important lessons I got out of their presentations were what to do about problem employees and what type of customers you don’t want. Understanding what drives the business and where the primary revenue comes from is also a very important thing to keep in mind, since that is what leads to making money. I liked the stories that they told about their problem employees, especially the one about the woman sleeping under her desk.
12/03/2017
I have not really considered being a surveyor as my profession, much how like the Roland Thouvenot stated. However, after this visit, I gained a little bit of interest. Being able to see how different machines are able to map rooms and environments was both an interesting thing to see and learn about. I also enjoyed watching the pre-programmed drone take off and fly around the building. Business wise, what they do is very important, in regards to other businesses and building projects, since you need to know the land before you can start.
What I gathered from the visit with Jaime Auffenberg, of Auffenberg Auto Mall was that the car dealership business is not a very easy one, (not that many businesses are easy in the first place). He explained to us that when he first joined the business, there were about 13 car dealerships around Belleville. There are only about three that are around today. When owning a car dealership, you have to be able to sell all your cars, even if you have to eventually sell it off to an auction. From Mr. Auffenberg’s words, it seems as people who do good at selling cars are “penalized” with higher objectives, given to them by the car manufacturers. Because they are able to a good amount of cars, they are expected to sell an even higher amount the following year...
11/24/2017
During our visit to Fletcher’s Kitchen & Tap, the owner Derek Betz, showed us many aspects of owning a food oriented business such as the one we were visiting. A significant thing that I got out of this visit was the importance of managers. From the words of Mr. Betz, a manager’s job is not to worry about profits, but for something specific. This includes scheduling or maintaining the food inventory. If a manager is not focused on one specific thing, but rather how profitable the business is as a whole, they will not fulfill their role as effectively, and their roles are very crucial in maintaining the business.
Mr. Betz also discussed the commitment and dedication needed when running a business. He described that there are two types: being “pig committed” and “chicken committed.” Being pig committed is being completely committed to a specific business, and someone can’t be pig committed to more than one. Being chicken committed is “safer”, but you are not as involved in the business. I definitely want to be pig committed when it comes to my own business, since I want it to become as successful as possible.
On Thursday, I was able to meet up with my mentor, Josh Dermott, for the first time and we were able to get to know one another more and discuss business ideas. I appreciate the fact that we were already able to come up with a possible business idea and that I was able to get feedback on the class business. Honestly, I was a bit nervous going to meet him, but in the end, I enjoyed our conversation together and was glad that my mentor was someone who seems to really want to support me and my ideas. I hope that I will be able to learn a lot from him, and that we will be able to maintain a good partnership.
Most of this week was spent discussing the class business and working towards finalizing choices and ideas. We were able to choose which venue we wanted to use and got an idea of how we want to decorate our tables. Our advertising seems to be effective, since we have already started to get submissions and I have personally overheard people talk about the talent show within my school. My biggest hope is that it becomes as successful as it can, since it has the potential to.
11/17/2017
At the start of this week, we were able to go on a field trip to St. Louis University for a TrepStart convention. On this trip, we were able to learn about and talk with entrepreneurs who were the same age as us, and in some cases, younger. I got to hear Mikaila Ulmer of Me & the Bees Lemonade speak about her business and what to do when starting your own. She introduced us to the acronym FITS, which explains aspects that should be considered when trying to figure out what business you should make. It stands for fix a problem, interests or hobbies, trends or what’s in high demand, and skills or talents. In addition to this, she gave steps to creating a budget and suggested what our financial priorities should be. When creating a budget we should estimate our income, list the expenses, subtract the expenses from the income, identify ways to reduce cost while increasing sales, and lastly, set goals. When we actually start earning money, we should think about others and give, set goals and save for the future, and spend money on yourself to enjoy what you worked hard for. The most amazing part about all of this was that she was able to go on Shark Tank and meet the president, while only being 13…
Later on in the week, we spoke with the women of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce. Their job is practically acting as a dating service for businesses. They promote them, network them, and see what’s selling within the local economy. They gave us insight to what's going on currently in Belleville, including how online shopping is starting to affect local business negatively, and a couple tips such as how hiring a younger person helps a company understand what their younger customers want and how you have to be willing to make a change when the direction of something changes. I’m glad that they were willing to help us without class business, and I hope that we will be able to speak more with them in future.
11/03/2017
This week was our first week at our new location, Precision Practice Management. It is a bit different from Allsup, having no sign in and a secretary, nor a lot of furniture, but it is a new experience nonetheless. However, we were able to take a tour of the full beguiling thanks to Renae Eichholz, owner of the business. The building was much larger than I thought I was, as well as much nicer than I initially thought, not at all trying to sound offensive. We found that the area that we hold class in is merely an area that they have not expanded to yet. My favorite part of the tour was when we Renae showed us her office, and explained that having her own personal office has always been a dream of hers, and I can relate in that matter.
