Final Blog Post

Final Blog post

Overall, I believe my project was well balanced in all aspects of the six skills:  Reading, Writing, Listening, Thinking, Speaking, and organization. I started my senior spring term with reading the book, Invent Yourself Rich, which acted as a basic guide for the upcoming weeks. This book gave me basic background on what a good and bad invention is, how to tell the difference and ways to protect an idea. I used these tools and techniques when doing this project. An example of one of the tools I used was when I made all students sign my Non-Discloser Agreement to protect my idea from being talked about. In my case it was an easy and safe way to protect my idea while avoiding the purchasing of a patent. The writing process was explored much through both the 4-5 times a week blog post as well as the long process of writing the actual business plan. My writing skills were used in these sections by working hard to organize my thoughts and ideas and being as clear as possible. The next major skill that I had to take advantage of was listening. This was because when coming up with a new invention it is very important to listen and understand different viewpoint even if you may not agree with them. It is important to gather all information and disregard some but gathering it is key. This skill also came into play during interview and conversation with other individual on the way such as Kurt Cassidy (head of food services). Thinking was something that never stopped during this project. In the classroom, study hall, sports and dreams my thoughts and imagination continued to flow. I was constantly thinking of new approaches to my business from the product itself to the structure. Critical and creative thinking were and are essential to coming up with a product that does not exist on the market today. The last skill I will talk about is the speaking component to my project. Everyday conversation with my peers about my product was important to the development of this product and company. However, the professional aspect of speaking was mainly applied during my final presentation in which I gave a quick and basic overview of my business, product and financial sections. Being able to state your ideas clearly and professionally is a skill that I believe will be used throughout my future regardless of where life takes me.

            Some of the areas in which I saw improvement was in the critical thinking sector. This is because going into this project I had no real idea how much went into a basic business plan and therefore had trouble with my time management. Companies take years to get off the ground and it wasn’t until recently until that I understood why. The main reason why companies are so confusing is because they are multi dimensional and every detail must be worked out prior to operations. My speaking and presentation skills can continue to improve as well as my writing skills. My reading skills were tested through reading the book but could have and should have been tested more. Reading is one of my weakest skills but still one that is extremely important to finding success in the present as well as future. Although I read a book, I wish I could have improved and tested my reading skills further. Thinking was continually done, however I felt I had a tight schedule so it was hard to relax and let thoughts roll because I was mainly thinking of what I had to accomplish next to stay on track.

As a person and a student I have realized the importance of connections. Having good connections with all people that you are affiliated with can only benefit you in the future. I realized this when I had a good relationship with Kurt Cassidy’s son, and from there Kurt was extremely willing to help me get connected with both Sysco as well as Solo Corporation. There are many other positive connection that lead to success that I have been hearing about.

My final product has both strengths as well as weaknesses. The major strength is that as a high school senior I have written a business plan. However, with any project come flaws and weaknesses. An example includes the writing process. I had trouble with knowing what information went in which section and therefore, the correct organization of my project may be flawed. Lastly, my major weakness that I have is being able to put my ideas to paper. I believe I can express my ideas well when presenting but when it comes to writing I am not as strong as I would have hoped. This remains a skill that I know that I need to improve and have been continuing to try to improve.

In conclusion, I loved this project. I enjoyed being given the flexibility to work on a project that I am passionate about. I appreciated the opportunity and I did my best to take advantage of it. I enjoyed the blog posts however in the future I would rather take 10-15 minutes per weak and talk to my teacher about it instead. This is because it took me approximately an hour or more per week to write my blog post. I feel if I could have applied this time to my project and I would have been able to accomplish more. Other than that recommendation, I see this senior project being a very good one. I feel that if a student can take advantage of this time in a responsible way than they can find successes in many aspects.