Blog #3: Domilise's

During my mentor meeting this past week, Mason took us to a restaurant called Domilise’s. It is a small, privately owned po-boy shop and bar in Uptown New Orleans. My mentor knew the owner, Granny, because he grew up with her grandson. We had a chance to talk to Granny, and the bartender who had been working there for 40 years. Granny explained how she got into being in charge of this long time family owned shop.

This was a very small restaurant, located in the back portion of Granny’s home. We went later in the night, when the shop was getting ready to close and there were only 3 employees working—2 women making the sandwiches and a gentleman working behind the bar. The fact that this business stayed in such a small location and do not have very many employees working at a time, makes them a profit. This is also a very well known restaurant, nationwide. They have been on the Travel Channel and are recognized and praised on many websites. This recognition brings the restaurant many new customers as well as reassure the regulars why they eat at Domilise's.

I was surprised by the genuine friendliness the employees and Granny had. Granny opened up to us right away, telling us about the history of the restaurant as well as details from her personal life. My mentor actually called the restaurant to make sure they would still be open. They actually stayed open longer than they wanted to so that we could come in and enjoy their food.

The owner told us that we should invest in a smaller business and put everything we possibly could into it. She said that if our hearts were not completely invested in the business, it would not be successful. I admired her for this—as an 87-year-old woman, she was still working behind the counter making po-boys. She also told us to value the customer no matter what. She exemplified this by keeping the shop open solely for our mentor group. This is what is necessary in keeping a small business successful. Customer service is very important and doing small things that may be out of the owners way can, in the future, earn them customers, connections, and money.

Blog #2

At my second mentor meeting, Mason took us to an Italian restaurant in Midcity. I have learned many things from him this semester. One important aspect to the business world that I learned from Mason is that the smaller businesses make up around 85% of companies and businesses are owned by a single person or partnerships. They are not large corporations such as Coca-Cola, Nike or Wal-Mart. This is very interesting and encouraging as a business major. My goal for the future is to own my own interior design company and manage it. Knowing these statistics from my mentor greatly encouraged me and motivated me even more. Another thing I have learned from my mentor this semester is to be open to job opportunities. Being well rounded in many business traits is necessary especially in the economy now. Many businesses are looking for employees that know many aspects of running a business well. This is a very important quality to have because it makes people more adaptable to change.
My mentor is a financial advisor and this sounds like a very interesting career. Though seeming to be stressful, this sounds like it would be right up my alley. I want to be in a position of authority, and although financial advising does not mean being in charge of employees, it is a job that would make me responsible of very important accounts. This career would require me to be very organized and take much responsibility for the actions and decisions I make.
I want to experience a local’s perspective and Mardi Gras experience. I do not want to do the tourist activities during Mardi Gras. I want to experience the parades and chaos of Mardi Gras, rather than spending all of my time in the French Quarter, where its only reputation is of being raunchy and hectic.
I think Mardi Gras is so important to New Orleans because it defines the culture. New Orleans is mostly famous because of its reputation of have a party season called Mardi Gras. It brings families together as they embrace the culture they live in. It is also important because there is so much history in the parades and the stories behind why Mardi Gras is such an event.

Blog #1 Networking Event

I met and spoke with five business professionals from the New Orleans area. The first person I met was Michael Morgan who is the Commercial Business Development Manager at Walton Construction. I also met with Lee Vorisek who is the president of Alta Max LLC. This is a packaging company, and I also learned that Lee is from Chicago, which is something we had in common and could discuss. I also met Thomas Hickman who is a Marketing professor here at Loyola University. He is also a mentor for marketing majors. Fourthly, I met Mason Couvillon who is the president of Dardis Couvillon & Associates, which is a financial consulting company based out of Metairie. Mason was kind enough to introduce me to Darryl Glade who is a realtor with Remax. This was a great example of how networking works and benefits people, even in a smaller, intimate setting such as this.
One thing I surprised myself with during this event was my openness. I brushed my shy side under the carpet and was very outgoing and personable. I made friendly conversation with strangers, which is not like me. I introduced other students to my mentor as well.
One business professional I would like to emulate is Lil Wayne. Though I do not particularly respect him or his values, I believe Lil Wayne is a very smart, successful businessman. He used his networking abilities to boost and further his career. At the early age of eleven, he met the owner of the record label Cash Money Records. He used this acquaintance to his advantage and was eventually signed to the label. This is a great example of networking. Lil Wayne is a very successful icon around the world and has definitely made a name for himself

Passport #6 Executive Mentor Program

The Executive Mentor Program required for freshmen business majors at Loyola University New Orleans has been very beneficial thus far.  The objective of this program has been to introduce the freshmen class to successful business people in the New Orleans area.  It has given us a chance to meet with these mentors and ask any questions we may have.  We have also had the opportunity to get insight into this career field and receive advice as to what career paths to take.

This experience has been very beneficial so far.  I have started networking for my future already.  I have had a chance to meet and make an impression on a leader in the business community in New Orleans, which may benefit me in the future.  I have had a chance to spend time with him, and have conversations with him, which may lead to future job opportunities.  This has also been a great experience to meet classmates and develop relationships with them.  I have met other business students who I may have not met otherwise.  This will help me to develop a network here at Loyola University as well.  I now have more relationships to turn to in case of projects or assignments.