We began the week speaking with Patty Gregory, and her business Art on the Square. Her art business was able to make it to the number one position in the country, 6 times at that, and I’d say that is a very big achievement. The most surprising fact that was said in this visit is that she does not even do art herself. We learned that art puts a surprising amount of money into the economy, coming to about $166 billion. Non-profit art appreciation conventions like the one that Ms. Gregory has, provides 4.6 million jobs for people. She also spends around $100,000 per year on advertising and sold about 124,000 pieces of art just last year. It is important to know what sells and what does not, so you can have less people in categories that do not sell that well, and more people in categories that do. This increases your overall profit, and eliminates “liabilities.”
We also were able to speak with John Perles of Momentum Builders. He explained his core belief, that people are more capable than they realize, along with his mission, to help you move from where you are to where you want to be, and his vision, for people to improve their lives and the lives around them and the world to gain momentum. He promoted the thought that communication is key, along with staying focused and paying attention. He urged us to understand our own abilities and use them to the fullest and live well and live long. I personally want to live a satisfying life, having plenty of money to enjoy myself and support my future family, and enjoy life with them.
10/27/2017
Most of our time this week was spent working on the class business. Now, we have a solid idea of what we are going to do regarding the business and used this week to get it really started. We are hosting a talent show that includes a dinner and perhaps an event that involves selling art. We all volunteered to chair certain committees within the project, including decorating, advertising, food and location, finances, etc. I chose to be part of the decoration committee, since I thought that I would be able to put my artistic vision into use. However, we have found that it is difficult trying to get all the surpluses and material needed for decoration when we don’t know how many people we need or how many tables we need to be set. It is not an easy task, trying to create a business and get all the information and resources that are necessary to making that business efficient and successful.
I’m glad that I was able to contribute to the project by creating our logo, though that was outside of my committee. My biggest concern for the logo, however, is that there will not be any copyright issues, since the logo is very similar to that of America’s Got Talent. Regarding my own committee, I have found that already, making decisions and agreeing on what designs or color schemes we want to use is not an easy task. With five different people’s ideas and preferences, that shouldn’t be so surprising. However, so far we have not had too many disagreements, and I have found myself being the one to make the final decision by breaking a tie a couple times already. Like I stated previously, it feels good to contribute, and to have your opinion hold value.
We had the pleasure of visiting Rauckman Utility Products this Tuesday with Jim and Shirley Rauckman. We learned that the business was begun because of Mr. Rauckman’s dislike for his job. He did not feel comfortable firing people or being completely money driven, which is a common thing I’ve heard with most of the businesses I have come into contact with. Something interesting that I learned from this visit is that Mrs. Rauckman had no background in business or entrepreneurship, but is now a leader of a company. This shows that anyone can become a successfully business person, but I have an even better chance since I have taken business related classes, and am a part of this CEO class. I thought it was cool how when we were leaving the building and giving our goodbye’s, Mr. Rauckman recognized me from my job, and asked if I worked there. Later on, that same day, while at work, I saw them again and we spoke briefly on my experience of their business. This showed me how my job may be really good connection wise.
10/20/2017
Geri Boyer, the CEO of Kaskaskia engineering is someone who really seems to love what she does. In fact, she stated that the reason she started KEG is because of her passion for engineering and to control the work experience. Her business is a strength-based organization that focuses on people’s individual strengths. Boyer believes that having this type of organization is more effective when putting together teams and selecting who does what task. Regarding individual people’s strengths, diversity between them leads to more potential within the job and the business.
KEG is the first business that I have seen, other than a pet shop or something similar, that allows animals in the workspace. Their explanation for allowing the dogs to roam around is that they have the ability to relieve stress and comfort. I think that the dogs are a nice edition, and I wouldn't mind having some in my own workspace. On a side note, that one dog was gigantic!
I’d have to say that the highlight of the CEO convention and Nicol Foundation presentation was Steve Davis’ performance and story. When I first came to this convention, I was not expecting, nor prepared for, an Elvis impersonator to come out and sing. Honestly, the performance was awkward, but it was entertaining nonetheless. His business surprised me, as he made much more than I expected him to make, being an impersonator and how he got cheated out of his money when he first began. Similar to Geri Boyer, he was able to create a business based of something he was passionate about. On another side note, I thought it was interesting how he met Bruno Mars as a child and saw him perform.
The other speakers at the convention explained how relations lead to success and how networking is having those relationships and bringing value to those that you met. Communication and conversation are two important aspects in business, though that should be pretty common knowledge. Even so, I still need to work on my own, and I think the visualization exercise that we did may help.
This week was the first time that I’ve been in a funeral home. Dale Kurrus explained that no one in his family is forced to inherit the family business, but someone usually does anyway. It’s a good thing that they do, because then the family business would probably be lost. …It was interesting to learn how expensive a funeral can be, since the caskets and services aren't cheap. It was also interesting to see how cremation works and where they do it.
09/22/2017
Before I was able to listen and talk with the attorneys of Greensfelder, Hemker, and Gale, I will admit that my knowledge of what attorneys/lawyers are, and what they do stemmed from their portrayal on TV. However, they were able to explain to us that they did not only argue in court, but also advise their clients and try to steer them in the best direction in order to resolve their issues. I do like to argue with people, but I’m not sure I want to spend all my time trying to actually get to court and deal with the high stress and heavy case loads involved with becoming an attorney.
