Exit Interview Questions

1. My essential question is: what is the best way to sustain a profitable flower shop? The best answer to answer this question that I explored was: in order to sustain a profitable business the business owner has to know their product and how to sell it. The reason it makes for a best answer is because any business person can sell any product as long as they have good people skills, however, in order to sustain the business the owner needs to be as informed as possible about the product from the manufacturer to the shipment company to even the smell of product. In doing so it gives maximum profitability on the certain product per sell.

2. When I first started my topic I had a broad Idea of what a business was and how entrepreneurship was used effectively. My first research checks were rather complicated because I needed to get a good grasp of what business was. My mother had a slight view of what business was. She played everything on how things come. She owns a flower shop and I believe she is a great business woman and a phenomenal one if she would have gone to school. She ultimately turned me on my way to my essential question. She thought it was perfect.

As I started my research I came across a problem: entities. The book “Virgin King” by Tim Jackson really had me thinking on the importance they had. I had no clue how they worked or how owners did all the things they did due to legal issues. I then decided to place it as an answer: know what type of entity is right for your type of business. This included: sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited liability corporations, corporations, and limited partnerships.

Once I knew about the entities I started to focus more on my actual product: flowers. As it came to be I was not an expert with flowers. My independent component with Antonio Ruiz in Los Angeles Flower District opened my eyes to the uneducation I had about the flowers I handled every day. I still had a lot to learn even though I was in the business for seven years. As I started to research the product I realized that so much more can be done with little. Cheaper flowers could be bought and sell at regular price this way we can maximize profitability on the product. This then became my second answer and a crucial one.

Finally, I learned that customer service is important. I had an idea but their happiness makes the business and is far more important when you are the owner and not the employee. With this answer I had to incorporate the employee’s happiness and the client’s satisfaction. The article “The Relationship Between Employees, Customers, and Business Success” by Jan S. West  helps me put the equation together: if employees like their job and are happy then the customers will receive the best help possible and enjoy the kindness the employees give, they in turn will return to buy and most likely recommend other people to the business.  

My best answer would then have to be to know the product. In order to sustain a business you have to be familiar with the care of the product in order to save money, or to get the customers the best product or just to increase the profit. Customer service is easy to most people and is important nut when the customer knows more about the product then you do then the credibility is gone.  Depending on the product, that determines the entity that is fit for the product. It all ties back.  

3. The problems I encountered were not many. One of the problems was having ideas for my independent component. I really felt like I could have done something else but with time passing quickly I spoke to my house teacher and completed both independent component.

4. My two most significant sources would have to be my mentor, Guadalupe Avalos, and a book I read called “Virgin King” by Tim Jackson.

My mentor not only guided me through many aspects of business but she introduced me to people that helped me answer my questions and find out more about the floral industry. She helped me come up with my essential question and my three answers were approved by her as well.

“Virgin King” was a very helpful biography on Richard Branson. He owns a lot of companies, 217 to be exact. He is a real adventurous entrepreneur and the book showed how it was done. All of the fact in the book were researched and approved by Richard himself. This book gave me the full aspects of a business model and a well thought out reason for my first answer.

5. My product of my senior project came to having more business experience. I need to be out in the field and experimenting with business entrepreneurship to get the best to start my own company. I really feel like that was my product, whether I get that in school or not I need more experience,