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[tonio501-blog]

Week 13 progress

What is working

well i had a busy week so i didn't spend too much time working on my business but everything went fine as usual not much changed

what is not working 

like the previous weeks not much has changed i pretty much found all the flaws at this point and i don’t have too many issues when operating my business

how do you feel the project is coming

same as the past weeks, not much has changed the income has remained consistent and the number of clients i receive is slowly going up

what are you learning about running a business

I think I've gotten everything out of this experience that i could have, in the past weeks i saw how impact full good advertising and quality customer service is.

what are you learning about yourself

how to interact with customers is something i have really improved on in the past weeks

[tonio501-blog]

Week 12 progress

Well I was out of town for the week so my business was kind of on a pause but I was back for satuday and Sunday. Pretty much I didn’t have a chance to work for more than a few hours but nothing has changed at all my advertising methods have picked up over the week I started putting flyers out in more common places. The word has really gotten around town about my service and over the week I’ve been contacted a few times by new clients but unfortunately had to turn them down, but business seems to have peeked and I’m learning new things about how to manage a business each day. Mostly how important advertising and customer service is to maintain consistency in a businesse’ revenue. Also I had 3 away game this weekend so I didn’t have access to my computer so I apologize for the format it won’t let me change it in any way.

[tonio501-blog]

Week 12 progress

Well I was out of town for the week so my business was kind of on a pause but I was back for satuday and Sunday. Pretty much I didn’t have a chance to work for more than a few hours but nothing has changed at all my advertising methods have picked up over the week I started putting flyers out in more common places. The word has really gotten around town about my service and over the week I’ve been contacted a few times by new clients but unfortunately had to turn them down, but business seems to have peeked and I’m learning new things about how to manage a business each day. Mostly how important advertising and customer service is to maintain consistency in a businesse’ revenue. Also I had 3 away game this weekend so I didn’t have access to my computer so I apologize for the format it won’t let me change it in any way.

[tonio501-blog]

week 11 progress

what is working

Frankly, nothing has really changed since the last week. Customers remained consistent and I made just about the same amount of money as I did the past 2 weeks.

what is not working

Well I had a minor setback having broken a piece of my skate sharpener but only took $12 to fix so that wasn't an issue at all.

how do you feel the project is coming along

its coming along fine just like the past weeks everything has remained consistent.

what i’m learning about running a business

How important it is to capitalize on peek hours. The majority of my business comes within the hours of 5-10 pm and i happened to skip those hours 2 days of the last week and realized how crucial it is to capitalize of those essential hours.

what are you learning about yourself

How important treating your clients are to maintain a successful business

[tonio501-blog]

Week 10 progress

What is working

Nothing has changed really, everything has remained exactly as is not much has gotten better in any way. Customers remained consistent and I made the exact same amount as profit as I did last week.

what is not working

Well everything has gone well still i find i have to up my advertising because i’m still not capitalizing on a lot of potential clients

how do you feel the project is coming along

Like the weeks before not much has changed its remaining consistent it just about every way.

what i’m learning about running a business

How important advertising is to the success of a business without it you have no way of branching yourself and good service is another essential part.

what are you learning about yourself

How interacting with your clients is such a valuable skill to hone a successful business

[tonio501-blog]

Week 9 progress

what is working

More or less everything seems rather the same, not much has changed had one minor setback but other than that no changes at all.

what isn't working 

Well i had a minor setback with the skate sharpening machine part of the blade broke so that was about an $150 setback but it wasn't  too much of an issue it only set me back for about 2 days before i had it back up and running.

how do you feel the project is coming along

 As of last week not much has changed i find its coming along well. I still find my advertising needs some improvement and i will be working on that.

I what are you learning about running a business

I find more and more everyday that how you interact with your clients makes a huge difference, its the make or break of your business startup.

what are you learning about yourself

I’m learning more and more that i can open a actual business of my own instead of just a hobby bringing in some cash in the near future when i have more time and money to operate at a more professional level.

