Business Plan Presentation Review

There were both strong and weak points in the group’s presentation.  One of the strong points is the group’s response to the questions that were presented to them.  They had many good answers to every question.  Also, the PowerPoint itself is pretty good.  Their weak points would probably be their speaking roles.  Many of the members still required their script.  Even though they had many points in their presentation that they went without the script, there was obvious struggle when they presented without the scripts.  To be honest, I think the ones that will do a better job would be Josh and Brandon.  This is because they seem to have a better grasp on what they will say without the script.  The other members did an ok job at this too, but it seemed Brandon and Josh did better. 

I think the team is not as prepared as it should have been.  The PowerPoint is fine, but they should have had more practice without their scripts.  They probably should not have had scripts in the first place.  It seemed that they were more focused on getting everything memorized, but they should have just focused on main points.  I think that the presentation may go to the finals, depending on how it goes during the competition.  The members may have practiced a lot more before the competition that I have thought.  Overall, I am confident that the team will do much better than when they started.  I believe that if they practice a bit more without the scripts before the competition, they should do fine.

Weekly Tasks 9/28-10/2

        This week, I helped review and change the diction of the business plan.  I, along with the rest of the employees, looked at the diction of the plan and changed it to where it sounded better.  We also looked at the grammar of the plan and changed the errors that were present.  By the end of the week, the sales portion of the business plan was completed and the diction was perfect.  We are almost finished with the overall business plan, and only need to do some minor revisions with the page numbers.  Additionally, as a part of the sales department, I helped come up with a survey.  The purpose of our survey was to find ideas for new products by seeing what students think of different sweets that we do not already sell.  We came up with many different options to guarantee that we have good results for our survey.

Business Plan Process

     I had two responsibilities in the business plan creating process.  My responsibilities included making the position portion of the 5 p's and working on target market and market segmentation.  I did vast research for the demographics, psychographics, etc. for the target market and market segmentation.

     When I was assigned these roles in the plan, I was not sure whether they would be easy or not.  I did not have any experience in creating a business plan, so I was cautious about it.  My contribution to the business plan was pretty easy once I got started.  It was easy because it was mostly asking my VP about the business's past plan and adding some new information and revising already known information.  In regards of the target market and market segmentation, the most difficult aspect was research.  I had to research different behaviors and psychographics of customers, but it wasn't too hard.
     Now, I understand how to do a business plan.  I know that you have to take it one step at a time, and you have to work together.  In regards to my role in the plan, I learned that you cannot be commercial in what you say.  You have to be professional.  If I had to create a business plan on my own, I think I will struggle, but I would end up doing a good job.  I would struggle with the wording of the different components.  Also, I think I would struggle with the financial components because I do not have much experience in finance.  My strength would most likely be research.  Next year, I would suggest being more time efficient and making sure everyone is more informed of who does what.

Interview Analysis

           On Thursday August 27,2015, I interviewed for a position as a sales and marketing associate for Pick it Sweets and Treats.  My interview went well.  I was prepared for the questions that were asked, and I was calm.  I was nervous, as it was my first ever interview, but I was collected enough to speak clearly.  My posture was very good, and I walked with confidence.  Additionally, I was very honest in my answers.  The highlight of my interview was the chart that I included in my portfolio.  I did, however make a few mistakes.  At first, my answers were a bit choppy, but they improved as the interview continued.  I did move around a lot, for example swiveling in the chair.  I made a few vocalized pauses in my responses, and I should have spoke a little louder.  I also could have been a bit more energetic when answering. Hopefully, these problems will be improved by the time we do mock interviews on mock interview day.  All-in-all, I am confident that I got the job as a sales and marketing associate at the Pick-it Sweets and Treats company.
          I believe that the company has a good standing this year.  Last year, the company had some problems in communicating and the website, but I am sure these problems will be solved.  Many of the employees are returning to the company, so they will have more experience in each of their fields of the company.  Although I am new to the company, I believe that I can stay on task and do all of my duties in order to keep the company focused on our goals.  I am confident that we will be able to make it to the state finals if we try hard and focus on our work.