In Depth Blog Post #4

Prior to the BC shutdown due to COVID-19, I was making strong progress on my In-Depth project. The majority of this blog post will discuss the work up until spring break.

My mentor’s advice from our last meeting was to conduct some market research. I have completed my research with a total of 82 responses! I am thrilled to see that my peers are interested in my product!

Currently, I have a functioning prototype for my tri-fold. I researched the most cost efficient materials, such as which type of wood, and hinges. I found on Lee Valley’s website a hinge that looked appealing, while still only being  about 70 cents each! I gathered information about the various hinges and went with my Dad down to Windsor Plywood to pick up a sheet of “Dragon Plywood”. I was almost ready to start building. First, I wanted to plan out how I would build this tri-fold. I scaled down the pieces that I would be using for my tri-fold. I needed three pieces of wood for my display, one main piece and two smaller pieces. A big part of my project is to be eco-friendly, so I wanted to minimize the amount of waste.

When it came time to cut the wood, my Dad and I set up the table saw on our driveway. This was my first time trying the table saw. My Dad ensured we were safe by providing safety equipment. I had many challenges with the hinges. At first, I thought that glue would be the easiest way to attach the hinges to the boards, but I was wrong. I used super glue first, but when I picked it up, it fell apart quite easily. Next, I tried Epoxy Glue. I thought for sure this would work, but unfortunately, the Glue got caught in the hinges and they wouldn’t move anymore. Then, I tried screws. The wood is quite thin however, so I ended up cutting small pieces of wood out and sticking them with glue onto the back of the board. This ended up being very time consuming, and frustrating. I learned from these experiences however, and came up with an idea. I used both glue and screws in the end. First, I glued the hinges to the board, making sure the glue didn’t get caught in the turning portion of the hinge. Once the glue dried, I drilled in the screws to the hinges. However, on the other side of the board there were screws poking out which were really dangerous. My Dad used a saw-like tool to cut off the ends of the screws and there were so many sparks. My tri-fold prototype was all done!

Mr Bingley also suggested advertising my product early on. I needed to get potential buyers to know that my product existed. An idea popped into my head about my ZIP Project that was coming up. I could use my tri-fold prototype to present my ZIP while still advertising for my In-Depth! This was very effective. My peers kept showing interest in it and I was so happy. My tri-folds might actually work! Hopefully once the COVID-19 situation calm down, I can get right to business.

1. What has been my most difficult mentoring challenge so far? Why?

So far, my mentoring relationship with Mr. Bingley has gone very smoothly. The biggest challenge has been balancing band, Digital Literacy and group work meetings that often happens during CL. In the last week before the break, I wanted to meet with my mentor, but was unable due to other commitments. Furthermore, I anticipate that the most difficult mentoring challenge will be meeting and connecting with him in the future, since school is shut down. I really like the face-to-face aspect of our mentoring relationship and I will miss that deeply. Mr. Bingley also will face difficulty with meeting because he is going to be busy helping his regular students with online learning, and may have family needs that he has to take care of as well.

2. What is working well? Why? 

I think my communication with my mentor was working very well. Meeting at CL time was convenient and flexible. I was learning a lot from Mr. Bingley and I was able to put his advice straight into practice, for example, market research. Mr. Bingley is interesting and enjoyable to talk to and I appreciate that he’s taking time out of his busy schedule to help me. Also, my preparation before our meetings has come in handy as we don’t need to waste time deciding what to talk about.

3. What could be working better? How can you make sure this happens?

I would’ve liked to have more meetings with my mentor. With COVID-19, meetings may be more difficult to schedule. I will reach out to Mr. Bingley this week by email to try and find the best time and way to reconvene.

In Depth Blog Post #3

The context of my mentoring relationship with Mr. Bingley is more of a formal teacher-student relationship, as we meet together in his classroom at Gleneagle during CL time amongst other business students. So far, we have met on a semi regular basis, meeting face to face approximately every two weeks for the entire CL block. I would describe our relationship as a more formal and collaborative interaction because I haven’t been his student yet and we’re still getting to know each other. As other business students may be present in the classroom during our meetings, I expect the context of the mentoring relationship to vary each time. Another possible complication is that sometimes both of us may have other commitments during CL time, so I have been emailing Mr. Bingley at the start of the week to try and coordinate when a good time would be. However, meeting with Mr. Bingley at Gleneagle during CL is very convenient and so far hasn’t been an issue. Often, I prefer communicating face to face rather than with a video call or email, especially for this In-Depth project where we have many subjects to discuss. 