I did not know what to expect coming into this program.  After getting to know my mentor better, I do have high expectations for next semester.  He is a very intelligent, successful financial consultant.  After knowing this and getting to know him and his family, I expect a lot of advice and stories of his experiences in the future.  

In seeking an executive mentor, I would suggest to find someone who is in the field he or she is interested in going into.  I would suggest having friendly conversations with multiple people he or she may be interested in working with so as to find the one whose personality is most similar and compatible with his or her own.  I would suggest spending time with a few prospective mentors so as to make sure he or she will find one who will be the most helpful in achieving success in the business field.

I look forward to getting to know more about what my mentor does as his career.  I am excited to get to know him on a more personal level rather than just learning about his career path.  At Loyola, I am excited to start my second semester, having gotten used to the new city first semester.  I am now more comfortable and confident being in New Orleans, and I am ready to tackle my second half of freshman year.  I plan to become more involved in school sponsored activities as well in hopes of meeting new people.

To stay connected with current events in business, I recommend the Business Week magazine website.  It is a weekly magazine that posts its articles online.  This is a great way to stay connected.  Also, Yahoo! News is also a great website to keep updated in business.  This website is usually updated very often and has the latest in current events.

Wolves on the Prowl 2008

For the Wolves on the Prowl service day, I participated in the "Cubs in the Den" activities.  Children from Good Shepherd School came to Loyola to participate in various activities in our Res Quad.  Good Shepherd School is a Jesuit School, free of tuition, offered to children coming from families who live in poverty or below minimum wage.  We led the grammar school children in games such as capture the flag, dizzy lizzy, tug-of-war, along with others.  This was a good chance to interact with children from the area.  I had an amazing time getting to know these elementary school children while being active and having fun at the same time.  

Good Shepherd School opened in 2001 and just had its first graduating class.  Two of the teachers who came to supervise the children were Loyola University alumni.  It was interesting to see the impact of a Jesuit education and how it has carried on into these alumnus's careers.  These teachers were very excited to be working with these children and help them to achieve a better education than what they would be getting in the local public school.  The intention of a school like Good Shepherd is to provide children from low income families the tools and opportunities they need to succeed and break out of the lower class family they have been born into.  

One service project that I have wanted to become involved in since being in New Orleans is Habitat for Humanity.  This organization focuses on helping rebuild homes for families willing to transform and improve their own lives.  This seems to be a very compelling and touching experience to be a part of, and what better place to participate than New Orleans?  There are many families in need of help after hurricane Katrina and I would love to be one of the volunteers who helps these families get their lives back together.  This is a non-profit organization that has been helping families for over 30 years.  This is a very hands-on experience that I feel would be very eye-opening and touching to be a part of.  

Passport Assignment #4: Executive Speaker on Personal Finances

During the presentation on Thursday night, credit was the topic of discussion.  The speaker worked with Regions Bank and discussed the importance of  building credit as a young, college student.  He talked about the dangers of ruining credit by paying bills late and applying for too many credit cards.  He also listed the six ways to kill your credit score. Among these were careless spending and not paying credit cards on time.  The speaker also made an interesting point: he said that if there is a co-signer on the account, the credit card does not build credit.

My executive mentor basically just restated what the guest speaker was saying.  My mentor said to be smart about spending on a credit card and to only spend the amount of money we actually have.

The bar graph above shows the increase in credit score as people get older.  The younger a person is, the lower his or her credit is and this is exactly what this graph is showing.

CareerBeam Values and Vision

My vision of my ideal future is to graduate from a University by 2012 with my degree in business management.  While in college, I would like to spend a semester abroad and become as culturally diverse as I can while still learning and working towards my degree.  Upon graduation, I would like to find a job as a manager of a restaurant or hotel or a company in the consumer field. I enjoy working with people and doing what I can to make people happy, and I would like to make a career out of that.  I would like to eventually start a family and work from home.  I would like to be a successful, independent business woman while still being able to maintain a family life.

Writing a vision statement makes the author think about his or her future and set goals to accomplish.  It helps to look at the future in a realistic sense rather than being ignorant and taking life day by day.  Writing a vision statement may also cause a person to set high goals for the future that he or she may not otherwise have set.

The challenges of writing a realistic vision statement are that it is hard to know what a person will be able to accomplish in the future.  A vision statement sets goals for the future, but they do have to be realistic goals.  Coming up with realistic goals may be more challenging than most people think them to be.

Upon reading this question, I was not sure what my goals really were.  I completed the assignment on careerbeam and got results that pointed out obvious answers to me.  It told me I was a maximizer, humanitarian, driver, pursuer, and creator.  I agreed with all of these values they listed for me.  I try to make the most of every situation and maximize its potential.  I also am a people person.  I love working with people and trying to find the best results for others.  If there is something that I can do for someone else to better his or her experience I will do it.  This is an attribute I display daily.  This assignment also said that I am a driver.  I will drive and strive for something until I get it and finish it.  I will work towards something I am passionate about it until it is perfect and exactly the way I want it.  I definitely agree that I am a creator as well.   I love to try new things and come up with new ideas.  I am a planner and with planning comes creativity.  I love to start new projects and ideas and I love to plan them.

An organization whose values are very similar to mine is Johnson and Johnson. Basically their Credo says that they want to put the needs and well-being of their customers first.  This is going to be my main goal as a business woman as well.  Working in a field that is aimed toward the happiness and comfort of the costumer, this is a very necessary mentality and value to have.