What really surprised me was how much work goes into running a business. When I first came into work I wasn't really sure how much work it was going to be.  After coming to work for 3 days I think I've gotten a fair idea of what it's like. The picture I selected above is a picture of some paperwork I did for worker's compensation in case of an employee injury. This is just an instance of the things that go into a business for example as a business people are always coming in making deliveries and dropping things off like paperwork and goods and is a job that requires a lot of paperwork and writing. I think running a business is a lot harder than it seems.

The business I'm working at supplies goods and services to the community of downtown San Diego. My business provides services like food and drinks to the people who come into the establishment. They are also a sports restaurant which brings a lot of community into the picture. whenever there's a big football or hockey game the place is packed with people hanging out and having fun watching the games. My establishment considers itself a cool place for the office workers of downtown to go after work to relax have some drinks and food and just have a good time.

At the start of my Internship, it was more of a slow start with my coworkers kind of standing over my shoulder. It makes sense because it was my first couple of days at the job but as the days went on my mentors sort of took a step back and let me handle things by myself giving me more responsibility. I think this was a good decision because its giving me an idea of what it takes to run the business. As the Internship has gone on I think it is definitely getting harder as I'm given more responsibilities. For example, I come in at around 10 by myself and get a head start on setting up for business which usually takes an hour and I also have been put in charge of documenting the checks I write to the companies making deliveries to the establishment.  

Over the course of my Internship, I have noticed myself changing the way I do things around the business. I notice myself getting more familiar with my place of work and where important things are in the place. I have also noticed myself being more confident whilst dealing with customers or doing something my mentor asked of me. I also learned to be more social with customers like having small conversations when before I would sort of avoid conversation. I also have grown to be more efficient in the way I work for example being more efficient and quicker on my feet like getting things done faster and better, like writing checks quicker and getting things to customers more efficiently, for example instead of making 2 trips to a customers table ill making 1 trip and bring everything at once.

The work I do at my Internship benefits me and the business. It benefits me by teaching me lots of useful things I would need to know to run a business. For example, if I were ever to own my own business, I would need to know how to take Inventory, file payroll, do sales tax, and file workers' compensation, which are all things that my Internship has been teaching me over the past month. It has benefited the business to have me around because I'm always there to help if they are understaffed and also I've been handling the whole business for the past month. The business is being benefited by me doing all the paperwork and finances over the time I've been there. 

So far my internship experience has gone very smoothly with lots of good learning experiences. I'm thankful for my Internship because its already taught me so many things about running a business. Things like how to manage employees, figure out your labor costs, and keep up stock on everything needed to run the business efficiently. I'm also thankful for the opportunity itself, Running a business is lots of hard work so I'm thankful that I get to learn so much useful information.

My mentor is Dave Toth, initially aspiring to play hockey, ended up owning a bar/restaurant after years of bartending and hotel work. He discovered his passion for bartending while working in a hotel pub and furthered his skills through courses and on-the-job learning. The most enjoyable aspect of his job is meeting diverse people, while the most challenging is managing business stressors like rising costs and labor reliability. He feels successful both personally and professionally, though he regrets not opening a second location sooner. He advises aspiring business owners to thoroughly understand the industry and emphasize the importance of high standards and fair leadership.

At the start of my internship, I was given a smaller role for the first few days but as time went on I was given bigger jobs and tasks to complete. Things like writing checks for deliveries progressed to doing the sales tax and payroll which is a big leap in importance, which I think really shows the progression I've made over the course of my internship. I've really enjoyed the progression of my internship and the lessons I've learned over the past month and I think I've really learned a lot.