One aspect of our last mentorship meeting that went particularly well was that all my questions were fully addressed. I provided Mr. Bingley the majority of my questions in advance via email so he could prepare and anticipate what my issues could be. Mr. Bingley’s mentoring style is straightforward and patient. I could tell that since he coaches basketball, he’s comfortable in a coaching role. I don’t feel pressured around him and I’m able to ask questions that I’m curious about freely. One learning challenge that emerged was that I forgot to address Ms. Mulder’s posted questions in Blog Post #2. Mr. Bingley and I had a lot to discuss in the prior week’s meeting and I didn’t prioritize getting the specific questions answered. I ensured that I asked these questions in our next session and he was kind enough to answer them. 

Three strategies that could improve the quality of our mentoring interactions are: 

1) Continue to email in advance with an agenda and possible dates, 

2) Read ahead on Ms. Mulder’s Mentorship Posts, 

3) Take good notes in order to remember and record my learning. 

The focus of my In-Depth project this week has been on conducting market research. At first, I saw my market as being high school students, but after discussions with my mentor, we found that my market may be more successful if we expand it to include middle and elementary students. Mr. Bingley had some concerns that in his experience, Gleneagle students preferred digital presentations as opposed to physical learning centres. After meeting with Mr. Bingley, I prepared a short survey on Google Forms in order to gather information about what my peers’ opinions might be. I chose Student Council as my first target group for market research. I identified members of Student council as potential customers because they are very involved at school and might be more likely to purchase a tri-fold. Also, students from all four grades are members so I get a variety of experiences and insight. I got 20 responses so far, including many of the higher grades. I have designed a separate survey for my fellow TALONS classmates and will be polling them soon. I also tried asking Me to We if I could poll them but it just wasn’t just a good time, so the obstacle is to plan ahead and ask the leaders so they can find time in the club’s agenda. In addition, I will need to consider how to conduct market research at other schools such as Kway and Walton. 

In addition to discussing market research, I asked Mr. Bingley questions about his experience and expertise. He gained his business experience by working in several different departments within the hotel industry, including Front Office Management, Sales and Accounting. We spoke about what it was like to work at a hotel and how different market segments have differing expectations. For example, travellers staying at a budget hotel may be more accepting with a standard room and simple amenities, whereas travellers at a luxury hotel demand higher standards. Luxury hotel travellers will be more likely to want higher class amenities such as fancy shampoo and decorative tissue holders. From the very start of meeting with Mr. Bingley, he introduced the “four P’s” to me. The “four P’s” stand for; Product, Promotion, Price, Place. He described these steps as a model for starting a business. Finally, he introduced me to the AIDA model (The AIDA Model) and how to turn your customer’s want into a need. From our meetings to date, I’ve learned that clear communication is key. Communication is the first step to reach your audience and engage them in an insightful manner. Overall, I am really enjoying my time with Mr. Bingley and I appreciate everything that he’s done for me.

In Depth Blog Post #2

I spent a busy two weeks working on my In-Depth project. I made a lot of progress and I am on track according to the plan I set on my learning contract. The steps I have taken are (1) finding a mentor(s), (2) gather information on competitors, (3) identify and price materials, and (4) raise seed money for my business. I also continued researching entrepreneurship while reading “Making the Business Case” by Michael Volker. 

Before the semester break, I approached Mr. Bingley, a Gleneagle business studies teacher, and asked him if he could be my mentor. At first, he had concerns about taking on the role because he coaches basketball teams and other activities. I persevered and asked if he would be willing to meet at CL, thus removing the problem of time conflicts after school. I really appreciate that he agreed to take it on. 

I met with my mentor for the first time at CL this Thursday. Prior to the meeting, I prepared a few questions and organized my work in a binder. I specifically asked for advice on market research. He suggested using social media and flyers to advertise my product. However, before starting to advertise, he suggested that I should be open to a variety of different product ideas. There is a possibility that students at Gleneagle may not want to buy tri folds. In his experience, successful products have been sold to students at prices under ten dollars. As well, senior students might not use them anymore. All of a sudden, Mr. Bingley asked one of his students if he used a tri fold this year. He responded with “What is a tri fold”? We then discussed how to make a survey and how to ensure that people will honestly answer. I have been considering going into my different classrooms, making a pitch, and then writing the link to my survey on the board. Also, I can make a pitch to my clubs such as STUCCO, Me to We and Business Club. I will make most of this advice and try to possibly present my survey within the next two weeks. 