This week, we had a good amount of class time to work on our badge project. I think that we made very good progress, with getting all of our platinum investors in order, finalizing what shirt design we will be using, and nearly deciding who will make them. Though this happened later on in the week, I was glad I was actually able to talk with a potential gold investor. I always love feeling like I contributed to something, because if I don’t, I feel like I’m being useless in the activity.
Ed Hoering explained that similar to being an attorney, being an accountant is very time demanding. However, it also also pretty rewarding. From what I’ve seen and heard from the few businesses and people that we’ve already talked with, it seems that many jobs and the responsibilities of a CEO or leader revolve around time, and how little of free time that one can have. I’ve even seen this in my own personal life, since I work myself. I’m not able to go hang out with my friends when ever or go do something that I want, because of work, but on the plus side, I’m making money and connections.
I was impressed by how many businesses Mr. Mentzer and his family have to run and manage. Some businesses are easier to start and operate than others - referring to his storage business - which is to be expected. When I start a business of my own, I hope to find an efficient way to increase my revenue, without having to make giant sacrifices, as Mr. Mentzer emphasized.
09/17/2017
There are a lot aspects that go into running a big and successful theme park. Holiday World is a world renown theme park that has won many awards and achievements, such as being the cleanest park in the world for 17 years. As we were told countless times during out tour of Holiday World, there are many workers and divisions needed to run and maintain the business. Though they only have 100 full time employees, they hire an astounding amount of seasonal workers, that average to about 2,200 people. At Holiday World, they have 5 core values which are: Play by the rules, respect the individual, Encourage work and life balance, be a team, and lastly have fun. Along with learning of these core values, we were able to talk about what makes the park what it is, hospitality. Hospitality is personal, felt, has passion, is deserved, and keeps things lively. The difference between this and service, is that service is impersonal, given, expected, and repetitive. Most businesses seem to only provide service rather than hospitality (from their words).
The main focuses of our visit to the Belleville District 201 building were the pros and cons of social media and what soft skills are and how they effect a conversation. While discussing with Dr. Jeff Dosier, we were able to come up with multiple pros, including how social media is able to connect people, provide entertainment, raise awareness, etc. We were also able to come up with multiple cons, including how it can lower self-esteem, have bad influences, and ruin reputation. The reputation point led to another side conversation, which included other points such as how jobs will look to social media to determine someone's character and how your social media accounts can be “cleaned.” After this discussion we began speaking about soft skills, which are the way you interact with people in a social setting. Examples of having soft skills include greetings, introductions, eye contact, and respect. Doing all of this will leave a good impression on the person you're speaking with and helps continue a conversation.
The Egyptian Workspace Partners gave me a good idea of how a business is able to change and evolve over time. As they told us during the tour, at first, they did not provide and install furniture into other workplaces. They simply sold ink and other sorts, until overtime they got to where they are now. I feel like the evolution of your business should always be a goal to have in your mind, since that will lead to expansion, and more money for you and your company in the end. Being comfortable and making work more personable, and less private are key points that they conveyed to us, and their furniture that they displayed reflected those ideas.
09/01/2017
Arriving at Allsup on the first day, I felt a sense of nervousness, though I'm sure that was a common thing between all of us there. However, after listening to everyone’s introductions and then giving my own, I decided that there was not much for me to be nervous about. On the second day when we had to discuss our plans involving out first project, I noticed those who were more prominent in the discussions and how I was not involved that much myself. I will need to work on that in the near future. Ice breaker and team building exercises are nothing new to me. However, I never took part in activities that were so close and personal. Though some activities were more awkward than others, especially the one where we had to all fit in a small area, all around they were fun to do. I feel as if I was actually able to become more comfortable with my peers, and pick up a few names, though there are more I still need to work on. I learned that team work, cooperation, and communication are all aspects that are important when dealing with others and trying to complete tasks both effectively and efficiently.
The seminar that the president of Holland, Mike Marchal, hosted was a very insightful experience. Prior to this visit, I had not come into contact with any leaders who had the type of personality or ideals that Mr. Marchal had. Unlike most others I knew, he emphasized on empathy and trust. He taught that taking care of others, being a great listener, and surrounding yourself with smarter people are the best qualities for being a leader. Through this experience, I was able to come to the understanding that you do not always have to be the stereotypically “cold” type of leader, but can be a more emotional one. On a side note, it was both surprising and pretty cool to see that this company built the building in which I work, the St. Clair Country Club.
Taking a tour around the Professional Center gave me insight into what a workplace is like. Dave Zura seemed like a really thoughtful and hardworking leader. The stories of his past experiences provided great advice for me, including how it is important to find out what you absolutely don’t want to do, and to enjoy your work. It’s a bonus that his stories were as interesting as they were helpful. I appreciate his plans for improving the workplaces of his employees, as I would love to have a game or rest area at my job. All in all, I’ve already met some great leaders and I’m looking forward to meeting more next week and the weeks to come.
08/25/2017