[tonio501-blog]

progress week 8

what is working

Well currently what i’m doing right now seems to be working I've advertised my phone number so whenever someone needs their skates sharpened they just give me a text and i’m there within 5 minutes.

what is not working

I’m having a hard time expanding my clientele, it has remained the same so i’m going to try and shake up my advertising.

how do you feel the project is coming

Currently its doing alright, not as successful as i expected but its still going well, the only thing really in need of improving is my advertising which i will work on trying new ways of advertisement 

what are you learning about running a business 

I learned a lot about advertisement and how and where to display it really makes the difference in the success of your company, unfortunately i did not learn too much other than that by running my business. Since I’ve already worked in this line of work for a while and know when the peak hours are how to act towards your customers etc. if i were  to have chosen a different business and line of work I’d probably would have learnt a lot more in regards to how to run it.

what are you learning about yourself

I learned i’m much better at interacting with my customers and clients than i though i’d be but simply each of my customers are there because either them or their kid loves hockey so ill always have something in common to talk about to each of my clients.

[tonio501-blog]

plan of operations

purchasing products

Currently my only expense is buying the occasional part here and there for the skate sharpener and each purchase should never exceed over 40$

Time line 

My business has been producing relative to the timeline i have initially planned out, my clients have been just about doubling each week and i expect my peak to be in about 3-4 weeks.

license or permits

If my business continues after this course i will eventually register and open a bank account but for now it will remain as is.

launch my business

My business is already active and the way i launched it and acquired clients was just advertising in high traffic areas such as main street and around the arena simply putting up flyers with contact information and my service.

overall vision

I don’t really have a overall vision i probably wont continue after the hockey season finishes as i go back to working at another arena for someone else but essentially i’m just trying to acquire some contacts for future business inquisitions.

[tonio501-blog]

Need  a quick and convenient place to sharpen your skates? How about right at the local rink. Cheap and convenient stop by anytime.

[tonio501-blog]

Consumer Persona

age:5 to 50

education: any

salary: $20000+

location: Brant county

gender: any

family: any

So essentially my ideal customer can be anyone from the surrounding area who either plays hockey or is just involved in the community in any way.

challenges

Establishing myself in the community is my only real challenge the rest will come naturally once people recognize my business in the community.

how I can help

I’m located in a very convenient location so that’s my main service to my clients and compare to my competitors my service is very cheap only priced at  $4.50.

Values and fears

values: Fast, convenient and cheap

fears: Not getting recognized in the community is the only real issue that can lead to the downfall of my business.

Marketing  message: Best skate sharpening in town in a convenient location!

[tonio501-blog]

local competitors

In my town I have 2 local competitors for my skate sharpening business. The local one at the arena and another guy who runs it out of his house.

Local arena

The local arena offers cheap skate sharpenings in a convenient place, the only downside to that is the quality is complete garbage. Any person who gets them sharpened there from the age of 5 to 50 can tell the stuff they're getting is completely inferior. 

guy out of his house

Essentially this guy does whatever he wants, opens, closes whenever. there’s is absolutely  no consistency with what he does except for the quality which is great. Only real way to know his hours are to drive by his house and see if the garage door is open. He also is the most expensive in town at $12 a pair.

[tonio501-blog]

picture needs to be full screen but encase its not legible.

Local skate sharpening business

1) 3 years experience  2) affordable  3) convenience

1 .a)best quality guaranteed b) using state of the art machines c) put passion and care into my work

2 a) only charge 4.50 b) cheaper than local competitors

3 a) right in heart on community b) located in arena c) almost always available

[tonio501-blog]

Strengths and Weaknesses

So I’ve played competitive hockey since the age of 5 and from those 12 years of experience i picked up many of qualities that i use in my day to day life.

Strengths: Typically my strengths revolve around being a hardworking person, i am dedicated to whatever i put my mind to. Once i commit to something i tend to put 100% into that until i feel satisfied with my results. My next strength is being a very open minded person, i’m very accepting to criticism in all aspects of life, whether it be school or hockey i love getting as much feedback as possible.  Bilingual, as i’m originally from Montreal I speak perfect French and English, so I find that could eventually help me to find a future job or in a future sales pitch.

Weaknesses: Some of my weaknesses are often going off topic, I find myself always getting distracted especially in regards to school work, ill be doing one thing and then instantly switch to another, although i always follow through on what i’m doing it just makes for a slightly longer process. Time management has always been a big issue for me, finding time to complete my school work  as i’m playing jr.a hockey i’m either practicing or traveling for games so finding time to sit down and work on school seems to be another big issue for me lately.

Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the read, looking forward to working with all of you for the rest of the semester.