The next step I pursued was to visit different websites such as Amazon, Walmart, Staples and dollar stores, to compare my competition. I started a spreadsheet and recorded the name, the company, the price and the material used. One of the tri folds I found was over $300! I found that normal cardboard tri folds cost about $7-$10 each. The dollar store websites didn’t list prices, so I went to different neighbourhood dollar stores and priced them in person. Another obstacle was that each store sold different sizes and materials. Also, some of the products were only online while others you had to pick up in person. 

My next step was to price out materials for my product. I considered wood and plastic, but wood was by far the better option. I realized that I needed a way to connect and fold up my tri fold, so I planned to use hinges. After planning a prototype, I went to a variety of different stores that sold wood, including Windsor Plywood, RONA and Home Depot. I recorded the dimensions, price and material at each location. My favourite wood was named “Dragon Plywood” which cost $44.99 per sheet. I figured out that I can make two tri folds using one sheet of wood. I will also need to look for hinges in order to connect them. At the hardware stores, such as RONA and Home Depot, I looked at different types of hinges, but none of them looked at the right size. I need to keep looking, as I think the best way to connect the three pieces of wood is by using them. I can look at different stores and hope to find sturdy and flexible hinges. This information that I collected will be very useful when I start creating my prototypes. 

In anticipation of this project, I have been saving up our household recycling and sorting them into plastic bags. Last weekend, I took all of the bags to the depot and recycling all of them earned almost $60. Also, when it snowed, I offered to shovel our driveway and sidewalk and earned another $40. Thank God it snowed so much! I still need to create a bank account. Once I create my bank account, I will be able to transfer the money from my account into there. Then, I will be able to buy materials and start building my prototypes. Overall, my project is going smoothly so far, but I am prepared for any mistakes or obstacles I will need to persevere through.

Dragon Plywood at Windsor Plywood:

In-Depth Introductory Blog Post 

For my In-Depth project, I will be starting my own business. I will be learning skills such as how to design a website, manufacturing and designing a working product and sales and marketing. I chose this project because I plan to study business in the future. I am starting to research ideas on my product and reading articles on starting a business, such as “Making the Business Case” by Michael Volker. This project will be valuable in teaching skills such as entrepreneurship. 

Currently, I’m still searching for mentors. I received feedback from Ms. Mulder on my In-Depth Contract and she suggested the possibility of two mentors. The main advantage of having two mentors is I will get more advice and suggestions for my product and overall help. I’ve considered and thought about a few mentors, possibly business/marketing or woodshop teachers, however I still need to work out all the details. A con of having two mentors is the time to meet. I will need to set up a time to meet with my mentors that works for both me and them. If there isn’t a good time, then that will be a problem. 

A potential concern I have is where to find seed money. Originally, I was thinking of collecting cans and bottles to bring to the depot for money, but that may take some time to add up. Also, I realize that I will need to set up a bank account for all my transactions. If I set up a bank account, will I need to create it under the name of my business, or under my name? I don’t have a name yet for my business so that is a concern. 

After receiving feedback from my In-Depth Contract, I’ve put a lot of thought into how my product will turn out. If I use a bulky wood, then my tri-folds will be heavy and hard to deliver to my customers. However, I do have access to a workshop in my garage to create/design my product, which eliminates stress in that area. Also, my Dad may be willing to help deliver the tri-folds in the back of our car. My original plan was to have hinges connecting 3 pieces of wood together, but I need to find a type of wood that will work for that. In my research portion of my project, I will consider weight, stability, durability and size. Sometime soon, I hope to identify what materials I will be using for my project. 

My most important next step that I will be prioritizing is finding my mentor(s). Once I find and meet my mentors, we can work out a meeting schedule that will work for both of us. After that process is done, I should visit craft stores and dollar stores to find out pricing on regular tri-folds. I can also search online for how much a tri-fold costs, but I predict we’ll find a more accurate price locally. I’m very excited for my In-Depth Project and I hope to meet my mentor(s) soon!